Great Lakes Scuttlebutt

A collaborative design effort led by award-winning Healy Kohler Design, The Sailing Museum will offer sailing enthusiasts the chance to revel in their sport and new sailors to be enticed to take to the water for the first time. The personalized museum journey begins with the selection of a boat. For sailors, they can select from one of seven; while those experiencing sailing for the first time will be given the option of a short quiz that will help them select a boat. For all, this boat will become their avatar throughout their museum experience, guiding them through the interactive elements, and offering the chance to build skills and earn virtual rewards. The first floor of the museum is divided into six thematic areas: Wind & Water; The Making of a Sailor: Mental; The Making of a Sailor: Physical; Teamwork; Competition; and Legends of Sailing – National Sailing Hall of Fame & America’s Cup Hall of Fame. The second floor is home to additional exhibits and a private lounge honoring Hall of Famers.

Embedded with ‘stealth learning’, exhibits will provide real-world applications of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) concepts that come alive through sailing. These five disciplines are used in everyday activities, promoting problem solving, and creative and analytical thinking in a more open-ended way and make them applicable to real life.

Formal and informal educational programming will be layered into the experience throughout the year.