Family Programs

The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum offers a variety of fascinating programs designed to enhance the visitor experience. In addition to a self tour through our newly expanded and renovated museum, please consider taking advantage of one or more of the following programs, included with museum admission.

Riders on the Storm: Life-Saving Nantucket

Offered daily
Shifting shoals, incessant fog and sudden storms have all conspired to wreak havoc with vessels passing Nantucket. Follow the story of these selfless, life-savers as they risk their own lives and they respond to mariners in need with one of the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum’s educators as they tour through the galleries, detailing the highlights of the exhibits and explaining the methods the island's life-savers used to save hundreds of lives.

Beacons of Hope, Dreams of Home: The Lightships of Nantucket

Offered Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday:
10:30 – 11:30 AM & 2:30 – 3:30 PM
Permanently anchored far offshore from the 1850s to 1980s, Nantucket’s lightships assisted mariners navigating the treacherous shoals around Nantucket Island, often weathering terrific storms and near zero visibility. Hear the heroic stories of these specialized vessels and their brave crews, and learn about lightship baskets, the distinctive folk art that evolved on Nantucket’s lightships, through an ongoing demonstration of lightship basket weaving.

Shipwreck Stories: Wrecks Around Nantucket

Offered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday:
10:30 – 11:30 AM & 2:30 – 3:30 PM
The large number of ships navigating the dangerous shoals surrounding Nantucket led to hundreds of wrecks in the waters surrounding the island. Join Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum educators as they recount the details of some of the most dramatic wrecks and rescues from the island’s past, while they create a half hull model of one of the common ship types found in Nantucket’s waters.