A super neat museum filled with interesting tidbits of history you can explore at your own pace. We spent a couple of hours exploring here and saw most of it. By far the coolest part was the life-sized replica of a Schooner in a storm. There was also a kids play area. Definitely a Michiganders destination to learn about our heritage.

A really neat museum with a cool interactive life size boat!Great for all ages!

So much fun and lots of artifacts! Lots for kids and adults to do and see. Really friendly staff and theres a gift shop too!

Pleasant surprise on our visit to Alpena. The maritime history of the area is depicted through models, displays, videos, and even a full size mock-up of a schooner in a storm. We highly recommend stopping here. Well be back to take the boat tour of shipwrecks in the area. They werent running on the day we visited due to high winds and waves. A walkway outside is also worth wandering. Banners line the abandoned mill next door, a training tank for divers is behind the museum, and good views of the river make it worthwhile.

The staff were very friendly and accommodating. We had a school group and our numbers had changed. It wasnt a problem. The sphere presentation was interesting and educational for young and old. The tour of shipwrecks is interesting. Depending on the weather when you get on, how full the boat is and the weather when you get out in Thunder Bay, the travel plan varies. The captain takes you to see wrecks based on these factors. Some are in more shallow water so if the boat is full, it rides too low. Some require very still waters. The captain, and mates make sure everyone has plenty of time to see each wreck. We saw 3.

I love this Maritime Museum. It holds alot of history that range from nature, articles found underwater, to shipwrecks. It is a great place for children, with an impressive play scape above the under water shipwreck displays. Not many people know that the main group that uses sonar to find the shipwrecks in the Sanctuary is the same group that found the Titanic in its final resting place. More facts can be found that connect The Greath Lakes to the infamous Titanic.

Neat little spot. Has some exhibits to look at with informative plaques. They do have auditorium rooms for playing movies/clips.

Very educational and interactive! Dont forget to ask about wrecks you can kayak to. They will give you a map at the desk.

This is a self-guided tour. Some trivia and facts for the known area. Its worth a visit if you are a history buff, science nerd and would like to do something thats free and educational.

Its a great place to visit and check out all the displays and exhibits. You can even climb aboard a replica vessel and experience what the crew experienced. You can also climb aboard, Lady Michigan (during the shipwreck tour hours, that is). And tour the many shipwrecks in, Thunder Bay/Lake Huron.

Really fun museum with a lot to learn about the lakes and shipwrecks. Our children also had a really fun time.

Very interesting and eye opening to what happened on the great lakes especially with someone who has dove most of these wrecks, my husband. He was MY tour guide and explained lots. They need tour guides, you can donate if you feel led to.

Wonderful, hands on, informative museum. A definite have to in this area! So much to see and so much fun for the kiddos!

We enjoy it Everytime we go..the grandchildren love too. A must stop its free

A must stop if you are in the area. Family friendly and its free!

This place is way above awesome its free something for everyone even have glass bottom boat tours where you can see some shipwrecks in lake Huron weather permitting little bit on the higher end on money wise but the tours are worth it

This is a great place. History, exhibits, maps, etc. Youll will be sorry if you miss this place. More about the area than you thought possible. A must!

This place is full of relics, models and information about shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. There is a glass bottom boat tour that takes you out to some local wrecks. It cost 30 dollars per year adult. Unfortunately, the ship blew an engine shortly before we arrived.

Great place to take your kids for a visit!

Beautiful museum! Our family had a great time! Dont forget to open the drawers underneath the glass cases in the artifacts room, lots of cool things to see.

Top notch information about the marine sanctuary, the maritime history and interactive child friendly exhibits. This is a great educational opportunity for children and adults alike. The staff is extremely warm, friend and knowledgeable.

Incredible free experience to learn some history of local shipwrecks. Very helpful guide too!

We stopped in just to get our lighthouse passport stamped and ended up staying for over an hour. The staff is beyond friendly and are a wealth of information. This is a very kid friendly Center. There is a ship wreck exhibit that you can climb on and explore. A short film to watch, many well labeled artifacts from ships, and several interesting exhibits (do not forget to check the exhibits artifact drawers). There is also a play area of tunnels and a slide for the kids. The gift shop was reasonably priced and had unique finds throughout.

