Naval Academy Museum Exhibit Commemorates Navy’s 250th Birthday

Throughout the year, the United States Navy and Marine Corps have been celebrating their 250th birthday with a series of commemorations, including leadership outreach events, multilateral exercises, and community engagements.

To honor this monumental milestone, the Naval Academy Museum is joining the celebration with an exhibit entitled “Navy Tech: Inventions and Innovations” that will showcase artifacts from the 250 years of innovation and technological development in the Navy and Marine Corps.

This year-long exhibit will display a selection of the Naval Academy Museum collections exploring advancements in navigation, communication, science, machinery, weaponry, platforms and medicine. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the American Navy and Marine Corps, the museum will look back at technologies the sea services have employed to gain the warfighting advantage.

“The Naval Academy and the education provided to our midshipmen have been the keel on which naval innovation has been built throughout history,” said Captain BJ Armstrong, director of the Naval Academy Museum. “From Albert Michaelson’s measurements of the speed of light right here on the yard to the development of weapons and technologies by graduates in the fleet, the ‘Navy Tech’ exhibit connects the Navy and Marine Corps’ history of innovation with 250 years of our sea services’ operational success in both war and peace.”

Studying technology and innovation is the cornerstone of the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum at the Naval Academy, and this exhibit reinforces its invaluable impact throughout the history of the Academy and the Navy. “Navy Tech: Inventions and Innovations” in the James W. Cheevers Gallery is open to the public during regular museum hours in Preble Hall as of October 1.

Some artifacts of note on display in the museum include Oliver Hazard Perry’s famous “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag from the Battle of Lake Erie, a piece of the USS Monitor, a mameluke sword captured by Marines in the First Barbary War, and an extensive ship model collection, the largest collection of 17th- and 18th-century ship models on public display in North America.

These activities celebrating the 250th birthday showcase the strength and importance of the Navy and Marine Corps, from national security and present opportunities to inspiring a new generation of Americans to take up the call to serve, both in and out of uniform and in the public and private sectors. 

For more information about the Naval Academy Museum, go to www.usna.edu/museum.