Mystic, Connecticut – Mystic Seaport visitors will soon be able to explore the rugged, undiscovered and somewhat fantastical terrain of 16th- and 17thcentury California and its surrounding waters with the Museum’s newest exhibition, Mapping the Pacifi c Coast: From Coronado to Lewis and Clark, The Quivira Collection. Drawn from the private collection of Henry Wendt, this traveling exhibit features more than 30 historic maps, illustrations and books made between 1540 and 1802, all of which reveal Europeans’ changing understanding of the North American Pacific Coast.
Opening May 2 in the Museum’s Mallory Exhibit Hall, the exhibit leads viewers on a voyage of exploration, beginning with the collection’s oldest map – a rare 1544 woodcut by Sebastian Munster – and ending with Thomas Jefferson’s decision to commission the Corps of Discovery. The rare documents illustrate cartographers’ early visions of foreign lands and waters, regions replete with sea monsters, mythical kingdoms and the very first contacts between Native Americans and Europeans.
“The [maps] show the state of knowledge of this new world at the time the map was made. They have historical significance. And aesthetically, they’re great to look at. That’s the other part of the appeal: they’re works of art,” said history buff and lifelong sailor Wendt. The exhibition is divided into four sections – “Fact and Fantasy,” “California as an Island,” “Secret Russian Explorations in the Pacific” and “In the Wake of Captain James Cook” – helping to lead visitors on a chronological journey through developing European perceptions of the Pacific Coast.
Further enhancing the visitor experience, Mystic Seaport is also offering viewers a free mp3 audio-guided tour narrated by Wendt himself. A selection of 18th-century nautical instruments drawn from the Museum’s own collection will also be on display. From sextants to chronometers, visitors will see first hand the types of navigational tools early explorers used to determine their exact locations on the watery world.
Visitors can then continue their navigational quest in the Museum’s Nautical Instruments Shop and in the Planetarium lobby’s permanent exhibit on 19th-century navigation. Mystic Seaport will additionally open The Map Spot adjacent to Mapping the Pacific Coast, providing an activity space for visitors of all ages that boosts map literacy and appreciation for maps recording and imagining the world. The Map Spot encourages adults and children to use and make maps and maritime charts at different activity stations, while large-scale wall graphics will challenge aspiring cartographers’ visions of the world.
Through varying hands-on activities, visitors will discover the paramount role maps play in their lives, while also seeing maps as tools that serve specific purposes. Entrance to Mapping the Pacific Coast and The Map Spot are included in Museum admission. The exhibition will run through December and is open daily during regular Museum hours.
Opening May 2 in the Museum’s Mallory Exhibit Hall, the exhibit leads viewers on a voyage of exploration, beginning with the collection’s oldest map – a rare 1544 woodcut by Sebastian Munster – and ending with Thomas Jefferson’s decision to commission the Corps of Discovery. The rare documents illustrate cartographers’ early visions of foreign lands and waters, regions replete with sea monsters, mythical kingdoms and the very first contacts between Native Americans and Europeans.
“The [maps] show the state of knowledge of this new world at the time the map was made. They have historical significance. And aesthetically, they’re great to look at. That’s the other part of the appeal: they’re works of art,” said history buff and lifelong sailor Wendt. The exhibition is divided into four sections – “Fact and Fantasy,” “California as an Island,” “Secret Russian Explorations in the Pacific” and “In the Wake of Captain James Cook” – helping to lead visitors on a chronological journey through developing European perceptions of the Pacific Coast.
Further enhancing the visitor experience, Mystic Seaport is also offering viewers a free mp3 audio-guided tour narrated by Wendt himself. A selection of 18th-century nautical instruments drawn from the Museum’s own collection will also be on display. From sextants to chronometers, visitors will see first hand the types of navigational tools early explorers used to determine their exact locations on the watery world.
Visitors can then continue their navigational quest in the Museum’s Nautical Instruments Shop and in the Planetarium lobby’s permanent exhibit on 19th-century navigation. Mystic Seaport will additionally open The Map Spot adjacent to Mapping the Pacific Coast, providing an activity space for visitors of all ages that boosts map literacy and appreciation for maps recording and imagining the world. The Map Spot encourages adults and children to use and make maps and maritime charts at different activity stations, while large-scale wall graphics will challenge aspiring cartographers’ visions of the world.
Through varying hands-on activities, visitors will discover the paramount role maps play in their lives, while also seeing maps as tools that serve specific purposes. Entrance to Mapping the Pacific Coast and The Map Spot are included in Museum admission. The exhibition will run through December and is open daily during regular Museum hours.
Post a Comment