Museum ship and tug reopen for 2022 season; volunteers sought

        The National Museum of the Great Lakes, 1701 Front St., Toledo, will reopen the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship and Museum Tug Ohio to the public beginning Saturday, May 1 and are seeking individuals interested in volunteering.
        In addition, the museum’s open hours will increase from six to seven days a week, Monday thru Saturday 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m.
        “As the summer season nears, volunteers become the lifeblood of our museum – serving as greeters, helping with our museum vessel and ground maintenance, and so much more,” said Rebecca Gray, who oversees the museum’s volunteer initiative. “Volunteers could be students in need of interesting work to complete required high school volunteer hours, adults with an interest in restoration efforts, or simply individuals who just want to spend time onboard our vessels or at the museum.”
        The museum ships close annually over the winter months and re-open for public tours between May 1 and Oct. 31. Visitors can climb onboard the 617-foot cargo ship and historic tug to experience what life was like on the lakes in the early 1900s while also visiting the museum galleries.
        The inside of the museum features awe-inspiring stories of the Great Lakes through breathtaking photography, over 300 incredible artifacts, a number of powerful audiovisual displays and 40 hands-on interactive exhibits.
        To learn more about volunteering or to sign-up, visit nmgl.org/volunteer. To pre-purchase tickets for a museum visit, go to nmglstore.org.
        About the National Museum of the Great Lakes: Founded in 1944, the Great Lakes Historical Society has been preserving cultural history by publishing a quarterly journal, Inland Seas® since 1945; by operating a maritime museum since 1952; by offering educational programs to the general public since 1956; by conducting underwater archaeological research across the Great Lakes since 2001; and by managing the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship since 2014 and Museum Tug Ohio since 2019.