National Maritime Museum Cornwall

A celebration of model engineering in Cornwall. See stunning models, expert live demonstrations and get involved with activities for all ages.
The Model Engineering Showcase will be an exciting event bringing together members of Cornwall’s varied and diverse modelling community and providing an exclusive spectacle for visitors to the Museum. Come along and see the full spectrum of model engineering, from steam locomotives and model boat building through to the more modern gad...gets including aeroplanes and helicopters. There is an action packed programme planned with exhibits from over 15 clubs and societies who will be present displaying their work. In total nearly 200 models will be on display. There will also be a range of modelling activities on offer for visitors including plastic kit make and take sessions and the popular museum scrapheap challenge. This is a great day out for all the family, one the children will love with all the working models. If you are interested in modelling yourself or want to rekindle you childhood memories, you will find something amongst the many diverse types of modelling on display to admire. If you are not already a modeller hopefully the exhibition will fire your imagination to build something yourself and enjoy one of these satisfying hobbies.
Clubs and societies attending include:
City of Truro Mariners David Fortey with his model of the Aircraft Carrier Ark Royal Helston and Falmouth Model Railway Club Falmouth Society of Railway Modellers West Cornwall Model Railway Group (N gauge) RC Cornwall Flyers Redruth District Model Flying Club Camborne Pond Hoppers Hayle Model Railway Club Hayle Model Boat Club Norman Leighton with his model trains Falmouth Model Boat Club Mick French with his model Ocean Liners Richard Bowden with his model ships There will also be a trade stand and demonstrations from Axminster tools.
“We are delighted that this Model Engineering Showcase is returning to the Maritime Museum in Falmouth and that its scope has widened from boats and ships to new sections on aero engineering and model railways. It presents a golden opportunity for anyone of any age who has the slightest hint of an interest in model engineering to learn what is happening in Cornwall all the year round, put the date in your diary now” said Pat Howard of NMMC Modellers Unit.
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Our major new exhibition TITANIC STORIES examines the stories of the Titanic’s momentous sinking on 15 April 1912, re-appraising many of the myths, controversies and assumptions that still linger around one of the most well-known historic events of the 20th century. See it in Falmouth, Cornwall this summer

In the latest edition of our annual journal Fathom - available now in our Museum shop - read an interview with Falmouth based artist Dan Arnold, the creator of Heaving Lines, a stunning, sensitive and inspiring representation of the iceberg suspended over the lifeboat in our exhibition Titanic Stories

Pirate School is back this summer in Falmouth! All aboard shipmates :-) Monday 23 July to Friday 31 August | Monday to Friday | 4 x shows a day at 11.00,12.00, 14.00 and 15.00. No booking required NMMC.CO.UK for more info

In celebration of the 15 years since National Maritime Museum Cornwall opened its doors (in 2003), we asked creative and professional writing students and staff at Falmouth University to respond creatively to 15 objects on display in the Museum. The pieces feature in the latest edition of our annual journal Fathom - available now in our Museum shop. We hope these pieces will help you see the collections afresh, give the objects new life for you when you next visit, and may even inspire you to speculate about the fascinating lives these objects led before they found their way to us. This is Tom Scott's poem inspired by the Pilchard Oil Lamp, dating to around 1850 👏⚓️😀

Craft making, trail and amazing storytelling and performance. Plus: an exciting new show – visually stunning acrobatic theatrical performance by Yskynna. More information coming soon.

Interactive shows with Rattlebox Theatre –
All aboard shipmates and join our trainee pirate crew! In our fun packed sessions learn what every budding Buccaneer needs to know about being a pirate of the ‘Golden Age Of Piracy’!
Dates and times…
... Pirate School Monday 23 July to Friday 31 August | Monday to Friday | 4 x shows a day at 11.00,12.00, 14.00 and 15.00. No booking required
Make and Takes Monday 23 July to Sunday the 02 September 7 days per week
Pirate Parrot trails all day everyday
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Interactive shows with Rattlebox Theatre –
All aboard shipmates and join our trainee pirate crew! In our fun packed sessions learn what every budding Buccaneer needs to know about being a pirate of the ‘Golden Age Of Piracy’!
Dates and times…
... Pirate School Monday 23 July to Friday 31 August | Monday to Friday | 4 x shows a day at 11.00,12.00, 14.00 and 15.00. No booking required
Make and Takes Monday 23 July to Sunday the 02 September 7 days per week
Pirate Parrot trails all day everyday
See More

