City: Newport News, VA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (757) 596-2222

Address: 100 Museum Dr.

Description: The ironclad Monitor sank in a storm off the coast of North Carolina after fighting the CSS Virginia to a standstill in Hampton Roads. Its resting place is our first National Marine Sanctuary, but parts of the ship have been removed and they are on display or being preserved at this $30 million facility run by the Mariners’ Museum and NOAA next door to the museum itself. Here you can walk on a full-size replica of the Monitor and look at the actual turret that fired the shots in 1862 that changed marine warfare forever. It’s submerged in a 20-year bath to ensure the saltwater is removed before it can eat away any more metal. In fact, one of the most exciting aspects of the center is that the folks who are doing the preservation are in full view. You can watch as they perform their delicate dance against decay. The center uses lighting and innovative exhibits to take you back to the days of wooden warships, where decks were a dangerous place raked by broadsides with little protection for the sailors. You see a 50-foot replica of the Virginia’s bow, covered in iron with its massive battering ram. You learn how a designer pulled together the Monitor in 100 days to meet that challenge and then watch a show that recreates the battle. There’s another battle that’s equally exciting, the one to raise that massive turret from the ocean bottom, told in a film narrated by actor and famous film voice Sam Watterson that features interviews and the actual footage from the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Open daily, admission $12.50 for adults, $7.25 for children 6 to 17.