Experience the thrilling world of deep-sea navigation and the sensation of being a real-life ship’s captain. The activities in this exhibition about ships and the sea will answer many of your questions about the technology used in the world of water-borne traffic and transport.
How does a ship work?
Start the ship’s engines and issue the right instructions. Discover the specifications each type of ship has to meet in order to do its particular job. Let your imagination rip and design your own environmentally-friendly vessel of the future!
How can I learn to navigate?
To get from where you are at sea to where you want to be, you have to be able to plan a route. The exhibition gives you a chance to use maritime charts to fix your current position and lets you track the movements of larger ocean-going vessels worldwide live online on a VDU.
How does a port operate?
Cargos are loaded and unloaded. People go to and fro between ship and shore. Using radio-controlled model ships, you can learn to bring your ship safely into port. Or take a seat on a fork-lift truck and see how good you are at stacking containers quickly and accurately.
Is there a job for me at sea?
The shipping industry involves many different kinds of work. You could be a captain, a stevedore, a pilot, a seaman, a salvage worker or a ship-builder. Explore your future career prospects!
What does the coastguard or the search-and-rescue service do?
Sometimes things go wrong. Survive a shipwreck and speed to the rescue of a drowning man.
What were things like in the past?
Visit an old harbour-side tavern and listen to the traditional songs and stories of the sea. Or dive to explore the wreck of a ship that foundered 200 years ago.
Ships and the Sea is an interactive exhibition for everyone with an inquiring mind and a love of ships, harbours and the sea. Come and find out for yourself!