Michigan Maritime Museum

Fish Tales Storytime
2026-08-12 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-08-19 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-08-26 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit) | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Come visit the Michigan Maritime Museum for a weekly storytime featuring a rotating selection of books and storytellers every Wednesday, June through August, from 11:00 to 12:00 PM in either the Jerry Mason Learning Center or, weather permitting, under the Ruth Wiser Innovation Tent.
This event is free with membership or admission to the museum.

Maritime Makers
2026-08-14 13:00 - 15:00, 2026-08-28 13:00 - 15:00 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Set sail for creativity at the Museum every Friday from 1:00–3:00 pm, June through August. Drop in for a hands-on maritime craft perfect for curious kids and families. No registration needed—just bring your imagination. The activity is free with membership or museum admission.
Sponsored by Cathy and Clark Carmichael

MMM Lecture Series: The Three Lives of USS LST-393
2026-08-19 18:30 - 19:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Landing Ship, Tank (LST) vessels were among the most essential — and least celebrated — ships of World War II. Join us as USS LST 393 Veterans Museum Director Ryan Lancaster tells the story of this ship which lived three distinct lives; first as a WWII amphibious warship on the beaches of Normandy and across the European Theater, as a postwar working vessel on the Great Lakes, and finally as a museum in Muskegon, Michigan. Drawing on crew accounts, archival research, and ongoing preservation work, this presentation will explore how LSTs operated, what daily life was like aboard these ships and why preserving USS LST 393 matters so much today.

Tickets are free for Museum members and $10 for non-members. Doors open at 6 PM. You can purchase tickets for this event online, over the phone, or in-person.

This lecture series is made possible thanks to the Nielsen-Wells Grant Fund and Mike & Susan Smith.
The virtual viewing is made possible thanks to Steve & Emily Holt.
Reserve Tickets Here!
Purchase your Virtual Lecture Pass Here!

Rock the Boat 2026
2026-08-21 19:00 - 22:00 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Join the Michigan Maritime Museum August 21st for our 5th annual Rock the Boat concert, Rock the Boat V, Stayin’ Alive! Come rock out at an evening of fun, food, music, and dancing on the Museums waterfront campus. Proceeds benefit the Michigan Maritime Museum.
Back by popular demand, The 1985 Band will surely get you up on your feet and jammin’ to some sick beats. Featuring the best of what 80’s music has to offer, The 1985 combines lights, videos, costumes and more to create a totally immersive music experience.
Proudly sponsored by Scott & Julia Robbins and Clark & Cathy Carmichael.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Great Lakes Learners- Create Your own Fossil
2026-08-22 10:30 - 14:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Create Your own Fossil
Learn like a paleontologist and step back on the geological timeline to explore a variety of plant and animal fossils. And after that, create your own salt dough “fossil.” This program is free with your museum admission ticket, though it is limited to the first 40 participants per session.
Morning Session: 10:30-11:30 AM
Afternoon Session: 1:30-2:30 PM

From Forest to Shore: Stories of Michigan’s Land and Lakes- Prohibition in Michigan
2026-08-27 18:30 - 19:30 | Kalamazoo Nature Center, 7000 N Westnedge Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49090-1065, United States
A Collaborative Lecture Series by Kalamazoo Nature Center & Michigan Maritime Museum
Discover the rich tapestry of Michigan’s natural landscapes and maritime heritage in this engaging lecture series. From Forest to Shore brings together maritime experts and naturalists to explore the deep connections between the state’s inland ecosystems and its Great Lakes waterways. Through captivating stories, scientific insights, and cultural perspectives, each lecture will highlight how forests, wetlands, and shorelines have shaped Michigan’s history, ecology, and communities. Join us as we journey across time and terrain—celebrating the resilience of nature and the enduring legacy of life along the lakes.
Discover how Michigan’s rivers, lakes, and shorelines turned into front-line battlegrounds during the era of the 18th Amendment. The Detroit River, St. Clair River, and Lake Michigan were major smuggling corridors, moving liquor from Canada into cities and small towns alike. From rum-running boats and winter ice routes to organized crime, law enforcement, and everyday citizens who quietly defied the law, we’ll take a look at how waterborne networks made Prohibition impossible to fully enforce and ultimately positioned Michigan as a key player in the national fight for repeal.
Tickets are free for Michigan Maritime Museum members and Kalamazoo Nature Center members. $10 for non-members.
This event will be hosted at Kalamazoo Nature Center.

From Forest to Shore: Stories of Michigan’s Land and Lakes- Fossil Ecology of the Great Lakes
2026-09-09 18:30 - 19:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
A Collaborative Lecture Series by Kalamazoo Nature Center & Michigan Maritime Museum
Discover the rich tapestry of Michigan’s natural landscapes and maritime heritage in this engaging lecture series. From Forest to Shore brings together maritime experts and naturalists to explore the deep connections between the state’s inland ecosystems and its Great Lakes waterways. Through captivating stories, scientific insights, and cultural perspectives, each lecture will highlight how forests, wetlands, and shorelines have shaped Michigan’s history, ecology, and communities. Join us as we journey across time and terrain—celebrating the resilience of nature and the enduring legacy of life along the lakes.
Take a step back in time with Kalamazoo Nature Center’s Ezra Montero, and look back on the ancient history that shaped our Great Lakes state. We’ll examine the ancient Cambrian seabed, explore the massive Laurentide glacial sheet, and trace the epochs that shaped the fossils we find on our beaches today.
Tickets are free for Michigan Maritime Museum members and Kalamazoo Nature Center members. $10 for non-members. Doors open at 6 PM. Tickets will only be available for purchase in person.

