Guided Tour Programs

When you reserve a group program, you will get to explore one of our vessels with a museum educator as your guide. Guided tour programs last 1 hour and cover your choice of topics and include presentations & hands-on activities that focus on the lives and duties of those who served at sea.

Guided Tour Programs

Powder Monkey Tour

The USS Constellation invites youngsters, six years old and up, to come aboard to learn about the lives of the young boys who served as powder monkeys during the Civil War. Young "recruits" will find out through demonstrations and hands-on activities, how lads from eleven to eighteen lived in President Lincoln's Navy. Powder Monkey Tours provide the visitors with an exceptional glimpse into mid-19th century American naval life through the unique perspective of the young boys who served on fighting ships as powder monkeys.

Black Sailors in Navy Blue Tour

Historic Ships in Baltimore interpreters offer this tour aboard USS Constellation. Learn about the experiences of the tens of thousands of sailors of African descent who served at sea during the American Civil War. These sailors, from freedmen along the Southern coast to old New England salts, enlisted in President Lincoln's navy and by 1865, the last year of the Civil War, black sailors constituted 20 percent of union naval enlistments. The Black Sailors in Navy Blue walking tour helps examine the work these men did, what their shipboard life was like, and how their experiences may have varied throughout the fleet.

A Ship as a Machine Tour

This walking tour includes demonstrations and one hands-on activity: Bracing the Yards. This tour examines the purpose, design, and construction of sailing warships and focuses on those aspects of Constellation's build that make her uniquely suited for the role she played. Basic questions are also considered such as:

"If the wind blows to the right, why does not the ship move to the right?"

"What keeps the ship from turning over in the water?"

"How are warships built differently than merchant ships?"

Constellation 101: An Adult Tour

This tour is targeted to adult groups. The Constellation 101 Tour provides an overview of the ship’s history and a comprehensive walk-through fore-and-aft, spar-deck-to-hold. Hands-on activities punctuate the tour and bring into focus some of the tasks associated with service aboard a mid-19th century, all-sail, man-of-war.

Constellation Fights the Slave Trade

USS Constellation is distinguished for her three years of service in the African Squadron from 1859 to 1861, when as the squadron's flagship she led the United States' fight against the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved people. With the outbreak of the Civil War, armed combat against slavery soon moved beyond the bounds of the sea and consumed the nation. While the war itself marks a well-known era in American history, USS Constellation stands as an important reminder of the pre-war struggles of people, both enslaved and free, and the conditions that made the war and shaped the nation. Learn about the ship's role in combating the international slave trade, and her capture of the slave ship Cora in 1860.


Have some extra time, or want to see the whole museum?
Guided Tour +Plus

Our Guided Tour +Plus option is a guided tour add-on that allows groups to reserve a guided tour at a specific time and also visit the other museum ships in our collection anytime during open hours. Benefits of the Guided Tour +Plus include

  • Filling any extra down time in your itinerary.
  • The ability to visit each of the other ships whenever you have space in your itinerary.
  • Having a private guided tour of one ship, while getting full general admission to rest of the museum at a substantial discount.
  • Focusing your guided tour on the topic of your choice, while also exploring 150 years of Naval and Maritime history.

Guided Tours
Pricing

Large tables may scroll

VisitorGuided Tour OnlyGuided Tour Program +

Gen. Admission to all Ships

Adult(15-59)

$15$22
Senior (60+)$13$19
Student (15-20 or w/ ID)$13$19
Youth (under 14)

$8

$11

Military (w/ active duty ID)$13$19

Guided Tour Request Form

You can request a guided program from the options above, or you can request a self-guided group tour, which is discounted general admission for groups. We can add additional visitors to a reservation up to the time of arrival. We can make any adjustments up to two weeks before arrival. To arrange your group experience please complete the form below:

Our daily tours are available year-round and require reservations. All shipboard tours are guided and about an hour in length.

Group Size

10 participants or more are required at minimum for the daily tours.

Payment

To view the daily tours cost, visit our tickets page. The balance of payment is due prior to or at the time of the guided tour and may be made by check or credit. Please allow time for making payment and ticket processing.

A non-refundable deposit is required on all guided tours. The deposit amount will depend upon the size of the group and may be applied toward a rescheduled tour if the tour is rescheduled more than two weeks prior to the original tour date.

Complementary Tickets

For elementary, middle, and high schools participating in our daily tours, a complementary(1) adult ticket is included for each 10 students.

For travel agencies participating in any daily tour, a complementary ticket(2) for bus driver and leader is also included.

For more information, contact:

Alexa Price

410-539-1797

programs@historicships.org

Historic Ships in Baltimore

301 E Pratt St.

Baltimore, MD 21231