Interactive shows with Rattlebox Theatre –
All aboard shipmates and join our trainee pirate crew! In our fun packed sessions learn what every budding Buccaneer needs to know about being a pirate of the ‘Golden Age Of Piracy’!
Dates and times…
... Pirate School Monday 23 July to Friday 31 August | Monday to Friday | 4 x shows a day at 11.00,12.00, 14.00 and 15.00. No booking required
Make and Takes Monday 23 July to Sunday the 02 September 7 days per week
Pirate Parrot trails all day everyday
See More

Interactive shows with Rattlebox Theatre –
All aboard shipmates and join our trainee pirate crew! In our fun packed sessions learn what every budding Buccaneer needs to know about being a pirate of the ‘Golden Age Of Piracy’!
Dates and times…
... Pirate School Monday 23 July to Friday 31 August | Monday to Friday | 4 x shows a day at 11.00,12.00, 14.00 and 15.00. No booking required
Make and Takes Monday 23 July to Sunday the 02 September 7 days per week
Pirate Parrot trails all day everyday
See More

Interactive shows with Rattlebox Theatre –
All aboard shipmates and join our trainee pirate crew! In our fun packed sessions learn what every budding Buccaneer needs to know about being a pirate of the ‘Golden Age Of Piracy’!
Dates and times…
... Pirate School Monday 23 July to Friday 31 August | Monday to Friday | 4 x shows a day at 11.00,12.00, 14.00 and 15.00. No booking required
Make and Takes Monday 23 July to Sunday the 02 September 7 days per week
Pirate Parrot trails all day everyday
See More

Interactive shows with Rattlebox Theatre –
All aboard shipmates and join our trainee pirate crew! In our fun packed sessions learn what every budding Buccaneer needs to know about being a pirate of the ‘Golden Age Of Piracy’!
Dates and times…
... Pirate School Monday 23 July to Friday 31 August | Monday to Friday | 4 x shows a day at 11.00,12.00, 14.00 and 15.00. No booking required
Make and Takes Monday 23 July to Sunday the 02 September 7 days per week
Pirate Parrot trails all day everyday
See More

Britain on Film on Tour - A partnership between the Independent Cinema Office (ICO) and the BFI bringing unprecedented access to the UK’s history on film. Our Cornwall Galleries and bar will be open and the films will be introduced by Mark Douglas, Senior Lecturer in Film at Falmouth University.
Wednesday 17 October - Black Britain on Film
Explore the history of the UK through the eyes and voices of black Britons throughout the 20th century. Bringing together films spanning 1...901 to 1985 and taken from many different regions of the UK, it offers incredibly rare, little-seen and valuable depictions of black British life on screen. Watch miners in the collieries of Edwardian Lancashire and Yorkshire; and soldiers from across the Empire joining the services to fight for King and 'mother country' in World War I. See rare colour footage of multi-racial Cardiff in 1957, a Nigerian wedding in Cornwall in 1964, and touching interviews with black school leavers in 1965; witness growing racial tensions on a Liverpool housing estate and in New Cross, London; communities in search of their roots and partying on the streets of Notting Hill during Carnival.
Revealing new voices from across a century of vast and turbulent social change in the UK, Britain on Film: Black Britain is not just an important way to understand our collective history - offering audiences the chance to explore stories of migration, community and the struggle against inequality - but also an opportunity to celebrate vivid black British life and culture on screen.
Watch the trailer... https://youtu.be/4G0PP6FjSjE
Buy tickets online at NMMC.CO.UK
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For many disabled people, the heritage sites that the rest of the population take for granted can be a struggle to reach and enjoy. The Heritage Abilityproject by is helping 20 heritage destinations in the South West become more accessible over a three year period - including us, The National Maritime Museum Cornwall - The project is now a finalist in the National Lottery Awards! This short film shows you the amazing work they're doing and how easy it is to vote! https://youtu.be/H4lV2G5lReo Vote here: http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/proje ct/heritage-ability

Fancy working with this view this summer? We're looking for additional team players for our Cafe Crew - find out more here https://nmmc.co.uk/about/working-in-the-m useum/

