A Memorable Birthday for the Museum!

Today the USS Constitution Museum celebrates its 44th birthday. On April 8, 1976 - the bicentennial year of our nation - naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison cut the commemorative ribbon and the Museum welcomed its first visitors in its current home directly across the pier from Old Ironsides in the Charlestown Navy Yard. Since that time, nearly nine million visitors have enjoyed the Museum's hands-on exhibits and created lifetime memories. Below is an image from the Museum's 40th birthday celebration in 2016, which recreated the ribbon-cutting ceremony from 1976.

This is a day when we reflect on the Museum’s history and how far we have come since 1976 - doubling our size and welcoming record visitation in recent years. Yet this is a birthday unlike any other the Museum has had, because we are currently closed to the public to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and are not able to invite you to celebrate with us in person.

So we are celebrating with you online! For birthday presents, we offer you a whole host of Virtual Museum resources. We have presents for all ages!

Try our award-winning game "A Sailor's Life for Me" just relaunched this week. It is great for the young at heart - try navigating the Ship through harbor or whacking the rats in the hold!
Armchair sailors will also enjoy "Historian at Home" with Carl Herzog as he journeys through Constitution's history with interesting reflections for today's students. See the link below!
Join the daily tour of “Old Ironsides” at 10 AM ET on Facebook Live - and ask your questions of today’s sailors.

Below you can explore the highlights of this past week’s engaging content and immersive activities that we offer to visitors through our website and social media channels.

Help us Celebrate: As part of today's virtual celebration, we are asking our Museum family and friends to share their favorite memories of the Museum on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Please leave a comment to help celebrate the Museum's birthday!

Huzzah for Constitution and Happy Birthday to her Museum!

Cheers, Photo of Anne Grimes Rand

Anne Grimes Rand
President and CEO
USS Constitution Museum

Highlights from our Virtual Museum

LEGO® SHIP SHAPE COMPETITION WINNERS - WEEK 2

The Museum is proud to share our weekly LEGO® Ship Shape Competition winners, as determined by our Social Media followers! Congratulations to these talented builders. Each week the Museum will post a new contest for builders of all ages.

Historian at Home with Carl Herzog

Last week's topic in this fascinating video series was Life at Sea. How did Constitution’s crew spend their days in 1812 and how did they endure their time at sea, far from friends and family? Watch Carl's segment and find out!

Our Museum Family Loves the Virtual Museum!

"I applaud again the efforts being made by so many at the museum to create and sustain and maintain the virtual programs offered by the museum. Outstanding work!" - Museum Trustee.

"These resources will provide teachers quality instructional materials from a known, reputable source-- the USS Constitution Museum. The hands-on and high-interest nature of the lessons will be much more engaging to students than the standard online learning fare. I think teachers will be excited to use these resources and the main challenge will be getting them into their hands!" - Massachusetts public school history teacher and department head.

These sentiments echoes countless "Likes" from our followers who appreciate the "informative" and "awesome" content the Museum is providing for free at this time.

The Museum will continue to provide compelling digital resources for students, teachers, families, and adults throughout this public closure and we look forward to interacting with you on our digital platforms until we can see each other at the Museum again. Please stay safe and be well!

You Can Help Strengthen the Museum!

Here are four ways you can help support us during this challenging time:

Make a donation to the Museum to support the staff and expertise that makes our Virtual Museum possible. Click here to give online.
Join or renew your Membership today to receive a year of great content and access to our Museum community.
Engage with the Museum on our digital platforms (Facebook, I nstagram, Twitter) and “Like” our daily digital content to help grow our reach.
Enjoy our digital content and recommend it to peers, colleagues, friends, family, local schools, and teachers you know.

Click here to Give Online in Honor of the Museum's Birthday!

The Museum is temporarily closed and currently providing a hands-on, minds-on environment digitally during this time of social distancing. For more information, visit usscm.org.

Copyright © 2020 USS Constitution Museum, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
USS Constitution Museum
PO Box 291812
Boston, MA 02129-0215

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