Great place for history of Great Lakes shipping and underwater archeology. Fantastic staff.

Went on the 2 hour shipwreck boat tour with my family and was very pleasantly surprised. The tickets were extremely cheap at $30 a piece, and we got to see a shipwreck relatively close to the shore.

Clean and greasy place top learn about the history of the area. Kids really enjoy playing in the ship. Offers boat rides

This is a wonderful museum....we spent a couple of hours looking at the exhibits and watching the films. Very interesting and nicely done. The replica schooner is amazing. If you are in the Alpena region make this a must see stop. Your appreciation for The Great Lakes and Great Lake navigation will be greatly enhanced.

Really neat stuff in here. Gives a good appreciation for the sailing life.

Great place for the whole family to go. I learned a lot. Im definitely going back

Awesome museum, we had a great time visiting here. Very informative displays.

This is a great meuseum for kids and adults. It is very interesting. Highly recommend

So great. Huge boat inside for kids and adults alike to explore. Highly recommend.

Great experience staff was awesome. Great for kids and family. Clean facility

This is an excellent place to take kids for fun and education in every moment.

Its a free establishment, though they do accept donations, where you can play and learn a LOT about the great lakes, shipwrecks, and pretty much anything nautical.

Very interesting to learn about all of those boats that were lost at sea.

Awesome muesem! Very educational! Will come back!

The Halloween event was above and beyond anything we expected. We havent attended in years...we will definitely be back. Great job and I am super impressed at the fleet of volunteers you had to help make it all possible. What a great way to get families interested in the sanctuary. Wonderful job and thank you for this amazing community event.

It was closed due to the wuhan flew

My children and I love this museum! Walking around the large ship, watching the sphere, and looking through drawers of items found in shipwrecks are a few favorites. We took the shipwreck tour after tourist season was over and had a blast!

Fascinating lecture On humans who lived in this area 9000 years ago, killing caribou 250 down in what is now Lake Huron

This is an excellent center for the preservation, display, and education of all things Great Lakes ship related. Admission is free, and there is a gift shop as well as extra features that could cost a nominal fee. Great location with easy, free parking as well. The displays inside are unique, interactive, and well thought out. Dont miss the large built-in ship! Worth a stop for sure, and should not be missed if you are even remotely interested in this subject.

Very nice museum. Great experience.

Very interesting and well laid out displays of shipping and ship wrecks in the area. Good for all ages. The river walk out the back door is also worth a treck.

Great Museum to visit if you are near Alpena MI. One of two museum in Alpena, the other is Bezer Museum.

Fabulous Museum! Diffinally a must see!

Its a great place to take your kids and to learn about the great lakes and how ships sailed there and how is some sunk during the years and its a really great place to visit

A lot of Great Lakes exhibits. Fun for the family. Holds special events throughout the year. A+

Loved this museum. They have a life sized boat that my boys loved playing on. Interesting artifacts from shipwrecks and they even have an app that you can download and use to tour the museum. And it is free (they do accept donations). Would definitely recommend!

Wonderful place, great (and not boring) for bringing kids

Really fun and interesting place to visit

Rich and full of history good place for the kids

Highly educational visit. Lots of fun for the kids. They had a way of teaching that made it a fun experience. The ship and science on a sphere were instant favorites.

Way better than the Besser Museum overall and it was free!

Very cool place

Great place to take the kids in the winter. Ive also had my daughters 5th birthday there and there were very accommodating and even allowed me to put on a treasure hunt.

Open every day, is free and kids like it. Learn about the marine sanctuary and ship wrecks in Thunder Bay area.

This is a great museum, even though its a little smaller than some. I learned quite a bit about some of the history of shipping and passenger sailing on the Great Lakes.

