Ahoy buckos! Denver is being invaded by pirates!
Not to worry though, they are all inside of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science at Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship exhibit.
The exhibit is a winding adventure that teaches everything about pirates while weaving in facts and artifacts from the Whydah Pirate Ship that sank in 1717 off the coast of Cape Cod. This is the first authenticated pirate ship discovered in U.S. waters.
Pirates is the museum’s newest featured exhibit but it seems to be geared towards older kids; I’d say around age 10 and up. There is a lot of reading involved and artifacts like a real leg bone and a metal contraption that was made to hold rotting bodies are quite vulgar.
The exhibit starts with a short movie of the history of the slave ship turned pirate ship in a dark room. The lightning and thunder effects in the room may be a little scary for younger ones.
Once you enter the exhibit, the walls are lined with art and long descriptions accompanied by over 200 artifacts taken from the sunken ship.
Here you can learn about the different types of ships, how to shoot a cannon and what life was like for the pirates aboard the ship but all of these require a lot of reading.
As always the museum does a good job of trying to attract the little ones with real actors who tell stories and treasure maps to help hold their attention.
The treasure maps can be picked up at the beginning of the exhibit and kids can follow the maps which will take them to different stops. At the end they turn in their completed maps for a stamp.
Kids can also look through a telescope to see how fast another ship would pass by. There is a pirate knot-tying station. Here kids can learn how to tie four different types of knots.
The Jolly Roger flag station is pretty interesting. Kids can pull a rope to hoist a flag and learn what the four different flags mean.
There is also a life-size pirate ship replica that leads from one room to the next. It is very fun to walk through to see what the ship looks like inside but at the end it will funnel the group into a small hallway; on a busy day this will lead to a long and claustrophobic wait so be prepared!
I will say the end of the exhibit is one of the best parts. Videos explain how underwater explorer Barry Clifford discovered the ship as well as the recovery and conservation process. You can also watch as live extraction takes place of objects stuck in concretion as they begin to appear after almost 300 years of being under water.
Make sure to check out all of the artifacts, this is the coolest part. You’ll be able to see everything from plates and spoons to guns and buttons all of which have been recovered from the sunken ship.
The older kids will love it, and the little ones will like the hand-on part of the exhibit, or you could make it a date night, at the Buccaneer Ball March 11, which includes drinks, appetizers, live music and admission into the exhibit!
Real Pirates runs through August 21, 2011 and will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with extended hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays in March and April.
General visitors pay $20 for adults, $11 for children/students (age 3-18 or with a student ID), and $14 for seniors (age 65+). Ticket includes admission to both the Museum and the Real Pirates exhibition. The exhibition will be time-ticketed and advance reservations are strongly encouraged; the Museum anticipates that popular times will sell out.
Photo Credit: A life-size replica of the Whydah’s stern is on display in the Real Pirates exhibition. Photo by Matthew Prefontaine © Arts and Exhibitions International
Author: Mile High Mamas
Kathi Weiss
My son would love this place. He is crazy about pirates. Although he does not like it when he hears about them on the news.
Kathi –
Loving every minute of our secular homeschool life!
Jaime Swartzendruber
This sounds fabulous! My kiddos are 7 & 3 but I think they’d be all about the pirate thing – we took them to the Body Worlds exhibit when it came through and they loved it…did get a bit bored after a while though.