Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center Celebrates New Gallery

The Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center will host a day long ‘Demonstration Day’on Saturday, May 9, from 10 pm to 5 pm in celebration of the opening of its new Gorton’s Seafoods Gallery. The new gallery is the centerpiece of $500,000 building project which connects three existing buildings, and creates an indoor observation deck where visitors can observe activity taking place in the adjoining Boat Shop.

Events scheduled throughout the day include an Historic Postcards Slide Show, seafood cooking demonstrations, live music by Not That Blonde, storytelling by Fred Dodge, and presentations focusing on whale tagging, shipwrecks and sustainable fisheries. Ongoing demonstrations include net stripping, sail making, dory building, and ship model construction. Visitors can also explore a simulated shipwreck with Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary maritime archaeologists and observe a boat being hauled out of the water on the center’s 19th century marine railway. Children’s activities include fish printing, compass making and knot tying. Sea Pocket Lab, the center’s outdoor aquarium with touch tanks, will be open.

Visitors can also explore ‘Fitting Out,’ the first exhibit installed in the new gallery, which focuses on the shoreside industries that supported the local fishing fleet at the dawn of the 20th century. The exhibit title refers to the process of outfitting or preparing a vessel for a fishing trip. Displays feature elegant ship models, a standing rig, and artifacts ranging from oilskins to foghorns to sailmaker’s tools. Chart your course to the Grand Banks. Try your hand at rope making. Experiment with the interactive marine railway model. Watch vintage film footage of fishing schooners at sea.

The Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center is located at 23 Harbor Loop in Gloucester,overlooking Gloucester’s industrial Harbor. Open 7 days a week from May 7 thru October, 10 am _ 5 pm. Admission is $5/adults, $2/children, $10 family maximum.

For more information, call 978-281-0470. *****