NANTUCKET SHIPWRECK & LIFESAVING MUSEUM
OPENED FOR FIRST FULL SEASON ON MAY 15, 2009

WITH EXCITING NEW MADAKET MILLIE EXHIBIT, FAMILY-FRIENDLY PROGRAMS AND GREAT POINT TOURS

Nantucket Island, MA – The new  opened its doors on May 15, 2009 for its first full season and showcase its collection of over 5,000 objects – including period surfboats, beach carts, vintage photographs, and more.  This year, the museum will debut a historical retrospective exhibit on Madaket Millie, a colorful local character, who personally took over Coast Guard patrols of Madaket Harbor.  In collaboration with the Trustees of the Reservation, the museum will add guided Sunday tours to the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge and Great Point Lighthouse. 

Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum will host Family Fun Days throughout this summer on Sunday June 7, 2009 and Sunday August 23, 2009, as part of its grand-reopening celebration. Events will include storytelling, a lightship basket weaving demonstration, and hands-on activities.  As a special treat on the Sunday of 4th of July weekend (July 5), author Whitney Stewart will be on hand signing her new book, Coffin’s Ghost, a historical mystery book for pre-teens that leads young readers back into the Nantucket of the 1880s. With the aid of a ghostly crow, a time warp and a poignant love story, author Whitney Stewart leads her two young heroes, Anna and Nat, to find a pirate treasure – and to discover a lot about the island’s rich and spooky past in the process.

The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum is located at 158 Polpis Road, just 3.5 miles from Nantucket Town. The museum and gift shop will open Friday, May 15 and close on Columbus Day, Monday, October 12, 2009. Hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 5 – 18, and free to children under 5, and also includes admission to Egan Maritime Institute exhibits at the historic Coffin School, located at 4 Winter Street in Nantucket Town. For more information call (508) 228-1885, or visit online at www.nantucketshipwreck.org.