Sanctuary Lecture Series – Water Walkers: Native American Journey to Protect the Great Lakes

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

Join children’s author Carol Trembath to learn about her experience writing the Water Walkers Series: Water Walkers, Stepping Stones, and Ripples and Waves.  These beautifully written and illustrated books are told from the perspective of an Ojibway girl whose family members are walking around the Great Lakes to raise awareness about harm being done to our [...]

Sanctuary Lecture Series – The U.S. Life-Saving Service on Superior’s Shipwreck Coast

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

The desolate Lake Superior shoreline between Whitefish Point in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula and the area of Grand Marais, MI, is littered with a multitude of shipwrecks. Some occurred as early as the 1816 wreck of the schooner Invincible, while newer, larger wrecks are deep within the shipping lanes. The 729' SS Edmund Fitzgerald is [...]

Sanctuary Lecture Series – Celebrating 150 years of Great Lakes’ Iconic Bulk Freighters

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

Great Lakes Maritime Historian Patrick Labadie describes the introduction and subsequent development of the iconic Great Lakes vessels, and their effect on the Midwest. The commerce of the American Midwest has always been closely linked with the efficiency of Great Lakes transportation. Eighteenth-century fur trade, 19th century agriculture, lumbering and mining were all dependent upon [...]

Sanctuary Lecture Series – NOAA Corps: A Service for Science

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

Presented by LTJG Hunter Brendel Lieutenant (junior grade) Hunter Brendel will speak about the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, the nation’s smallest uniformed service comprised of 321 officers. NOAA Corps operates NOAA’s fleet of 16 ships and nine aircraft that conduct scientific operations throughout the United States and internationally. Officers also take on [...]

Inner Space to Outer Space: Great Lakes’ Contribution to Space Exploration & Research

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

Presented by State of Michigan Maritime Archaeologist Wayne Lusardi, he will highlight an assortment of objects, both human-made and natural, that have fallen from space into the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes have served as a training ground throughout the history of aviation. Nineteenth-century balloon ascensions, early military and civilian aircraft development, [...]

Sanctuary Lecture Series – The Science Behind Shipwreck Exploration

Phil Hartmeyer Ever wonder how maritime archaeologists and oceanographers plan and execute surveys of the ocean floor to discover significant submerged cultural resources? Join Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary's Phil Hartmeyer on a journey from historical research to shipwreck discovery as he delves into the approach, equipment, and process of locating lost treasures [...]

The Archaeological Site Formation of Norman and Grecian

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

Come join Maritime Archaeologist Caleb O'Brien discuss two steel freighters in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary: Norman and Grecian through the use of 3D models. Caleb O'Brien is a Maritime Archaeologist at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary who has spent the last two years researching two steel-hulled shipwrecks within the sanctuary. Norman and Grecian were [...]

Lecture Series

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

“Follow the Fish”: The Evolution of Commercial Fishing Vessels in the Great Lakes Join maritime archaeologist, Cassandra Sadler, as she examines the historical development of the traditional Great Lakes fish tug within the context of the evolving Great Lakes commercial fishing industry. Employing a maritime cultural landscape approach, this presentation will compare several vessels associated [...]

The Sinking of the Carl D. Bradley

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

American freighter SS Carl D. Bradley. Photo courtesy of Jeff Thomas.   Join local history teacher and Great Lakes sailor Jeff Thomas as he tells the story of the tragic loss of the Carl D. Bradley. This presentation will cover the launching and life of the vessel for the Michigan Limestone Transportation Company, her sinking in [...]

Sanctuary Lecture Series: Maritime Heritage Ecology

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI, United States

Maritime Heritage Ecology: How shipwrecks become oases of biodiversity in a changing ocean Shipwrecks are by definition not supposed to exist. Yet, they form seafloor habitats for a wide range of animals – mussels, sea stars, anemones, and fish. Most shipwrecks are surrounded by sand or mud, so they become oases of biodiversity.  Dr. Kirstin [...]

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