"At Play on the Bay" Exhibit

Exploring changes through a major new exhibition
The exhibition “At Play on the Bay” explores one of the most dramatic aspects of the Bay’s twentieth-century history—the explosion of recreation and the changes that came with it. Showcasing many of the Museum’s recreational boats, as well as more than 400 historical artifacts and photographs, the exhibit is located in a new building on the Navy Point waterfront with the Miles River as a backdrop.

Designed to allow visitors the opportunity to explore the Bay’s unique recreational story, the exhibit features fourteen sections, including an early twentieth-century canoe campsite, a boathouse and Owens cruiser, a 1950s tackle shop, and a yacht club. Organized chronologically, the show explores historical moments, from the early tourists to the region, to the role of organized sailboat racing and cruising in community development, to the mass production and marketing of motorboats, to the emergence of African-American resorts and the widening access to recreation. As they travel through the show, visitors experience racing sailboats and hydroplanes, climb aboard a 30-foot Owens cruiser, view the historic and contemporary landscapes of St. Michaels’ harbor, design their own burgee, and watch home movies of families having fun on the Bay. Video throughout the exhibition includes log canoe, one-design, and hydroplane races as well as interviews with some of the racers.

Over the past 100 years, the Chesapeake Bay has changed dramatically from a place of work to a place where people come to play. The shift from a primarily agricultural and seafood harvesting economy to one based on recreation, tourism, and suburbanization has remade the landscape and ways of working and living around the Bay. This exhibition is the first on the Chesapeake to take a comprehensive look at these changes. It will be complemented by a range of educational programs and activities for all ages.

1. "At Play on the Bay" Exhibit
2. Historic Vessel Program Endowment & Skipjack Restoration Project
3. Marine Railway Upgrade
4. Information Technology
5. Old Point Restoration
6. Curatorial Acquisitions
7. Rosie Parks Restoration
8. Boat Shop Renovation
9. Chesapeake Encounters
10. Steamboat Building Expansion

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