TIDEWATER AREA - NORFOLK

           Adults work on computers, children play on them---this perhaps explains the enthusiasm younger visitors express for Nauticus, the ultimate marriage of computer and museum.  Almost all the maritime exhibits have some interactive components: banks of monitors present menus of mini-movies, documentaries, animation and first-person interviews---all focusing on the power of the sea. 

For real state-of-the-arts battle action enter the AEGIS Theater, where you sit amid the action in the Combat Information Center on the world’s most sophisticated destroyer.  When the ship comes under enemy aircraft attack, you help the officers (they’re convincing actors) make battle choices.  The AEGIS system is not a dramatic creation, it’s the actual early warning system used by the navy to detect and destroy enemy submarines, aircraft and ships. Taking part in the drama at the AEGIS Theater will give you an appreciation for the speed needed in formulating command decisions.  The sense of reality is heightened by the actors and reinforced by actual screen footage of attacking aircraft complete with realistic sound effects.  The dramatic scenario creates the illusion that you are on board an AEGIS destroyer.  On three sides of the stage-like bridge, panels simulate advanced radar and sonar screens; you push buttons indicating whether you want  to send a warning, use a gatling gun or send a Tomahawk missile.  You’ll discover it isn’t enough to make the right decision, you also have to make it within the correct time frame---it’s seconds that separate the great commanders from the competent.  The battle scenario was prepared with the help of a former commander of an AEGIS ship and was reviewed by the navy---it’s an exciting experience available only at Nauticus.

If you are lucky you may even be able to board an AEGIS equipped navy ship docked at the Nauticus International Pier.  A variety of ships dock here as part of the virtually year-round Ships Visitation Program (it runs in all but the dead of winter).

If being part of the decision-making process whets your appetite for command, your next stop should be the interactive Virtual Adventures, another one-of-a-kind adventure that combines features of a ride, a movie and a game.  It is the ultimate computer game, where you actually become part of the action as you don polarized 3-D glasses and enter a compact submersible.   Via virtual reality you travel to the depths of Scotland’s Loch Ness, navigating the undersea terrain in search of the infamous Loch Ness Monster.  Each member of the six-man submersible crew has a task, either as commander, pilot, periscope operator or as one of two operators of the robotic arms used to retrieve the eggs of the Loch Ness Monster.  There are five other subs plus sea monsters who pose a threat to your craft; so again, speedy command decisions are necessary.  This is the only group networked virtual reality attraction currently operating.  Exit polls and other visitor monitoring has indicated this is youngsters’ favorite spot in the museum.

For the computer-phobic, Nauticus offers the hauntingly beautiful giant-screen film “The Living Sea” with a stirring score composed and performed by Sting.  Commissioned by Nauticus, the movie was filmed on location around the world.  It celebrates the sea, as seen from a myriad of perspectives.  Although there is not a bad seat in the house, the best perspective is in the center toward the back.  Undersea footage is breathtaking, with never-before-seen views of deep water denizens.  The sight of millions of jellyfish in the waters off the Central Pacific islands of Palua is sure to make you shiver.  The dramatic finale focusing on the Norfolk waterfront always garners spontaneous applause from the audience.

If you wished you could reach out and touch some of the delicate underwater creatures, then the nearby hands-on shark tank should be your next stop.  On busy afternoons, visitors wait in line for the chance to pet a nurse shark.  There are other touch tanks that provide tactile contact with sea urchins, sea stars and a wide variety of undersea life.

Nauticus has six themed exhibit areas: Exploratorium, Navigation, Commerce, Modern Navy, Research and Aquaria and Environment.  Youngsters’ creativity is encouraged in the “Grandma and Me” computer storyboards in the Exploratorium.  Colorful computer games allow children to tell a story by selecting from a menu of options.  This exhibit also includes a ship’s bridge and a 1944 periscope and telescopes that afford a good look at the port of Hampton Roads.  In Navigation you can engage in interactive shipbuilding, making choices regarding the hull, buoyancy, stability and other practical considerations.  After you learn the principles of navigation, you can use a computer to take a ship into San Francisco Harbor.  Commerce is a fitting topic since Hampton Roads Harbor is one of the world’s largest commercial ports.  More than 75 shipping lines stop at this port bringing $28 billion annually in imports and exports.  This harbor also has the largest dry dock in the world.  The Commerce exhibits reveal how man has crossed the oceans to exchange the world’s resources.  There are two films dealing with international maritime trade.  The Modern Navy lets you meet, through videos, many of the people who make up today’s navy.  Working laboratories and environmental exhibits on maintaining the quality of water in the Chesapeake Bay are part of the Research and Aquaria area.  Finally, you can videotape your own weather report after learning about climatic conditions in the Environment section of the museum.

This futuristic museum doesn’t neglect the past, it provides space for the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, one of 11 museums officially operated by the U.S. Navy.  Now located at Nauticus, it’s a separate identity and the only part of the complex for which there is no charge.  The museum provides an overview of naval action off Virginia’s Capes during the American Revolution, the decisive Civil War action in Hampton Roads and the efforts to keep open the Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes during both World Wars.  Even when looking back in time, high-tech methods are used.  A fiber optic map combines electronics and graphics to dramatically explain the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack. 

Walk through the passageway to a free tour of the USS Wisconsin right next door.

Nauticus is open daily May through September from 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.; the rest of the year it closes at 5:00 P.M. Tuesday through Sundays, and is closed on Mondays.  Nauticus is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. General admission is charged, plus tickets must be purchased for specific times for the three premium attractions: AEGIS Theater, Virtual Adventures and The Living Sea. There is a well-stocked gift shop, cafe and visitor information center for the Virginia waterfront on the museum’s ground floor.

After this exposure to the majesty and mystery of the sea, a perfect end to your day’s adventure would be a sunset sail aboard the American Rover docked at Norfolk’s Waterside.   This 135-foot three-masted topsail schooner is the largest passenger schooner sailing under U.S. flag.  It is a stirring sight to watch the crew set the sails.   The ship’s design was inspired by 19th-century cargo schooners, modified for the comfort of today’s passengers.  Seats line the ship’s railings on the topside deck and there is a below deck cocktail lounge and ship’s store where you can purchase souvenirs and sandwiches.  The Victory Rover also docked at Waterside provides a great close-up view of the ships at the U.S. Navy Base.

Day and evening two and three-hour sailings take you past historic spots on the Elizabeth River and along the Norfolk Naval Base where you will see the huge aircraft carriers, submarines and other naval vessels.  On the return voyage there is often live entertainment.  It is an ideal way to cap off a day in Norfolk.  For sailing schedule and rates call (804) 627-7245.

Directions: From the Richmond area take I-64 east to I-264 west, Waterside Drive exit.  Nauticus is at One Waterside Drive.  Parking is available at city garages within two blocks of the museum. The American Rover is docked in front of the blue-roofed Waterside Festival Marketplace.

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