Maritime Adventures

Channel Islands Maritime Museum offers Maritime Adventure Tours for small classes or multi-age groups. Maritime Adventures are a good choice for a home school group or after school program. These interactive tours are 90 minutes long and consist of 3 activities appropriate to the ages of your students. Each tour is custom designed to meet the needs and interests of your group. Activities at the museum are intended for school age children 2-12 and their families. We ask that parents not bring along younger siblings. While at the museum, we encourage families to extend their visit beyond the tour and explore the rest of the exhibits in the museum. Interactive activity guides are available for guided exploration with parental support. Alternative tours are available during museum hours 11-5. Admission is $5 per student or adult and includes hands on materials and take home folders and pencils. This program accommodates a minimum of 8 students and 2 adults, maximum of 30 students.

If your students have special needs, please be sure to let us know in advance so that we can accommodate our program to best meet their needs.

Activities may include 3 from among the following:

Port of Hueneme

Multilevel activities suitable for grades 2-12

Students will explore the exhibit with a partner, searching for information about the Port of Hueneme, which is the largest port on the coast of California between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Students will find out that there are products that they use and consume on a daily basis that come through the Port of Hueneme. They will also learn which countries are involved in the import and export of products locally and the types of vessels that are used. They will also learn about the maritime history of the area, how and why the port was developed, and where the name "Hueneme" came from.

California Coastal Historic Art

Multilevel activities suitable for grades 4-12

Five works of fine art are shared, each telling a story about a moment in time in California coastal history. Docents teach art appreciation concepts as well as the historical significance of each piece, weaving a story that ties each of the individual masterpieces to tell the greater story. Students then revisit each piece of art, review concepts learned and are encouraged to make predictions.

Age of Exploration

Suitable for grades 3-8

Students are challenged with activities that incorporate geography, critical thinking and creative writing skills.

They will be introduced to early nautical explorers and their contributions to exploration and discovery of North America. Models of the actual ships that the explorers sailed on as well as maps and globes will be shared.

Asiatic Expeditions

Suitable for grades for 4-8

This portion of the tour focuses on the Chinese treasure ships that sailed between 1405 and 1433. Students engage in an interactive, hands- on exercise to predict cargo items traded by these ships between China and other ancient empires. Students also identify China’s trading partners, increasing their knowledge of the geography of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. A model of the ship, which was the largest wooden ship ever built, is on display for students to view.

Whales and the Art of Scrimshaw

Suitable for grades 3-6

Students will become familiar with different types of whales, and then study the Museum's rich collection of scrimshaw artifacts. They will then learn a brief history of the whaling history, explore the life of a sailor on a whaling ship, and end with reviewing the alternative materials used by scrimshaw artists today. Finally, students create their own "scrimshaw" masterpiece.

Boats 101

Suitable for grades 3-4

Students are introduced to different types of vessels, depending on how they are powered (sails, oars, motor) and different sizes (boats or ships). Then they tour the museum viewing works or art in the form of paintings and ship models, identifying and categorizing each one, as well as time to look out the window at the vessels in the harbor. Finally, they are given a mini art lesson and the opportunity to draw their own seascape using their new knowledge of types of boats.

Art Gallery Search and Find

Suitable for grades 3-8

Students travel through 3 different galleries exploring both paintings and ship models from the 17th century to modern. Their goal is to find specific details in 6 different pieces of art in each gallery. A docent will guide students to help them on their search and tell them more about each piece of art as they find it.

Upper Deck Scavenger Hunt

Suitable for grades 3-5

Students hunt for objects on display in several different exhibits, including ship models, shipwreck artifacts, globes and whale bones, searching for answers to specific questions.

signal Flags and I-Spy

Suitable for grades 3-5

(Signal Flags) Students will find out how ships "talk" to each other through the use of signal flags, and will learn the universal signal flag alphabet. They will spell out and read words in signal flag letters, form their own signal flag word, or write their names in signal flags. (I SPY) Students will become familiar with life in the harbor, as well as different types of animal life and boats. Looking out the windows in the Upper Deck Gallery, students will search for these items.

La Jenelle Shipwreck

Suitable for grades 6-12

Students explore some of the remaining artifacts from a ship that sank on its way to Channel Islands Harbor. Working in small groups or with a partner, the students find out what happened as they search for answers to questions that guide their exploration.

seascape Art Appreciation and drawing techniques

Suitable for grades 4-8

Students are guided to look at a painting as the docent points out the elements of design and basic artistry techniques (such as, shape, line, texture, horizon line, perspective). Moving on to another painting, students identify and label the same elements, and make their own observations on a line drawing of the painting. Lastly, they look at another painting, imagining that they are an artist in the field and make their own sketch of the scene using the techniques learned.

Channel Islands

Suitable for grades 3-12

Students explore the geography, topography, plant and animal life of each of the 5 islands with a video and docent explanation. They identify different animals that live on each separate island.

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