Baltimore's National Aquarium has a new cousin to the south.
In June, Norfolk, Va., opened its own aquatic museum, Nauticus, the National Maritime Center, with the hope it will become the anchor to a revitalized waterfront, much as the National Aquarium is one of the jewels of the Inner Harbor.
Rather than a competitor, the creators of Nauticus see it as a complement to its northern neighbor. While the National Aquarium focuses on marine life and the study of ecosystems, Nauticus concentrates on marine industry: shipbuilding, navigation and the history of the U.S Navy. "You've got the critters and we've got the technology," says James E. Myers, Nauticus' public relations director. No wonder, considering it is located in Hampton Roads, the world's largest natural harbor and the location of the country's oldest and largest shipyard.
Nauticus resembles a futuristic sea-going vessel, kind of like the U.S.S. Enterprise on a dry dock. Described in promotional literature as a "silhouette of a passing ship," the structure juts out into the Elizabeth River.
There is even a resident superhero with his own comic book: Captain Nauticus, leader of a marine posse called the Ocean Force who have been exiled from their home of Aquamar and now live in Nauticus. They seek to apprehend the notorious criminal, Fathom, a villain who uses the powers of the ocean for his own selfish entertainment.
The 160,000 square-foot museum has three decks that feature educational exhibits using the latest in CD-ROM technology. The exhibits are designed to first teach the history and theory of maritime life and then use that knowledge in a "hands-on" practical application.
For example, one section teaches the history of shipbuilding. "You go through the principles of ship design and history, then you go to the shipbuilding interactive and build your own ship," Mr. Myers says. With the help of interactive video, you can design your own ship, choosing among several options of hulls, superstructures and propulsion systems.
If you make the proper choices, a champagne bottle appears to christen your ship and a certificate of completion prints out. If you make the wrong choices, the video explains why your ship won't float.
In one of the more popular exhibits, which explores navigation, there is a wall that details the history of navigation, featuring the voyage of the Nautilus, the first atomic-powered submarine, under the polar icecap. Another section teaches principles of navigating a ship through a channel. Then, you move to a video station to play a navigation game, the object being to steer a 900-foot-long ocean-going cargo vessel into the San Francisco Bay.
The player controls the speed of the vessel and the steering. To make it more realistic, the steering mechanism responds about as slowly as would a real cargo ship. "It drifts just like a real ship does," Mr. Myers says, meaning a player cannot go too fast and must anticipate obstacles, such as shoals, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. It's harder than it sounds.
A section on weather forecasting offers budding weather persons a chance to put together their own forecast. The video program takes you through each step of preparing a forecast in anticipation of a tornado watch. Then, you can go on-camera, with a real director, and film your forecast, complete with weather graphics -- although the price of a videotape to catch it for posterity is extra.
The uninitiated learn that when weather persons do their forecasts, there's nothing behind them but a blue screen and they have to watch a monitor to see the graphics.
Nauticus is still working out some bugs. On a recent Saturday, several of the exhibits were closed. Some, like the ones demonstrating the principles of water buoyancy, had tanks that were leaking. Others, it was discovered, were not reacting well with interaction. Children, it seems, can be fairly hard on joysticks and other controls.
The waits for the more popular interactive exhibits can be long, and as the museum gets more popular that may become more of a problem. Nauticus may have to go to staggered entrance times, as the National Aquarium does.
And then there is the noise. The exhibit space is cavernous and filled with excited children and adults, all chattering at once. The acoustics are lively, and the noise level can become distracting, especially when you are attempting to listen to the audio in the historical and theoretical exhibits.
To address this, Nauticus officials installed plastic parabolas around the speakers, which concentrate the sound directly down when you stand under them. That helps a lot, but if more than one person wants listen to the audio, you have to huddle under that parabola. It could be a great way to meet people.
For a break from the din, visit the Nauticus Theater, featuring a
70mm, wide-screen production called "The Living Sea," which was produced specially for the maritime center.
The film takes you on a wild, stomach-churning ride on very rough surf with a Coast Guard rescue team, and includes spectacular shots of undersea life as well.
Nauticus has two special exhibits that cost an additional $2.50 admission fee each. The AEGIS Theater takes you inside the command center of a Navy destroyer for a demonstration of its high-tech weapons system. Between every two seats is a control panel with four buttons.
"Please don't push those buttons yet," warns our tactical information coordinator. "We'll be using them to make some tough choices."
On an overhead screen, different battle scenarios are presented, and the audience, by way of majority vote, selects one of four options. For example, an enemy aircraft zeros in on us and fires four rockets. We could seek help from other ships, fire our SAM missiles, fire our 5-inch guns or take evasive action. We are given only seconds to decide. We guess wrong and we are hit. The
room begins to shake and fill with smoke, lights flash on and off, sirens wail.
Once we've destroyed the ship, our tactical information officer shows us the AEGIS system, which helps make those split-second decisions.
The other featured exhibit, which opened Aug. 1, is Nauticus' pride and joy. "Virtual Adventures" is a virtual-reality submarine ride in a three-dimensional, computer-generated world. A team of six people must guide their submersible capsule on a mission to save the eggs of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, from bounty hunters seeking to steal them.
Crew members are given roles -- one pilot, one navigator, two periscope operators and two robotic arm operators -- and they must work as a team to successfully complete their mission.
The scenario of the game actually changes as the crew, wearing 3-D glasses, make decisions and interact with the program.
Nauticus is also home to the Hampton Road Naval Museum, formerly located at the Norfolk Naval Base and one of 11 museums operated by the U.S. Navy. The museum traces the history of the U.S. Navy from the Revolutionary War, through the Civil War and the famous battle of the ironclads, to the two world wars and the nuclear navy. Those who want to visit only the naval museum are admitted free.
At one end of the building, there is a 600-foot-long, deep-water pier at which naval and commercial vessels will frequently dock and open for tours to visitors.
Wrap up the day with a laser light show, held every night at the pier until Sept. 5.
@
IF YOU GO . . .
Admission: Adults, $10; children ages 4 to 17, $7.50; children under 4, free; there are also group rates
Hours: Until Sept. 5, the museum is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week; after Sept. 6, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., weekends only
Call: (804) 664-1007