National Maritime Museum facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
National Maritime Museum

The museum's main entrance
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Established	1937; 88 years ago (1937)
Location	Greenwich London, SE10 United Kingdom
Collection size	2 million+ objects
Visitors	2,367,904 (2009) Ranked 12th nationally
Public transit access	Cutty Sark Greenwich
Area	200 acres (0.81 km²)

The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a cool place in Greenwich, London, where you can learn all about ships and the sea! It's part of a bigger group called Royal Museums Greenwich. This group of museums is located in a special area of Greenwich that is recognized as a World Heritage Site. Just like many other national museums in the UK, it's usually free to enter. However, some special exhibits might have a small fee.

How the Museum Started
What You Can See at the Museum
The Museum's Location in Greenwich
- Modern Updates
Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre
Directors of the National Maritime Museum
Caird Medal Winners
Images for kids
See also

How the Museum Started

The National Maritime Museum was officially created by a special law in 1934. It was made possible thanks to many generous gifts, especially from Sir James Caird. King George VI officially opened the museum on April 27, 1937. His daughter, Princess Elizabeth, joined him for the trip along the River Thames from London. Sir Geoffrey Callender was the museum's very first director.

What You Can See at the Museum

Portrait of Captain James Cook by Nathaniel Dance at the National Maritime Museum

Greenwich has always been connected to the sea and finding your way around. The Romans landed here a long time ago. King Henry VIII even lived here! The British Navy also has strong roots in this area. In 1675, King Charles II started the Royal Observatory. Its main job was to help sailors figure out their exact location at sea.

Greenwich has been the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian since 1884. This means it's been a super important place for studying the stars and time. Sailors all over the world have set their clocks based on Greenwich time.

Amazing Collections

The museum has over two million items! These items tell the story of Britain's history at sea. You can find beautiful maritime art, including paintings from Britain and 17th-century Holland. There are also old maps, important handwritten documents, and models of ships. You can even see real scientific tools that sailors used to navigate and keep time.

Some of the most famous items include paintings of brave sailors like Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson and Captain James Cook.

The Bretagne, a painting by Jules Achille Noël, 1859

Admiral George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith by George Sanders

The museum often lends its items to other museums. This means people in the UK and other countries can enjoy these amazing historical objects.

Learning About History

The museum wants everyone to better understand British history. It shows how the sea has affected culture, society, and politics. The museum also hosts many special exhibits. Past exhibits have included Ships Clocks & Stars and Samuel Pepys: Plague, Fire, Revolution.

Special Items from History

The museum's collection also includes items from the German Naval Academy Mürwik. These items were brought to the museum after World War II. They are considered "war trophies" and were moved under special agreements made after the war.

The Caird Medal

The museum gives out the Caird Medal every year. This award honors Sir James Caird, who gave so much to help start the museum. It's given to people who have done really important work related to the museum's interests and who share their knowledge with the public.

The Titanic Relics

In 2018, the National Maritime Museum joined with other groups. They wanted to buy 5,500 items from the famous ship, the RMS Titanic. Their goal was to keep all these items together in one collection. They hoped to display them permanently in Belfast, where the Titanic was built, and in Greenwich. However, the groups did not have enough money to buy the collection at the auction.

The Museum's Location in Greenwich

The museum officially opened in 1934. It is located within the beautiful Greenwich Royal Park, which is about 200 acres (0.8 square kilometers). The buildings used to be a school called the Royal Hospital School.

Modern Updates

In 1999, the main galleries of the museum were completely updated. This big project was called Neptune Court. Later, in 2008, a generous person named Sammy Ofer donated £20 million for a brand new gallery.

Between 2016 and 2017, about 2.41 million people visited the National Maritime Museum.

The main galleries had another big update in the early 2020s. This included replacing the roof of Neptune Court. These updates were finished in 2025, and the gallery was renamed the Ocean Court.

Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre

The museum has another important site nearby in Kidbrooke. It's called the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre. This center opened in 2018. It stores about 70,000 items from the museum's collection. You can visit it on special guided tours, but you need to book ahead of time.

Directors of the National Maritime Museum

A Type 23 frigate propeller at the National Maritime Museum

1937–1946: Geoffrey Callender
1947–1966: Frank George Griffith Carr
1967–1983: Basil Jack Greenhill
1983–1986: Neil Cossons
1986–2000: Richard Louis Ormond
2000–2007: Rear Admiral Roy Clare
2007–2019: Dr Kevin Fewster
2019–present: Paddy Rogers

Caird Medal Winners

Museum interior

The Caird Medal started in 1984. It celebrates the 50th birthday of the law that created the National Maritime Museum. The medal is given each year to someone who has done amazing work related to the museum's interests. This person must also be good at sharing their knowledge with the public. The medal is named after Sir James Caird, who gave a lot of money to start the museum.