Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston

Organization Type: Arts, Culture & Heritage
Address: Kingston, Ontario
Contact: Michelle Clarabut
Website: https://www.marmuseum.ca/

The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes is on a mission to connect the public with the maritime heritage of Kingston and the Great Lakes through programs, exhibits and collections.

Our history is intimately entwined with the space we inhabit. The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes is fortunate to be located on a national historic site that forms a considerable part of the Museum’s narrative. It means that the Museum is able to at once share the story of the maritime heritage of Kingston and the Great Lakes, all the while connecting visitors to a physical piece of that history.

Established in 1975 by a group of local divers who sought to protect the artefacts of the shipwrecks they explored, the Museum occupied the Kingston Dry Dock property (formerly the location of the Kingston Shipyards Co.) from 1975-2016. The Museum was forced to vacate the property in 2016 when the federally-owned property was sold to a local developer, and moved to its storefront gallery location at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour where it currently resides.

In August 2019, the Marine Museum purchased the historic property following a gift from a local benefactor, and in October 2021 it moved back home. This set in motion an opportunity to makes our plans to create a new 21st century Museum a reality. We invite you to read our vision for the new museum in our new 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, Steering Into the Future.

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Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston’s Volunteer Opportunities

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I interviewed my dad on video in his final weeks. When I asked about his work and finding meaning through helping others, he responded, “I don’t think you can be focused on, ‘Oh gee, I want to make a difference.’ It has to be spontaneous. If it’s not…there’s some kind of egotistical thing going on. That’s a red flag. You hope you impact people on the deepest level you are capable of at the time. Sometimes you hit it, sometimes you don’t. You’re trying.

Lisa Shannon, A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman