The more than 35 million people who live among the Great Lakes overwhelmingly profess devotion to these waters — yet the Lakes are in mediocre condition at best. Why the gap? Dave Dempsey will discuss his findings for his recent book, Lake Nation: People and the Fate of the Great Lakes, in which he seeks [...]
Adventure enthusiasts Gary and Ely Irving are back with a new season, highlighting four locations in Northern Michigan that are a must to check off on your outdoor sports bucket list. From snorkeling 19th-century shipwrecks to cross-country skiing in the dead of winter, these trips take you through the four seasons of Michigan and give you a guided [...]
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 [...]
Come to the sanctuary’s latest in the Sanctuary Cinema Series! Narrated by maritime author Frederick Stonehouse, this documentary film explores Great Lakes lighthouse hauntings at Whitefish Point, Big Bay Point, Old Presque Isle, and Seul Choix Point! (1999 & 2003 film by Don Hermanson, 60 minutes, no rating) Free and open to the public.
Crossing Superior follows a riveting 60-mile journey three men took with their paddle boards across a lake that is often a force to be reckoned with. Eleven-time Emmy award winner Corey Adkins tagged along to document the 22-hour journey with Stand Up for Great Lakes, including humored encounters with freighters, a permit to do something [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Come to the sanctuary’s latest in the Sanctuary Cinema Series! November 22, 1912: The schooner Rouse Simmons departs upper Michigan ferrying 5,000 Christmas trees to Chicago. The ship disappears, and for 60 years there’s no trace of it. In 1971 a scuba diver discovers the legendary, lost “Christmas Tree Ship.” (2013, 50 minutes, no rating) [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
