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National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico

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GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the gulf of Mexico opened on September 26, 2015, is a non-profit interactive maritime museum dedicated to the maritime heritage and culture of the Gulf of Mexico. The 120,000 square foot museum, located on the riverfront in downtown Mobile, Alabama, is designed to look as if it were a ship headed into Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The museum features 90 interactive exhibits, simulators and theaters, a museum store, a museum café and event space, complemented by artifacts and memorabilia displayed throughout “multiple decks” inside a full-sized replica of a container ship, displayed as if dockside.

Named Attraction of the Year for 2016 by the Alabama Department of Tourism[1], GulfQuest is one of only two interactive maritime museums in the United States (one of only three in the world) and the only museum in the world dedicated to “America’s Sea”, the Gulf of Mexico.[2]

Creation

In the 1990s, Mobile and state leaders formed a non-profit organization to begin the demanding task of establishing a maritime museum that would serve as an educational resource for the region and the nation, a museum unlike any other in the world.[3]

As plans emerged, Mobile Mayor Michael Dow championed this maritime museum as the hub of public activity to restore access to the Mobile waterfront. The museum was to be the centerpiece of the downtown waterfront development called “Mobile Landing”.[4]

During Mayor Dow’s tenure, “Mobile Landing” became home to the Arthur C. Outlaw Convention Center, Cooper Riverside Park, and the Alabama Cruise Terminal.[5]

Under Mayor Sam Jones’ tenure, the construction of GulfQuest’s building was initiated.

Construction officially began in January 2010 with site preparations and continued through 2015 when the building was substantially completed. Installation of the museum's exhibits began in mid-2014 and was completed in summer 2015.[6]

Building

GulfQuest is a 120,000 square foot building designed to look as if it were a ship leaving port headed into Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Because the technology behind container ships originated in Mobile, Alabama,[7] and had a drastic impact on the shipping and maritime industry, GulfQuest’s Board of Directors decided to put a full-sized replica of a container ship inside the museum to house a good number of the museum’s 90 exhibits. The replica (dubbed The SS McLean), surrounded by water and made to look like it’s floating, has interior walkways resembling those on large ships[8] with the museum’s “Seagoing Slang” displayed throughout each level.

SS McLean

At the heart of the museum is a full-sized replica of a container ship named the SS McLean, commemorating Malcom McLean and Mobile, Alabama’s role in the early development of containerization, a revolutionary system that minimized cargo handling and shipping costs.

In 1955, Malcom McLean, a trucking entrepreneur from North Carolina, acquired Waterman Steamship Corporation, a Mobile-based firm, to test his idea of shipping cargo in large containers that could be moved fully-loaded from land to sea, and from sea to land. On April 26, 1956, the world’s first container ship, Ideal-X, made its maiden voyage from New Jersey to Houston with 58 containers onboard. McLean’s plan reduced the cost of loading and discharging cargo from $5.83 a ton to only 15.8 cents a ton.

McLean’s first three container ships were “spar deck” tankers, capable of carrying containers topside only.

Exhibits

Designed to resemble a vessel, the museum has an educational focus with hands-on exhibits, theaters, simulators and displays.[9]

Among the exhibits are those that focus on offshore oil and gas platforms, sailing, hurricanes, shipwrecks and more.[10]

GulfQuest's 90 interactive exhibits immerse visitors in all kinds of seafaring ventures and maritime tales.[11]

Some of the notable exhibits include:

Take the Helm

A panoramic pilot simulator identical to those used to train professional boat pilots[12]. Visitors can choose a vessel, then try to navigate it through the Gulf and into the port of Mobile. The digital views seen from the bridge were designed based on real Mobile-area locations.[13]

Pelican Girls

The exhibit features an attic scene where the ghostly images of two French women tell their personal stories of sailing from Paris to Mobile in 1704 on the ship Pelican on their way to be married off to French-Canadian settlers.[14]

