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May 2020
Together We Give | May 5, 2020
Now, more than ever, we are called upon to make a difference. On Tuesday, May 5, the Great Lakes Historical Society and its National Museum of the Great Lakes will be participating in #GivingTuesdayNow—a global day of giving and unity set up as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. ~ At a time when we are all experiencing this pandemic, generosity is what brings people together and gives us the power to drive positive change. Although
Find out more »September 2020
H2Oh! Making Waves
H2Oh! is the annual fundraiser of the Great Lakes Historical Society and its National Museum of the Great Lakes. This year, due to these extraordinary times, we will be hosting a virtual fundraiser on September 26, 2020 at 7 pm. This 45 min - 1 hour dynamic presentation will highlight our newest projects including the Great Lakes Memory Project and our new temporary exhibit "Port of Toledo: Then and Now" Our silent auction will be open from September 17 -
Find out more »October 2020
Boo on the Boat
Bring your ghouls and goblins for Halloween fun aboard two of Toledo’s most historic haunts, the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship and the Museum Tug Ohio. Trick or treat in costume from the pilot houses to the galleys and everywhere in between. This year we are extending Boo on the Boat for an entire week to allow for physical distancing. Candy at each station will be provided in pre-portioned, sealed bags.** Admission Required. All children must be accompanied by
Find out more »November 2020
The Fitzgerald Event
In honor of the 45th Anniversary of the loss of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975 we are offering a weekend of special tours. The Fitzgerald Experience is a guided tour of the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship, using our lake freighter and its similarities to the Edmund Fitzgerald to discuss the events of November 10, 1975, theories about the sinking, and stories about the 29 crew members who were lost. This tour is approximately 75 minutes
Find out more »December 2020
Christmas Tree Ship 2020
Make a memory that will last a lifetime by watching Santa arrive at the museum’s dock aboard a Geo. Gradel Co. tugboat delivering a Christmas Tree into your hands or the hands of someone in need. In partnership with Geo Gradel Co. and United Way of Greater Toledo, spectators can watch Santa Claus and a boatload of Christmas trees navigate the Maumee River and dock behind the National Museum of the Great Lakes around 11:15 a.m. in person or via
Find out more »Anniversary Lecture Series: “Transforming Interlake for the Future”
Although many things came to a halt during 2020, Great Lakes shipping did not. Nor did the building of Interlake Steamship Company’s newest vessel in their fleet— the 639-foot M/V Mark W. Barker. This freighter, the first new U.S. Great Lakes bulk carrier built on the Great Lakes in over 35 years, will be the topic of our first ever virtual lecture. At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16, Interlake President and vessel namesake Mark W. Barker will join us
Find out more »February 2021
Spring Lecture Series: “Port of Toledo” Roundtable
Join us for the capstone of our year-long exhibit “Port of Toledo: Then and Now” with a round table featuring experts and historians from the Toledo area. Although the multi-part exhibit has touched on almost all aspects of life on the Maumee River, this lecture will specifically highlight three topics including: 1) The use of the Maumee for recreation and fishing over the years along with how the new Glass City Metropark will encourage further use, featuring the former Eastern
Find out more »Spring Lecture Series: “Ladies of the Lights: Michigan Women in the U.S. Lighthouse Service”
More than 50 women defied the gender expectations of their time to serve the sailing communities on Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, as well as on the Detroit River, during the active lighthouse-keeping era. From Catherine Shook, who raised eight children while maintaining the Pointe Aux Barques light at the entrance to Saginaw Bay; to Eliza Truckey, who assumed responsibility for the lighthouse in Marquette while her husband fought for four years in the Civil War; to Elizabeth Whitney, whose
Find out more »March 2021
Spring Lecture Series: “Heroic Age of Diving”
Heroic Age of Diving by Jerry Kuntz During the 1840s and 1850s, during the infancy of the development of underwater breathing apparatus, Lake Erie became the proving ground for this new technology. The salvage of three infamous passenger steamer wrecks, the Erie, the G. P. Griffth, and the Atlantic became the incentive for divers and engineers to test the limits of their new devices. Foremost among them was John Green, a man who kept secret the story of his own tragic
Find out more »April 2021
Spring Lecture Series: “Illustrated History of the Soo Locks”
The Soo Locks are one of North America’s engineering marvels. The first lock on the St. Marys river opened in 1798, the largest opened in 1969 and work began last year to build a new lock. The story of this amazing man made behemoth is constantly evolving. Using hundreds of historic images, some dating from the 1860s, Michelle Briggs, chief park ranger at the Soo Locks, leads an in-depth exploration of the National Historic Landmark facility and the lynch pin
Find out more »HOURS
Sunday: 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Closed on Tuesdays: November 1 - April 30
Museum is Closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve
SS Col James M. Schoonmaker and Tug Ohio
open May – October
