Since its founding in 2006, the Museum has been blessed with followers from around the globe who have shared their research, stories and images with us in addition to referrals and introductions which have enabled us to expand our curatorial work and educational outreach.
Inquiries from students and animal and maritime history buffs have also provided us with additional research avenues. Social media platforms emerging around the time of our founding facilitated these contacts and are still an important part of our work.
Our Museum remains unique in the world as the sole institution dedicated to the animal/human bond in a maritime context. While there are numerous significant repositories throughout the world which house archival and image collections featuring specific animals, explorations and voyages, we remain singly dedicated to only this field of study.
Our early exhibits and public programs were facilitated with the help of many volunteers and student interns in our Annapolis MD location who worked in person and remotely. Since relocating to Maine in 2021 and transitioning from a virtual to a physical presence, we have significantly widened our volunteer base. Those wonderful volunteers have included retired military and merchant marine personnel, archivists, librarians and school teachers, in addition to college students. We have sponsored undergraduate and graduate internships with Anne Arundel Community College, Cambridge University, Maine College of Art and Design, Matthew Flinders University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Maine (Augusta), University of New Hampshire, San Jose State University, St. John’s College, University of Western Florida and others.Fields of study for these students have included applied arts, history, information science, library and museum studies, maritime studies, underwater archaeology and more.
Our exhibits have included: Our Mission and Overview of Maritime Pets, Famous Maritime Mascots, All Paws on Deck, Barcelona Artist Ana Novela’s Maritime Pet Tribute at
Annapolis City Hall, Creature Comforts (loan from Combined Forces Base-Esquimalt (Canada), Maritime Pets throughout History, Lighthouse Mascots, Irish Maritime Pets, Saluting Sled Dogs
Most of these exhibits are available to travel to other institutions.
Public Talks: An Introduction to Maritime Pets, Working Maritime Animals and Mascots, The Intersection of Marine Art and Natural History, Flora and Fauna on Ship Travel Posters, Maine Lighthouse Mascots, A Salute to Sled Dogs throughout History,
Exploring a New America: Lewis, Clark & Seaman
Workshops:
Chesapeake Bay
• In-water Working Water Dog Breed Demo I
• Portuguese Water Dogs at Work,
• In-water Working Water Dog Breed Demo II
Penobscot Bay
• American Academy of Canine Water Rescue in-water Demo
• Otterhound Workshop
• Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Workshop
• Carrier Pigeon Workshop and Demo
Youth Programs:
• Humane Education with Chesapeake Children’s Museum
• Maritime Animal Heroes at Wicomico and Anne Arundel County Libraries
• Lighthouse Mascots at Belfast Free Library
• Exploring a New America: Lewis, Clark, York, Sacagawea and Seaman
• Diving into History: Underwater Archaeology and the Emanuel Point Luna Shipwrecks
Special Events:
• Multiple-year collaboration with Anne Arundel SPCA at Bark in the Park, Puppy
Plunge, Walk for the Animals
• Multiple-year hosting of a Nautical Halloween
• Multiple-year hosting of Jazz Benefit Concerts
• Wine Tasting and Museum Talk Fundraiser
• Rum Tasting and Museum Talk Fundraiser
• Multiple-year Charity Golf Tournaments
• Multiple-year Mini Golf Charity Benefits
• Multiple-year Holiday Open Houses
Curatorial Projects:
• Cataloging of museum’s library and ephemera collections, to be updated in Year 20
• Researching provenance and cataloguing museum’s image collection
• Continuing and ongoing research for future exhibits
• Illustrated Primer on Maritime Pets (awaiting publication funding)
For additional information, or to borrow one of our traveling exhibits, please contact us: 207-390-5909 or info@museumofmaritimepets.org