The Great Gulf Challenge

An interactive game in which visitors simulate making environmental and economic choices to restore balance to the Gulf of Mexico while facing realistic disasters.[15]

Ocean Planet Theater

GulfQuest's Science on a Sphere, a six-foot diameter planet Earth suspended in midair showing stunning three-dimensional visualizations of Earth, hurricanes, global shipping traffic, and much more.[16]

Seagoing Slang

Located on the rampways on either side of the container ship are common sayings with maritime origins highlighted on individual panels. Sayings like “All in a Day’s Work”, “Clean Bill of Health”, “Cup of Joe”, “Out of the Blue”, “Lay of the Land” and more are defined and their maritime origins revealed.[17]

Awards

The Alabama Department of Tourism named GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico the state’s 2016 Tourism Attraction of the Year.[18]

Restaurant

The Galley, GulfQuest's cafe, provides the only waterfront and outdoor dining on the Mobile River as of September 2015. By design, the GulfQuest experience of 90 interactive exhibits also extends to The Galley. The exhibit Shiptracker is located inside The Galley. Shiptracker is an interactive control station that allows visitors to access the latest information on ships in several different ports in the Gulf of Mexico including the Port of Mobile. From the control kiosk, visitors can view the current shipping activity in Gulf ports, including ships passing by on the Mobile River, just outside the cafe. In each booth, a live image of the Port of Mobile is broadcast for cafe visitors to view while dining. Museum admission is not required to dine in The Galley.[19]

Museum Store

Treasures, GulfQuest’s museum store, is designed to resemble a sunken Spanish Galleon. Views through the shipwreck's fractured hull reveal murals that depict the diverse marine life of the Gulf of Mexico. The ribs of the Spanish Galleon accommodate shelves filled with a wide selection of GulfQuest souvenir items.

Museum admission is not required to visit Treasures.[20]


References

  1. ^ Dugan, Kelli (August 3, 2015). "Meet the 13 Alabama Tourism Award winners for 2015". AL.com. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  2. ^ Kelly, Mike (March 1, 2015). "Maritime objects to go on display at GulfQuest". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Museum History". GulfQuest. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  4. ^ Kelly, Mike (March 1, 2016). "Maritime objects to go on display at GulfQuest". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Museum History". GulfQuest. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Museum History". GulfQuest. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  7. ^ Newton, Wayne (June 10. 2016). "A revived Mobile, Ala., is shipshape when it comes to things for travelling families to do". London Free Press. Retrieved 6 September 2016. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Newton, Wayne (June 10, 2016). "A revived Mobile, Ala., is shipshape when it comes to things for travelling families to do". London Free PRess. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  9. ^ Yungmeyer, Ann (July 26, 2016). "A Gem of the Gulf Coast". Chattanooga Magazine. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  10. ^ Kelly, Mike (March 1, 2015). "Maritime objects to go on display at GulfQuest". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  11. ^ Yungmeyer, Ann (July 29, 2016). "A Gem of the Gulf Coast". Chattanooga Magazine. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  12. ^ Yungmeyer, Yungmeyer (June 12, 2016). "Mobile, Alabama's Gulf coast heritage and urban vibe". The Tennessean. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  13. ^ Kelly, Mike (March 1, 2016). "Maritime objects to go on display at GulfQuest". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  14. ^ Yungmeyer, Ann (June 12, 2016). "Mobile, Alabama's Gulf coast heritage and urban vibe". The Tennessean. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  15. ^ Yungmeyer, Ann (July 19, 2016). "A Gem of the Gulf Coast". Chattanooga Magazine. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  16. ^ "What is Science On a Sphere?". NOAA. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  17. ^ Newton, Wayne (June 10, 2016). "A revived Mobile, Ala., is shipshape when it comes to things for travelling families to do". London Free Press. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  18. ^ Okarmus, Matt (January 4, 2016). "What are Alabama's Top 10 events of 2016?". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  19. ^ "The Galley". GulfQuest. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  20. ^ "Treasures Museum Store". GulfQuest. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
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