This museum uses pictures, models, and artifacts to trace travel and commerce on the great lakes from native American canoes to modern super freighters. It also has pictures and stories of some of the hundreds of shipwrecks that occurred. There is a reproduction of a ship that you can board and experience what it might be like to be on board during a storm. Admission is free. Support is from NOAA and donations. Well worth the time.

Enjoyed looking at the artifacts while the kids played in the old boat replica

Great place to bring kids to learn about ships that sailed the Great Lakes. Wonderful layout and easy access. Watch the movies and take the boat ride if you can (the boat does charge you to ride).

This museum displays Great Lakes ships. Its awesome for learning purposes. Free parking and admission. Good for kids too.

The staff here are great and the all have a can do attitude!

A great hands on place for the whole family.

Awesome museum. Great exhibits and models.

It was very interesting. It has a lot of information about Michigan ship wrecks.

Wonderful place for all ages!

This is a fantastic place to visit. We go regularly in the winter and my kids are always finding new things to look at or do. The gift shop has many unique gifts in a wide price range. The special events they host on Halloween, 4th of July, etc are always fantastic.

What a fantastic compilation of shipwreck lore. Something for the grownups and the kids alike. Loved it!

My family and I really enjoyed it. This is a clean, fresh, modern museum with activities for kids and adults.It is my favorite price too - FREE!

Im in the pbl class with mr.caplis and I have learned a lot about this place and the tings it does for our community and I love everything about it its great amazing and I hope we keep learning about it

A great place to visit and take the kids has a play ground inside

Great way to spend an afternoon!

This museum is a must go for anyone interested in Great Lakes lore, especially shipwrecks.

Great for kids and adults. Very educational.

I love the history that is being preserved here.The staff are the best!

It was amazing. Loved every minute.

Really enjoyed this place! We have been to many maritime museums, and this place was very cool. Very interactive and educational, lots of artifacts and made you feel like you were there. Perfect for kids and kids who never grew up.

GREAT little museum for both kids and adults. Including large models of ships to crawl in and out of and a movie sphere. Donations are taken just inside the door.

Great place for kids --pretty much everything is hands-on, plenty of places to play and also learn. Lots of great artifacts. Interesting for adults, too.

Wonderful FREE entertainment for your kids!

Nice little getaway, interesting

A wealth of information concerning the first ships on Lake Huron up to present time.

Great place for children. Weve come here even before we had our daughter. Very nice it is open to the public!

Its really cool, and great for kids!

Well worth the trip! It may be free but doesnt feel like a cheap free show! Very kid friendly and lots of pictures. Makes me glad that Im a land lover:)

Went for the first time today. Its a really cool place with lots of awesome things to learn about. The little giftShop has a lot of low cost but very cute items. We will be going back a lot over the summer.

The museum is first class. Students especially enjoyed the selfie scavenger hunt. Ingenious way to engage teenagers into exploring the museum and reading the display boards! Will definitely visit again!

Great little museum had an awesome date here.

Amazing opportunity for the whole family, please Donate!

Great place for kids. Knowledge locals who are as helpful with the maritime history and shipwrecks as they are about local points of interest. Defintely one of the best part of our visit to Alpena area.

Great place to learn about the great lakes.

Absolutely amazing!

Very informative, lots of things for youngsters to do and learn.

Great educational tool for kidsOf all ages

Great staff and wonderful exhibits... learning experience for young people and adults. We attended the fourth of July Thunder Bay Maritime Festival. Free games and face painting, rock wall, and kid slide , great for grandkids, with Maritime and Folk music for well known artists. Cardboard boat regata, and more... Be sure to attend..

This is the best place to take people from outside of Alpena. This place is unique and interesting in a way that a lot of people love. Its free to enter. For people who dont grow up on the water this place is an eye opener. I brought a close friend from downstate here and he was amazed of all the things that are under the water. When we walked in he didnt know what a ROV was and by the end he wanted one. Its great fun.

Every time we visit Alpena, revisit the Maritime Museum. It is very kid friendly, but you already knew that. Adults have fun here also !

Awesome free museum(they accept donations). Although its not very large, it has great exhibits and knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Always a great place to visit