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Behind the Faceplate

Introduced in 1916, the 200-pound MK V diving rig was the Navy’s standard deep sea diving system until the early 1980s. Generations of Navy divers shared the experience of diving the MK V, tackling the challenges of their eras with expertise and ingenuity. Behind the Faceplate looks inside the iconic copper helmet to tell stories of MK V divers across the decades. Explore their remarkable feats as innovators, salvage experts, and leaders through historic artifacts, personal stories, and hands-on interactives.

Faces of the Deep

Hardworking, high-achieving Sailors and civilians from the Navy’s undersea communities make undersea operations possible. Explore some of their stories in Faces of the Deep, which features people from different backgrounds and experiences. Profiles rotate every few weeks, so check for new faces at each visit!

Family Learning Area

Whether artist or astrophysicist, everyone starts as a new learner. Inherent skills allow us to ask questions, explore, and make conclusions- providing a launch pad for growth and confidence in learning. This space provides a kid-friendly, hands-on area to use skills of observation, inquiry, exploration, reflection, and resilience to understand our environment.

GIVING VOICE TO THE SILENT SERVICE

Submarine service is deeply transformative for many Sailors; most find the identify of “submariner” lasts a lifetime. Enjoy an inside look at the submarine community and explore how life in the Submarine Force shapes those who serve, from qualifying and deployments through retirement and beyond.

Marine Mammals: The Navy’s Super Searchers

From finding mines to detecting intruders, Navy dolphins and sea lions carry out missions all over the world! Marine Mammals are exceptionally skilled at locating objects underwater, thanks to their natural acoustic, sight, and diving abilities. This popular exhibit explores the missions Navy dolphins and sea lions perform and the science behind their remarkable abilities.

Can’t visit in person? View an online version of Marine Mammals: The Navy’s Super Searchers.

Mine Warfare

Naval mines, prized for their efficacy, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, have sunk more ships in the last century than any other weapon. This exhibit traces the history of mine warfare from the Revolutionary War through modern operations and features examples of mines from these engagements as well as the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.

The Ocean Environment

Experience the remarkable and limitless diversity of the world that lies beneath the sea! This highly interactive exhibit explores key physical properties of the ocean such as buoyancy, pressure, density, heat transfer, light, sound, salinity, and oxygen. As you learn about these principles, consider how the Navy works successfully in this unusual and challenging environment!

Preserving Peace: The Navy’s Strategic Deterrence Program

Since 1960, ballistic missile submarines have patrolled the world’s oceans with ballistic missiles, deterring nuclear war by their very presence. Preserving Peace delves into the storied history of the U.S. Navy’s strategic deterrence program, from its Cold War beginnings in the 1950s to becoming the world’s most powerful modern-day sea-based deterrent.

Saving Submariners: Submarine Rescue and Escape

Learn how the Navy saves the survivors of a submarine accident in this exhibit, which looks at the history of submarine rescue and escape from 1900 through today. Explore the changes to submarine rescue and escape over time and discover why the U.S. Navy strongly prefers rescue over escape as the safest, most reliable method of saving submariners.

Can’t visit in person? View an online version of Saving Submariners.

Search, Spy, Rescue, Recover: Navy Vehicles Under the Sea 

Once confined to science fiction, undersea vehicles now make thousands of dives for the Navy every year. Throughout the world, Navy vehicles recover lost objects, spy for information, disarm undersea mines, rescue accident survivors, investigate the ocean, and more. This exhibit explores the many ways that undersea vehicles expand Navy abilities and reduce risk to Sailors.