Organization: Independence Seaport Museum
Mission: The mission of Independence Seaport Museum (the "Museum") is to increase the awareness, knowledge and experience of the Philadelphia region's waterways. The Museum increases the awareness, knowledge, and experience of our waterways by highlighting the important role of the Delaware River through direct contact with our collections, exhibits, and the water. Our boating programs provide direct access to recreation and the scientific study of the water from the standpoints of biology and physics; art is used to represent the importance of competing uses of the river. Through our historic ships, we provide the ideal platform for examining the interaction of society and water over our nation's history. Our educational student outreach programs ensure generational awareness of the Museum's mission.The Museum will be the premier regional institution to tell the story of the Delaware River waterfront and watershed.
Activities: Independence Seaport Museum hosted a variety of activities in the summer of 2019. Along with guests visiting the Museum and Historic Ships, ISM's offerings expanded to on-water excursions, deep dive tours of the Historic Ships and a full season of Admiral's Tavern, a pop-up beer garden on Cruiser Olympia. In the fall of 2019, ISM offered Halloween themed excursions, partnered with an annual PhillyMakerfaire event, as well as a marathon reading of Moby Dick in partnership with The Rosenbach. ISM hosted its annual Parade of Lights event in December 2019, a procession of decorated, lighted working boats on the Delaware River. Most notably, ISM's RiverAlive! Exhibit was recognized by the American Alliance of Museums for "Excellence in Achievement" for interactivity. The Museum expanded its programming virtually in early 2020 as the global Covid-19 pandemic forced the Museum's closure to the public until summer 2020.
NTEE category: Arts, Culture & Humanities
Secondary category: Environment