Other Galleries

William Francis Gibbs Gallery

You may or may not have heard of him, but Gibbs designed over 6,000 naval and commercial vessals including Liberty ships, WWII landing craft, and the SS United States. Photographs chronicle his accomplishments, and his office furniture resides inside a huge glass case. Additional models of his creations lend a 3D feel for his architectural endeavors.

Changing Exhibits Gallery

The theme for this three-room exhibit was the Slave Trade of the 19th Century. Various photos, letters, and restraining devices dominate the rooms. A continuous sound show of whips, moans, and yelling follow you through the exhibit.

They tried to do a light and sound show of the interior of a slave ship, with the idea of walking you through a ship's hold, but that pretty much back-fired. Most of the time this tunnel-like exhibit is dark, with images of slave racks and so on briefly flashing in the darkness. Creaks and groans of a ship interspersed with groans of the slaves tried for more ambiance.

If they really wanted to show a slaver's hold, they should build a replica and stuff it with manikins--that would bring home the insanely cramped and disease-ridden conditions.

It's a nice try, but whereas the rest of the museum is packed with items, this exhibit is too open and cavernous. It needs more "stuff" if it wants to make a point. As it stands, there's not enough repetition to drive one home.

A map of the "triangle trade" (Europe to Africa to North America) with commentary was probably the highlight of the exhibit, settingthe scene, as it were.

Obviously, it's also a more depressing exhibit. There's no way to put a happy face on slavery other than its ending.

Cris Craft

A previous "Changing Exhibits" gallery between the Age of Exploration and Defending the Seas was the Cris-Craft gallery of small boats, evidently sponsored by Cris-Craft. A dozen boats or so dating back to the post-war era show the pleasure of owning and using a boat.

More of the Mariners' Museum

Introduction
Chesapeake Bay Gallery
Monitor Restoration
Age of Exploration
Defending the Seas
Collections Gallery
Great Hall of Steam
Crabtree Collection of Miniature Ships
Other Galleries
Gift Shop and More

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