How You, Too, Can Volunteer Your Time to a Maritime Museum
Everyone loves their boats, but more often than not we end up ignoring the Chesapeake Bay we sail them on. As boaters we spend our time on top of the water, but there’s a lot that happens under it. The maritime museums around the Bay bring the world of aquatic life to light while also showing local seafaring history. The Annapolis Maritime Museum and other maritime museums have worked to preserve the history, culture, and life of the Bay.
I first started volunteering at the Ellen O. Moyer branch of the Annapolis Maritime Museum about a year ago when I needed volunteer hours for a Boy Scout rank. The museum was close enough I could walk to it from my home. I also managed to get one of my friends to join me in volunteering.
We talked to Kirsten Barbera, school program manager at the museum and settled on volunteering once every week. We quickly learned the ropes of taking care of the many sea critters, from hand-feeding horseshoe crabs to reading nitrate levels in a fish tank to breaking up blue crab fights. The museum and others like it need volunteers to lighten the workload and help provide educational opportunities to its visitors.
So, how can you volunteer? Annapolis Maritime Museum has two different locations that volunteers can go to. Its main campus is in Annapolis at the old McNasby’s Oyster building, which serves as a museum open to the public and also a venue for events. There’s also the newer branch in Ellen O. Moyer Nature Park which acts as a youth education center. Barbera says that all you need to volunteer is go to amaritime.org and fill out a quick volunteer application. After that the volunteer captains will reach out to you personally to figure out what works best. The age requirement is high school and up.
“Without our volunteers, there is no way we would be able to have our museum open to the public as often, or reach as many program participants, or hold as many successful events,” says Barbera.
If you’re a carpenter or a programmer or even a bartender, they will have something for you to do to be helpful. “The tasks for volunteers to work on are as varied as our departments,” says Barbera, “Many of our volunteers help out at special events by collecting tickets or bartending, but we also have volunteers helping with gardening, education, being a museum docent, and many other roles.”
The museums are happy to have volunteers donate as much or as little time as they can offer. If you can only lend a hand at one event, that’s good. Don’t let your lack of time stop you from stepping forward. “There are occasional events such as park cleanups where all ages can help. A volunteer’s availability is usually one of the more important factors in determining how they can help,” Barbera notes from the Ellen O. Moyer campus overlooking Back Creek.
Volunteering is important to help other people continue to experience the Chesapeake Bay. No matter your skill or age there’s always something you can do to help out. It also doesn’t just have to be with Annapolis Maritime Museum; there are opportunities to volunteer up and down the Bay. Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Havre De Grace Maritime Museum, Museum of Chincoteague Island, the Mariners’ Museum, and more all have websites with volunteer information listed.
But as best put by Barbera, “From volunteers with specific skills such as woodworking to volunteers who just love people, Annapolis Maritime Museum has a place for everybody.”
To learn more, visit amaritime.org and keep your eyes on SpinSheet for volunteer opportunities.
About the Author: Fifteen-year-old Zach Wallach has lived aboard a cruising catamaran his whole life and has contributed several articles to SpinSheet.
Find more great articles about life along the waterfront on the Bay here.
