Programs Blog

Mon Sep 9, 2024

SEA Education Association campus, Woods Hole, MA

Clear, 69˚ F

All aboard the Joseph Conrad! I’m Mira Peffley, and I am here to tell you about our recent trip to Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut and how we spent the night aboard one of the many historic vessels there. A bit of background about me: I am originally from Chicago, IL.  I am currently attending Knox College where I major in Environmental Science and minor in Computer Science and Biology. I am so excited for this program, and I can’t wait to get my hands dirty in our research projects. 

We spent a jam-packed 30 hours exploring lots of what the museum has to offer. Our first spot in our exploration was at the Entwined exhibit where Akeia de Barros Gomes, the exhibit’s curator, walked us through the different pieces and the care that went into every part of the experience. Entwined is a community-based exhibit that was made with a committee of Black and Indigenous contributors which seeks to answer the questions “What is our maritime history and how do we want to tell it?” It is stylized to push for a discussion over the context of the objects rather than simply telling, and it encourages questions to learn more.  Covering 12,00 years of history, the exhibit seeks to address more than just a history of whaling but the reassembling of a fragmented past. 

After that, we got to explore the museum’s private connections which are not currently on display. It holds an eclectic amalgamation of physical objects along with extensive written records and videos that tell American Maritime History. They took us into their vault which holds a majority of their physical collection and walked us through some of the many interesting items within it. Displays of whale bones, scrimshaw (carved sperm whale teeth), narwhal tusks, blue whale eyeballs, ship’s figureheads, models of ships, Cabots Quilts (insulation made of eelgrass), an albatross foot pouch, shark vertebrae cane, and a captain’s beard trimmings were just some of the things we saw during our examination but we truly just brushed the surface of the interesting items contained within there. 

Next, we headed on over to the Spineless exhibit, a glass menagerie of Blaschka marine invertebrates. These incredibly intricate hand-painted glass pieces were displayed along with some of the preserved specimens that they were modeled after. It included glass replicas of moon jellyfish, sea squirts, rooted anemones, marine worms, sea cucumbers, waving hand soft corals, sea hares, and many more. One of the specimens was of whale lice, and I had a really interesting conversation with one of the people who worked there about them. She informed me that every species of whale has its own species of whale lice and that male and female sperm whales have separate ones. 

Our last exhibit of the day was to head over to their planetarium where we got to experience the stars we would see during our trip and learned how to use celestial navigation even when we are on a completely different part of the globe. 

We finally settled down for the night within the bunks of Joseph Conrad. Despite being tied to the dock while we were aboard, spending the night there offered some good insight into what we get to experience in just a few weeks. Joseph Conrad was originally built as a Danish training vessel in 1882. She spent her first 52 years providing sailors a place to learn (she was only sunk once) and passed through a couple more owners before eventually joining Mystic Seaport in 1947 where she resumed her role of teaching.

For much of the second day, we were given time to explore the museum on our own or to head into town to see what the surrounding area had to offer. We reconvened to board the Sabino, a ferry from 1908 that continued her role as she took us on an exploration up and down the waterway. It provided the perfect opportunity to learn more about the history of the area and the many boats that reside in the estuary. 

Throughout the trip, we took our time to talk with many different people who hold a wide variety of positions throughout the museum. They went into their paths that got them where they are and how to follow your passions into a career. It was interesting to hear about how all the different backgrounds and specialties come together to work in collaboration with one another. It was encouraging to hear about how you can follow your interests and it will lead to a job you can thrive in. 

Mira Peffley

Knox College