National Maritime Museum Cornwall

31/05/2026

It's the last day of Shore Safari at the Museum - so this little crab is trying to find all of the Rockpool trail stamps!

29/05/2026

Next week we'll be joining in with Volunteers' Week to celebrate the 165 volunteers on our crew!

Across the Learning, Boat, Visitor Experience and Bartlett Maritime Research Centre & Library Teams our volunteers contributed a gigantic 21,576.50 volunteer hours last year so we'll be saying a big THANK YOU with some celebrations to show our gratitude.

For Volunteers' Week 2026 we will be celebrating our team of 160 volunteers and inviting others to discover the joys of museum volunteering.

29/05/2026

Look who’s here! Pass by the Museum for a free willow workshop with The Basket Shark lead artist today until 4pm. Then, join in again tomorrow at community day - help create the next project - Rise of the Cephalopods!

28/05/2026

On this sunny Thursday our Throwback Thursday photograph is Sir Malcolm Campbell’s 1938-built gentleman’s yacht Blue Bird, photographed in Falmouth Harbour in May 2010 following extensive restoration.

In 1938, the legendary British land and water speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell commissioned the 100-ft motor yacht Blue Bird. Built by the Goole Shipbuilding and Repairing Company and designed by GL Watsons, the Scottish Naval Architects, Sir Malcolm planned to go searching for buried treasure in the Cocos Islands in the Pacific in his yacht but Blue Bird was requisitioned during the war in 1940 and went to Dunkirk to assist in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force.

Sir Malcolm Campbell died in 1948 and five years later the yacht was sold. She changed owners and names several times. When Jean-Louis Renault, of the French car manufacturers bought her in 1958 she was named Sterope. For the next 25 years she was named Janick. In 1973 she was bought by Mr Colberg and based in Long Beach, California. In 1986 Bob Harvey-George brought her back to Britain, then in 1995 she was sold to a former Dutch deep-sea captain and based in Rotterdam. Blue Bird was bought by her present owner in 2004 and underwent a three-year restoration by Astilleros de Mallorca in Palma, Mallorca.

This photograph is from the Stribley Collection and is the result of Roy Stribley’s passion with keeping a photographic record of the shipping in the River Fal. The collection consisted of over 9,000 images in 32 albums.

28/05/2026

Behind the scenes of the Museum...

Fixing and repairs on the much-loved Boat Pool boats in our boatbuilding workshop this morning, so that they were ready for half term visitors!⛵

28/05/2026

Just a few of the new friends we've made at the Museum so far this half term in The Rock Pool Project mobile rockpool...

🐌Solar-powered Sea Slug
🍓Possible Strawberry or Beadlet Anemone
🐌Spotted Sea Hare
🦀Common Hermit Crab
🪸Beadlet Anemone

Shore Safari continues until 31 May so there's a chance for you to meet some incredible creatures too!

📷All images © Alexander Lyndon & The Rock Pool Project

28/05/2026

After a successful launch to mark VE Day on Friday 8 May the WW2 Special Operations Executive Surfboat replica, built here in the workshop, will be appearing at events this summer - before returning to the Museum for a special exhibition in Autumn 2026.

Where to see the boat:

After a successful launch on Friday 8 May - VE Day 2026 - there is a summer of public appearances along the Cornish coast planned for the WW2 SN2 Surf boat replica build.

27/05/2026

Beat the heat and stay cool, by our breezy boat pool…⛵️

27/05/2026

Look what our visitors spotted in the Tidal Zone yesterday! 🐠 These creatures have been enjoying the installation. 🐟 Go below sea level on your very own Shore Safari and let us know what you see. 📷 Photographs by Juniper, Age 6.

26/05/2026

Take a moment to slow down out the sun at Make & Take this May half term…make a watercolour masterpiece inspired by the shoreline 🎨🪸🐠🦀