Maritime Bingo for Books
2026-09-11 15:00 - 16:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Maritime Bingo for Books is a lively, family-friendly event designed for curious minds ages 8 and up (children must attend with an adult), this 90-minute program puts a big, interactive twist on classic Bingo—and everything you need to play is provided.
Each number called connects to a fascinating maritime fact. You might hear B1 and learn that Eber Brock Ward was Michigan’s first millionaire, making his fortune in shipping, or B9 to discover that 9 pounds is the average weight of a steelhead trout caught in Lake Michigan. Every call turns the game into a fast-paced learning experience.
Winners choose a children’s or adult book from a curated gift shop selection, receive a sticker prize pack, and—of course—earn high fives all around. Hosted by Michigan Maritime Museum Executive Director Bailey Sisoy Moore. We hope you’ll join us.
Reserve your tickets here
Cost: $10 for members | $15 for non-members

MMM Lecture Series: Death and Lighthouses on the Great Lakes
2026-09-24 18:30 - 19:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Losing one’s life while tending to a Great Lakes lighthouse—or any navigational beacon anywhere in the world for that matter—sadly wasn’t such an unusual occurrence. Death by murder, drowning, suicide, or other unnatural and tragic causes, while rare, was not unheard of. In fact, more than a dozen lighthouse keepers around the Great Lakes met their maker at the hands of others—by fire, poisoning, bludgeoning, and other unknown means. Join us as Dianna Stampfler, author of Death and Lighthouses on the Great Lakes, delves into her research, which brought these stories to life… despite the deaths of those featured.

Tickets are free for Museum members and $10 for non-members. Doors open at 6 PM. You can purchase tickets for this event online, over the phone, or in-person.

This lecture series is made possible thanks to the Nielsen-Wells Grant Fund and Mike & Sue Smith.
The virtual viewing is made possible thanks to Steve & Emily Holt.
Reserve Tickets Here!
Purchase your Virtual Lecture Pass Here!

MMM Lecture Series: Where the Food Grows on the Water
2026-10-07 18:30 - 19:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Mnomen, or wild rice, is a culturally and historically significant crop for the Native peoples of the Great Lakes. Join us as Cecil Wilson, historian for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, explores the historical and contemporary connections between mnomen and the Pokagon people. A hands-on display will accompany the talk and recreate a traditional wild rice camp to demonstrate the methods used to harvest this vital food.
Tickets are free for Museum members and $10 for non-members. Doors open at 6 PM. You can purchase tickets for this event online, over the phone, or in-person.

This lecture series is made possible thanks to the Nielsen-Wells Grant Fund and Mike & Sue Smith.
The virtual viewing is made possible thanks to Steve & Emily Holt.
Reserve Tickets Here!
Purchase your Virtual Lecture Pass Here!

MMM Lecture Series: USCGC MACKINAW – A Tale of Two Ships
2026-11-12 18:30 - 19:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Join us for an entertaining, informative presentation by author and journalist Mike Fornes about two iconic ships that became known as the “Queen of the Great Lakes”. Since 1944, the Mackinaw has been on guard through gale-force winds, crushing ice flows and blinding snowstorms. The original ship broke ice with brute force, and the new version does the same job with finesse and technology. Take a trip through the first six decades of the ship’s history and hear tales of unusual missions, drama and comedy.
Tickets are free for Museum members and $10 for non-members. Doors open at 6 PM. You can purchase tickets for this event online, over the phone, or in-person.

This lecture series is made possible thanks to the Nielsen-Wells Grant Fund and Mike & Sue Smith.
The virtual viewing is made possible thanks to Steve & Emily Holt.
Reserve Tickets Here!
Purchase your Virtual Lecture Pass Here!

MMM Lecture Series: Prohibition in Michigan – How the Waterways Shaped History
2026-12-09 18:30 - 19:30 | Michigan Maritime Museum, 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI, 49090, United States
Discover how Michigan’s rivers, lakes, and shorelines turned into front-line battlegrounds during the era of the 18th Amendment. The Detroit River, St. Clair River, and Lake Michigan were major smuggling corridors, moving liquor from Canada into cities and small towns alike. From rum-running boats and winter ice routes to organized crime, law enforcement, and everyday citizens who quietly defied the law, we’ll take a look at how waterborne networks made Prohibition impossible to fully enforce and ultimately positioned Michigan as a key player in the national fight for repeal.
Tickets are free for Museum members and $10 for non-members. Doors open at 6 PM. You can purchase tickets for this event online, over the phone, or in-person.

This lecture series is made possible thanks to the Nielsen-Wells Grant Fund and Mike & Sue Smith.
The virtual viewing is made possible thanks to Steve & Emily Holt.
Reserve Tickets Here!
Purchase your Virtual Lecture Pass Here!
