Visitors about to go aboard
Printable version (1.1 MB)

The Real Pirates exhibition features a life size partial re‐creation of the ship that serves as its centerpiece. Visitors will be invited to go "below decks" to get a glimpse of what life was like aboard one of the most successful pirate ships of the Golden Age of Piracy. Real Pirates opens on Saturday, February 18 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Credit: Matt Prefontaine

Below decks
Printable version (1.2 MB)

Lifelike mannequins and authentic artifacts give visitors to the Real Pirates exhibition a glimpse of what life was like in the crew's quarters of the Whydah during its glory days as a pirate ship. Real Pirates opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on Saturday, February 18, 2012.

Credit: Matt Prefontaine

Concretion
Printable version (1.3 MB)

Visitors to the Real Pirates exhibition at the Science Museum of Minnesota will have the unique chance to explore underwater archaeology and see the techniques and technologies used to examine items recovered from the ocean floor. Here, visitors examine a concretion—a conglomerate of rock, sand, and clay that has formed around a metal artifact. Real Pirates opens on Saturday, February 18, 2012.

Credit: Matt Prefontaine

Gold Coin
Printable version (691 KB)

This gold coin was one of many found at the wreck site of the Whydah, which sank off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717 and later became the only authenticated pirate shipwreck in U.S. waters. This and many other coins are on display in the Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship exhibition, which opens on Saturday, February 18 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Photo by Kenneth Garrett © 2008 National Geographic

Model Ship
Printable version (1.4 MB)

The 300‐ton Whydah was considered state‐of‐the‐art and was built to sail at speeds of 13 knots. Built as a transport vessel for the English slave trade, she possessed an arsenal of weaponry for defense against warships and pirates. In 1716, she set out on her maiden voyage and was captured by Sam Bellamy and his crew in 1717 in the Bahamas. Visitors to the Real Pirates exhibition, which opens on February 18 at the Science Museum of Minnesota, will see a model of the Whydah and learn about her history, then have an opportunity to climb aboard a life size partial re‐creation.

Credit: Matt Prefontaine

Artifacts - muskets
Printable version (1 MB)

Pirates prized their weapons, amassing great collections and taking great pride in their ownership. The Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship exhibition, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, features a gallery of pirate weaponry that has been uncovered from the wreck of the Whydah off the coast of Cape Cod. The collection includes muskets, pistols, swords, cannons and more.

Credit: Matt Prefontaine

Underwater Recovery
Printable version (1.3 MB)

Visitors to Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship, which opens on February 18 at the Science Museum of Minnesota, will dive into a thorough exploration of underwater archaeology and the tools and techniques used to recover incredible artifacts that give us a glimpse into the daily lives of pirates from the wreck of the Whydah. Here, a diver locates a coin on the sandy ocean floor.

Photo by Brian J. Skerry © 2008 National Geographic

Visitors with pirate treasure
Printable version (1.1 MB)

One of the highlights of the Real Pirates exhibition at the Science Museum of Minnesota is a treasure chest filled with authentic coins, last touched by real pirates. Artifacts like these, which have been painstakingly recovered from the ocean floor, are at the center of the exhibition. Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship opens at the Science Museum on February 18, 2012.

Credit: Matt Prefontaine

Whydah bell
Printable version (1 MB)

One of the first artifacts that visitors will see in Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship is the Whydah's bell, inscribed "Whydah Galley 1716." This stunning artifact was used to authenticate the shipwreck site and was sought after by various explorers after the fateful storm that sank the ship in April 1717. Real Pirates will open at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2012.

Photo by Kenneth Garrett © 2008 National Geographic

Barry Clifford
Printable version (1.3 MB)

Barry Clifford made world headlines with his 1984 discovery of the remains of the pirate ship, the Whydah, wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod in 1717. With more than 100,000 artifacts recovered and conserved to date, 200 of which are included in the Real Pirates exhibition, this project has vastly expanded our understanding of piracy in the 18th century. Clifford's will present The History and Recovery of the Whydah on Thursday, May 24 in the Science Museum of Minnesota's Auditorium. Tickets are $12 per person ($10 per Science Museum member) and can be purchased via the Science Museum's Call Center at (651) 221-9444.

Photo by Kenneth Garrett © 2008 National Geographic

Teye Ba
Printable version (756 KB)

This gold ring, inscribed with the words "Teye Ba," was part of the original Real Pirates exhibition and was taken off display for further study. The insights gleaned by several foremost anthropologists during this period of study will accompany the ring when it is re-installed in the Science Museum of Minnesota's staging of Real Pirates on Thursday, May 24.

Photo by Kenneth Garrett © 2008 National Geographic

Under the Sea - glassy sweeper fish
Printable version (1.5 MB)

The Omnitheater's 90‐foot domed screen is uniquely suited to convey the vastness and beauty of the undersea world. In the Under the Sea Omnitheater film, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, viewers will get an unforgettable glimpse at spectacular images from the South Pacific, like this one of hundreds of glassy sweeper fish swimming over an array of colorful coral bommie.

Photo credit: © 2008 Jeff Wildermuth used with permission by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Under the Sea - jellyfish
Printable version (926 KB)

A glowing aura radiates from a jellyfish (Thysanostoma thysamura) as it swims in the waters of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Visitors to the Science Museum of Minnesota's Omnitheater will meet the jellyfish and other colorful undersea creatures in the Under the Sea giant screen film, which opens on February 18.

Photo credit: © 2008 Jeff Wildermuth used with permission by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Under the Sea - wunderpus octopus
Printable version (753 KB)

An entertaining Wunderpus photogenicus does a pinwheel‐like somersault in the waters of Alotau in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, during the filming of the Under the Sea Omnitheater film. Under the Sea opens on February 18 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Photo credit: © 2008 Michele Hall, used with permission by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.