Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena

Lots of great history on display and some interactive learning. The kids loved it.

Well done exhibits. Worth a visit.

A really awesome free museum illustrating the history of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. The guy working the front was incredibly kind and knowledgeable. A lot of information.

My son loved the full-size replica of the ship inside. I was very impressed by the amount of information and detail in the models and exhibits. We were able to spend about 2 hours before he got bored so not an all-day event.

Very interesting history. I had no idea there were so many shipwrecks in this area or that there was a sanctuary.

This was a really cool museum and it is free to enter. I enjoyed the short educational films they had constantly playing in the theater. Who would have thought so many ships sank on Lake Huron? Very well done and an enjoyable and educational 60 minute stop.

If you are interested in Michigan history you will love this. My son and I learned so much about the ship wrecks in the area, walked through the replica of an old ship and got to use the simulator of an ROV.

This museum is worth the time to tour it and to understand the impact of shipping and the Great Lakes.

Very informative experience, never realized the amount of ship wrecks on Lake Huron, go when you can take your time ,theres a lot to read and see

Nicely laid out, self-guided & immersive! We enjoyed the displays about the many shipwrecks & the nature preserves.

Amazing place for all ages. Wonderful setup, interesting displays. Loved all the history. My grandson absolutely Loved the life-size schooner and the dive tubes!!!

What a COOL place. We learned so much about the history of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes ! Loved the interactive ship that you could walk through and experience what it was like for crew in a storm on Lake Michigan. So much history and a well-dedicated museum. Very impressed.

We loved going there. Very interesting. We went on a bus trip

Great place to look around. Seems like they dont have as many displays as they had in 2016 when I was last there. But still a great place for the shipwreck lovers out there. This is a free museum to tour.

This was quite pricey! (More than the Pictured RocksBut it was great. Our narrator Matt was VERY informative & funny. They all worked very hard to ensure everyone got good views. Id give it a 5 if it werent for the cost

Loved the hands on learning of the museum.And free admission!!

Lots of interesting facts about shipwrecks, lots of displays of items found from the shipwrecks. Interactive partial ship walkthrough and a play structure for kids to walkthrough and see the different sights.

What a great experience. Next time we are in the area, were going on the ship wreck tour

Nice place to see artifacts and learn about the history of the shipwrecks in the area. There is a life size walk-through of a ships stern that really put the lives and challenges of the early days mariners into perspective! For youngsters, there is also an area to climb sand slide through! Go visit and learn about shipwrecks and their preservations!

This was a great place to visit. Learned a lot about the ships that have sunk around the area.

Beautiful and very organized free museum. Good to visit in family. I advise a bike ride to the site and enjoy the visit.

Pretty cool museum we enjoy going out here

Wonderful to walk the history inside the NOAA@THUNDERBAY!❤️

Very nice, clean and informative. Beautiful location.

Awesome place to visit. The boat ride was awesome. The sanctuary was awesome too. The staff are all nice.

This is an awesome museum not to be missed. Great for kids and adults alike.

Great place to see maritime history of the area and enjoyed seeing the Festival of Sails.

Experienced guides. Great displays. Great learning environment

Very neat place! Love the hands on stuff for kids and staff was so friendly.

Really interesting information about the maritime history of the Great Lakes.

Free exhibits and also a gift shop. Lots for children to do.

Great place to stop and visit if youre in the area!

A lot of interesting shipwreck history! Well worth stopping in.

We visited as part of a tour group. It was a fascinating and inspiring tale of local youth finding opportunities in their community by helping to discover and preserve shipwrecks. The museum and its artifacts were excellent. Well worth the drive to Alpena.

it was free. and pretty cool!they had a slide with tunnels.although it was kind of boring in my opinion, not much to look at.

We were too early in the season for a boat ride but it was interesting

I am so so disappointed that the museum has been closed for this long due. In June we tried to go because the website said they were open. We made the trip and they were closed due to covid. I talked to someone on the phone and told them they need to adjust their website because it said they were open! It’s now the end of august and they are still closed. It’s been months. Very very disappointing. We were really looking forward to going this summer.

Very educational and interactive! Dont forget to ask about wrecks you can kayak to. They will give you a map at the desk.

Great place to take your kids for a visit!

So much fun and lots of artifacts! Lots for kids and adults to do and see. Really friendly staff and theres a gift shop too!

Very interesting and eye opening to what happened on the great lakes especially with someone who has dove most of these wrecks, my husband. He was MY tour guide and explained lots. They need tour guides, you can donate if you feel led to.

A super neat museum filled with interesting tidbits of history you can explore at your own pace. We spent a couple of hours exploring here and saw most of it. By far the coolest part was the life-sized replica of a Schooner in a storm. There was also a kids play area. Definitely a Michiganders destination to learn about our heritage.

A really neat museum with a cool interactive life size boat!Great for all ages!

Beautiful museum! Our family had a great time! Dont forget to open the drawers underneath the glass cases in the artifacts room, lots of cool things to see.

We stopped in just to get our lighthouse passport stamped and ended up staying for over an hour. The staff is beyond friendly and are a wealth of information. This is a very kid friendly Center. There is a ship wreck exhibit that you can climb on and explore. A short film to watch, many well labeled artifacts from ships, and several interesting exhibits (do not forget to check the exhibits artifact drawers). There is also a play area of tunnels and a slide for the kids. The gift shop was reasonably priced and had unique finds throughout.

This is a wonderful museum....we spent a couple of hours looking at the exhibits and watching the films. Very interesting and nicely done. The replica schooner is amazing. If you are in the Alpena region make this a must see stop. Your appreciation for The Great Lakes and Great Lake navigation will be greatly enhanced.

Pleasant surprise on our visit to Alpena. The maritime history of the area is depicted through models, displays, videos, and even a full size mock-up of a schooner in a storm. We highly recommend stopping here. Well be back to take the boat tour of shipwrecks in the area. They werent running on the day we visited due to high winds and waves. A walkway outside is also worth wandering. Banners line the abandoned mill next door, a training tank for divers is behind the museum, and good views of the river make it worthwhile.

The staff were very friendly and accommodating. We had a school group and our numbers had changed. It wasnt a problem. The sphere presentation was interesting and educational for young and old. The tour of shipwrecks is interesting. Depending on the weather when you get on, how full the boat is and the weather when you get out in Thunder Bay, the travel plan varies. The captain takes you to see wrecks based on these factors. Some are in more shallow water so if the boat is full, it rides too low. Some require very still waters. The captain, and mates make sure everyone has plenty of time to see each wreck. We saw 3.

My children and I love this museum! Walking around the large ship, watching the sphere, and looking through drawers of items found in shipwrecks are a few favorites. We took the shipwreck tour after tourist season was over and had a blast!

I love this Maritime Museum. It holds alot of history that range from nature, articles found underwater, to shipwrecks. It is a great place for children, with an impressive play scape above the under water shipwreck displays. Not many people know that the main group that uses sonar to find the shipwrecks in the Sanctuary is the same group that found the Titanic in its final resting place. More facts can be found that connect The Greath Lakes to the infamous Titanic.