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Mystic Seaport Celebrates Opening of New Exhibit
Date and Time
Saturday May 22, 2010 Sunday May 23, 2010
Mystic Seaport Celebrates Opening of ...Description
Visiting tugboats, special activities and a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Connecticut State Senator Andrew Maynard will highlight TUGS! Blast at Mystic Seaport.
The weekend will celebrate the opening of TUGS!, the Museum’s newest exhibition that traces the past, present and future of the American tug, tow and barge industry. Designed for visitors of all ages, the exhibit features custom-created videos, stories, rare artifacts, historic images and large-scale graphics, hands-on activities, audio/visual elements and outdoor programming.Mystic Seaport President Steve White and Senator Maynard will be joined by Connecticut State Representative Diana Urban; Karen Senich, executive director of Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism; Alex Agnew of Professional Mariner magazine and representatives from tugboat companies that have supported the exhibit in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, May 22, at 12:45 p.m. The ceremony, which announces the grand opening of TUGS!, will take place outside of the Museum’s R.J. Schaefer Exhibit Hall.Visiting tugboats docked at Chubb’s Wharf throughout the weekend include Gwenmor Marina’s Gwendolyn, Thames Towing Services’ Adam and John Paul and private yachts North Star, Seahorse, Trilogy and Tuggly. Special events featured during TUGS! Blast include a marine engine and watercraft open house at the Museum’s Collections and Research Center, lectures exploring interesting tugs of yesterday and today, an exploratory talk of the TUGS! exhibit, marine engine demonstrations in the Museum’s Shipyard and radio-controlled tugboat demonstrations in the Museum’s new outdoor shallow pond.Linda Gramatky Smith, daughter of Hardie Gramatky who authored and illustrated the children’s book, Little Toot, will give a reading of her father’s classic tugboat tale at the Children’s Museum Saturday, May 22, from 10:30 – 11 a.m. Gramatky Smith will additionally speak about her father and his accomplished career in her talk “Memories of Little Toot and My Father, Hardie Gramatky” at the Greenmanville Church Saturday, May 22, at 3 p.m.Additionally, visitors can take part in a variety of hands-on activities throughout the weekend including a heaving-line toss, friendly games of tug-of-war and creating a tug craft. Children are invited to story time in the Children’s Museum and to build a wooden tugboat keepsake (nominal fee for toy boat workshop).Funding for TUGS! has been made possible with a $149,136 grant awarded to Mystic Seaport from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Individual donations and in-kind support will additionally help fund the exhibit. With leadership support from American Waterway Operators, the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut, the Dibner Family Foundation, G&H Towing, Professional Mariner, the Tugboat Enthusiast Society and an anonymous family foundation in hand, Mystic Seaport seeks to match the IMLS grant funds in total. Those interested in supporting the project can contact Chris Freeman at 860.912.3121 or at chris.freeman@mysticseaport.org.
For more information, visit www.mysticseaport.org/tugsblast.
TUGS! will remain open through spring 2011.
Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Currently celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Museum features a re-created 19th-century seafaring village, tall ships, a working preservation shipyard, exhibits and a planetarium. For more information, visit www.mysticseaport.org.
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