September 2023.
Mobile, Alabama.

Nestled along the waterfront of Mobile, Alabama, the GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf is a dynamic, interactive experience dedicated to the region’s rich maritime heritage. With hands-on exhibits, immersive displays, and engaging educational programs, GulfQuest brings to life the stories of seafarers and the industries that have shaped the Gulf of Mexico.

On the first floor, glass cases feature artifacts and photo stories about each state and country that shares the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. At the display’s base is a map with descriptions of each artifact.

The Florida display at the GulfQuest Museum features a pink taxi door with the signage “Five 6’s.” The door is a vintage artifact from the Five 6’s Taxi, which still serves Key West and the Florida Keys. The exhibit also showcases various cultural and historical artifacts from Florida, Cuba, and Mexico, including a Conch Republic flag. When we visited Key West, we learned about Key West’s mock secession from the United States. The Conch Republic is a symbolic micronation declared in Key West, Florida, on April 23, 1982, as a humorous protest against a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint causing significant traffic congestion on the only road connecting the Florida Keys to the mainland.

The museum is on multiple floors and features different exhibits to explore. This exhibit hall in the GulfQuest Museum is called “Deep Explorer.“ It features interactive displays related to ocean exploration, including sections like “Ocean Today.”

The mock container ship display is one of the GulfQuest Museum’s most striking features. The museum is designed to resemble a full-sized container ship, appearing to be docked along the Mobile River and ready to set sail into the Gulf.

Inside the ship, visitors can explore multiple decks filled with interactive exhibits, simulators, theaters, and artifact displays that highlight the maritime heritage and industry of the Gulf. The ship serves as the museum’s centerpiece.

The McLEAN at the GulfQuest Museum is named in honor of Malcolm McLean, the visionary behind containerized shipping. In the 1950s, McLean revolutionized global trade by developing the concept of standardized shipping containers, dramatically reducing costs and improving efficiency in maritime transport.

A door on the museum’s top floor allows visitors to walk “on the deck” of the museum’s “ship” to see views of Mobile Bay. One of the first things I saw from the deck was the Perdido Queen, which offers scenic cruises along the Mobile River and Mobile Bay. The vessel is designed to look like a paddlewheel steamer, but though the paddlewheel appears to be its method of propulsion, it’s a modern ship with a diesel engine that drives modern propellers.

My favorite exhibit is a small theater with a docent who lets audience members try their hand at “driving” a modern container ship or other vessel. Fortunately, we were the only people at this viewing, and I was the only one who wanted to try the simulator. The nine monitors show a captain’s view of Mobile Bay, and the docent sets up the simulator software to select a vessel of choice by the audience member, and to take us sailing along the Mobile River for about ten minutes.

The docent recommended a type of vessel from the list of choices. I could have picked a giant container ship, but he cautioned me that we would only be sailing at two knots or less. We wouldn’t see much of the harbor before the simulator time runs out. Instead, he suggested a much faster runabout to get good bay views.

The large 9-screen display was far too big to photograph from my vantage point at the captain’s chair. I could only manage about three monitors on my 16×9 cell phone display from this angle.

In addition to the ship’s wheel, I had throttle levers at my right hand and an electronic display to monitor the ship’s parameters. The docent noted that the software behind this simulator is from a company that designs ship simulators for captain and crew training. They provided the museum with a modified version for the exhibit.

Three iconic Mobile skyscrapers are prominent in our simulated sail up the Mobile River. Our tour of the river brought us to the bridges of the I-10 Interstate as they transit across the north end of Mobile Bay. I turned the ship around, and shortly after turning back toward our starting point, my time at the simulator ran out.

In a recent Cellpic Sunday, I featured this image of three skyscrapers that pierce the Mobile, Alabama, skyline. I included this photo to compare it to the view of the simulator screen as we “sailed” by the buildings from the Mobile River.

During our tour, Lynn took a photo of the docent with me at the controls. I think the docent was trying to distract me by pointing out something on the West Bank. I was concentrating on the fact that the red cargo ship on the right was moving toward the channel, and at this point, we might have been on a collision course. Note my hand on the throttle.

A note to those who might want to capture the images from the simulator: I took many more photos of the simulator screens during my time at the helm. Many of them didn’t turn out as my shutter speed was too fast. In many of the shots, one or more video screens were partly dark as my shutter speed was too fast for the screens to complete a display scan. Use a slower shutter speed if you have a “fancy” camera. Everyone in our party also used cell phones to capture images of the nine screens. All of the cell phone images captured the full-screen displays correctly.

Throughout this post, I’ve referred to this museum as the GulfQuest Maritime Museum. However, the name on its website is the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf. The photos on the website display the original name as the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. Let’s just say that I prefer its former name. You can find out details on the museum’s hours and pricing here.

The National Maritime Museum of the Gulf is a unique destination that engrossed us in the rich maritime history and culture of the Gulf of Mexico. With interactive exhibits, hands-on experiences, and the outside waterfront views, it was an unforgettable journey through seafaring, trade, and exploration along the Gulf Coast.

John Steiner