It was celebration time at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth recently when a number of volunteers marked over five, ten or fifteen years of voluntary service.
At a special lunch to mark the occasion, volunteers were awarded certificates and commemorative pins by the museum director Richard Doughty. The volunteers came from all departments of the museum including galleries, front of house, education, boat restoration and the library.
The maritime museum has ove...r 170 volunteers who give a total of 30,000 hours every year.
Human Resources Manager Linda Frost said: 'The museum simply could not function without our dedicated team of volunteers and we are immensely grateful for all that they do. This celebration is just one small way we recognise their important work.'
The museum is always on the lookout for new volunteers, and with summer approaching, there couldn’t be a better time to consider joining the team. No previous experience is needed and anyone interested should visit nmmc.co.uk/volunteering or contact Linda on 01326 214559 or email lindafrost@nmmc.co.uk.
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In another exciting first for the Museum, the groundbreaking and award winning exhibition Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed began a three year tour of museums and galleries in the UK opening at Torre Abbey in March 2018, where it was on show for three months before moving onto National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth.
Produced by The National Maritime Museum Cornwall Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed is a genuinely ground-breaking and comprehensive history of Briti...sh tattooing, featuring cutting edge designers, leading academics and major private collectors.
More at NMMC.CO.UK Photos by Kirstin Prisk
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Curator's Choice - Pilchard Oil Lamp
“Pilchards! Whose bodies yield the fragrant oil and make the London lamps at midnight smile!” Peter Pindar 1783.
Cornwall once relied upon the sea for nearly everything: food, transport, trade, defence and contact with the outside world. Fishing was always a vital part of the Cornish way of life and in the 18th and 19th Century, pilchard fishing was a major industry. Throughout the summer months large shoals of pilchards were caught off th...e Cornish coast; then they were taken to pilchard cellars for processing. The pilchards were squeezed flat + oil drained out; producing 18 to 45 litres from each barrel. The oil was mostly sold as lamp oil. Pilchard fishing declined from the mid-20th Century, although small quantities of pilchards are still caught in Cornish waters today.
This home-made lamp, dating to around 1850, used oil from the fish processing to provide light.
Our Cornwall Galleries explore Cornwall's unique maritime heritage over three floors, bringing to life stories of Cornwall’s maritime history.
More at NMMC.CO.UK
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A historical + utterly unique ‘Bligh Boat Race’ June 2018 - photos by Nigel Sharp

Out now: Issue 2 of Fathom, The Annual Journal of The National Maritime Museum Cornwall, inspired by, + expanding on, the Museum's permanent collections, temporary exhibitions + wider cultural connections, featuring exclusive writing by Falmouth University Creative and Professional Writing Staff and Students, Falmouth University, fantastic photography of British Tattoo Art Revealed as it tours the UK by @kirstinprisk and of our Tattoo Flash Day by @paulabbitt plus insights into our Titanic Stories exhibition including interviews with collectors, curators and artist Dan Arnold. Copies on sale in the Museum Shop. Brilliantly designed by @asidestudio

we had a fantastic afternoon at the National Maritime museum yesterday. very interesting place for the family. kid's loved it, the Staff was amazingly helpful and very knowledgeable and friendly . the Restaurant was good value and very good quality. we're be back later in the year. thanks for a lovely experience.

Went to see the Titanic exhibition at the museum it was brilliant especially the reproduction of one of Titanics lifeboats and the amazing sculpture.

We visited the museum today, specifically the tattoo exhibit. We've visited many of the exhibits in the past and i'm always so impressed with how much attention to detail goes into each project. They replicated the sounds and smells of a tattoo shop so well we felt the pre-tattoo nerves as though we were about to have our next sitting! I Loved the history and the effort that has been put into acquiring precious items for display.

We had a really great time here today, friendly and very helpful staff in all areas and so much for our children to do. Such a great variety of activities to keep young and old happy. We particularly enjoyed the viewing area with fantastic views over Falmouth itself. The story teller was also very engaging for children. The best thing is our ticket is valid for a year so we will be back!

Visited yesterday to see the Titanic exhibition...well worth seeing, really interesting and very good items on show. It of course got you thinking.

