“History Happy Hour” to celebrate women of the Great Lakes

        The National Museum of the Great Lakes, 1701 Front St., Toledo, is exploring new avenues to mix maritime history with everyday fun by introducing “History Happy Hour.”
        The first History Happy Hour, which will take place during Women’s History Month on Thursday, March 12 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., is titled: “The Women Who Made the Great Lakes.”
        Throughout the event, visitors can roam the museum and hear stories of daring rescues, dangerous shipwrecks and most of all, trailblazing women.
        The stories of Native American poet Jane Schoolcraft; early 19th-century Great Lakes captain, Toledoan Grace Waite; Jean Colby, the only female Great Lakes Gold Life-Saving Medal Awardee, and others will be highlighted through thematic and engaging learning opportunities situated throughout the museum.
        Tickets, which can be purchased online at www.nmgl.org, are $25 for museum members and $30 for non-members, which includes drinks, snacks and open access to the museum.
        “We wanted to bring the beauty and mission of our museum to more people in a casual yet unique way,” said Chris Gillcrist, the museum’s executive director. “This activity gives guests an opportunity to grab a drink and explore our museum after hours, while also providing an exclusive experience to interact with history.”
        The series will continue June 11, with sailor stories aboard the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship and Museum Tug Ohio, and again Nov. 19, at an event highlighting “Great Lakes Rogues, Rebels and Radicals.”
        Founded in 1944, the Great Lakes Historical Society has been preserving shared cultural history by publishing a quarterly journal, Inland Seas since 1945; by operating a maritime museum since 1952; offering educational programs to the general public since 1956; conducting underwater archaeological research across the Great Lakes since 2001; and managing the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship since 2014 and Museum Tug Ohio since 2019.
        For more details, call 419-214-5000 or visit https://nmgl.org/event/history-happy-hour-the-women-who-made-the-great-l....