Visited in August, went mainly for the 100 hands exhibit, but wow what a fantastic day we had, the Mutiny on the Bounty exhibit was brilliant, can't wait for the Titanic exhibit next year, well worth the money and if we time our holidays right next year we get in for free � Fantastic well worth a visit �

Visited before Christmas and saw the awesome tattoo exhibit, visited yesterday with our grandchildren we were all enthralled by the Science talk , great value great facilities and good visits well done to the knowledgeable helpful volunteers also

My husband saw an add for the museum in the cornwall day out book and we thought we'd give it a go. Am so glad we did. The kids loved all the interactive bits! The view from the tower was amazing and we even stopped in the cafe for a beverage! 4 drinks and a cake less then £10 is brill! All the staff are very friendly and we enjoy collecting the letters. Will definitely visit again x

Lots to see great exhibitions titanic one has lots of information and some of the stories very sad .

Had a great day with my grandson, as we were treated to some great exhibition that of the history of tattoos. Some details were very interesting loved the display of 100 arms all with wonderful designs. The history of the Mutiny of the Bounty was fabulous as well. It's not the first time we have visited this wonderful museum that changes exhibitions frequently but where you can see boatbuilding taking place. I'm not a sailor but I love seeing the different types of boats and their history. To the lady who gave a review earlier and said you have to be mad about boats to enjoy this museum I would say first leave yourself open to learn about something new and second the type of museum is explained in the title of the museum I know us Cornish are considered a bit dim but even I knew Maritime museum would have something about the sea and ships boats etc. Sorry dont mean to be rude but cant see why she complained about the boats.

Good value if you live locally, my daughter is under 5 so gets in free and a standard adult admission gives you access for a year. Parking is at a premium (A Falmouth problem, not really NMMC's ) I'd recommend getting the park and ride / float. Staff are always friendly and they have lots for kids to do. My daughter always enjoys the dressing up and loved the tattoo displays.

Fantastic few hours to keep the kids amused. Especially utilising the locals pass. They always put on fantastic events during school holidays. Pirate school was brilliant.

Being a family of 6 (4boys) we look for value for money when we go out. We had a great time and loved the layout of the museum. The lady who acted as a guide near the lift was very helpful and told us about going down stairs which we had missed. We will be back.

We had a great day the children 2 x under 5 and 1 x 7 loved it ,we came in the afternoon the only downfall we had which was quite disappointing was the cafe closed so early ,we only just made it in time for a cup of tea ,and sandwich for the kids ,we didn't make it around the whole museum as it was shutting ,we arrived at 2 pm !and they shut 5pm ,not easy to get around the whole place quick when u have 3 kids and also want to stop for a cuppa! Maybe they should tell you on when you buy your ticket what time the cafe closes !

The 4 stars is purely for the cost of getting in, we did enjoy the visit though, we especially enjoyed seeing the titanic section, the cafe was well priced with good food, took about 2 1/2 hours with reading everything, the staff were all friendly and very helpful ��

Didn’t actually see the titanic exhibit (not for the want of looking!) and the underwater feature couldn’t see much cos the glass was so grubby

We were excited to visit the maritime museum as we have one local to us at home that the kids love, this was 100% over priced in comparison. £30 for two adults, 1 under 18 (toddler went free which was a bonus) for max 30 minutes complete waste of money, where as our local museum you could spend the entire day for half the price. Kids had more fun looking at the boats outside at the harbour which was free. Wouldn't recommend unless the weather's poor and you really want to do something indoors.

Hmm.. Well.. Advertised as having a play area.. This such play area consists of a slide. Just a slide. Nothing else. The tidal zone could be great if we could actually see out of the glass.. The food is way over priced and the lift is a joke. Kids enjoyed the slide and on Monday they enjoyed making a whirlwind in a bottle but when we visited on Friday they were gutted to see they had to make another whirlwind. Also the boats that you can play with are charged. Do you not think I paid enough for us to get in?

Very expensive for what there was, thankfully both kids under 5 so they went in for free. Have been wanting to go for a while and was disappointed. Parking was a joke. We attempted to park in long stay car park but machine not working so had to pay extra to pay by phone.

I counted no less than 4 exhibits where things were broken. The craft session for the kids we didn't bother with as the lady looked rushed off her feet and rather sad.

The young lady at the entrance was pleasent and smiled.



In my opinion unless you are a boat geek don't waste your money.