The Navy’s official museum for all things undersea. 201 5 ANNUAL REPORT
The Naval Undersea Museum is the Navy’s official museum for undersea history, science, operations, and technology. We hold the most comprehensive collection in the country of U.S. Navy artifacts and documents related to undersea subjects, with especially strong specialty collections in torpedoes, mines, diving and salvage, submarine technology, and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). ABOUT THE NAMES USED IN THIS REPORT The Naval Undersea Museum (NUM) shares a Director, Design Manager, Exhibit Manager, and operating budget with our sister museum, the Puget Sound Navy Museum (PSNM). Externally and publicly, we are separate museums, with separate missions and identities, which operate independently. Internally, the umbrella name Navy Museums Northwest (NMNW) is sometimes used administratively to collectively refer to both museums. www.navalunderseamuseum.org
2015 HIGHLIGHTS • Welcomed 72,569 visitors, a 23% increase • Staged 79 education programs for 4,510 participants, a 30% increase • Added 658 artifacts to the collection • Opened three new temporary exhibits • Celebrated dsrv Mystic with vip tours, professional filming, and a special “dsrv day” event • Taught more than 1,350 students at Navy stem Days, in collaboration with psnm and psns, and doubled programming offerings in the 2015–2016 school year • Hosted 258 Navy ceremonies, meetings, and events attended by 20,483 Navy and civilian personnel • Added new staff members Kirk Dietz, Collections Manager, and Mary Rogers, Volunteer & Events Coordinator NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Dear Friends of the Museum, all around, 2015 was another very successful year for the Naval Undersea Museum! It was a year of continued growth, especially when you look at how much our wonderful staff and volunteer corps has grown. I am happy to tell you that in 2015 the Naval Undersea Museum operated at a very high level of professionalism and that our excellence has been confirmed by the Naval History and Heritage Command (nhhc) and the American Alliance of Museums (aam). num received a 2015 Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor for consistently high online ratings. All of num’s staff members received On-The-Spot awards from nhhc in 2015 that highlight their dedication to professionalism in our field. Valerie Johnson received a Time Off Award for her excellent work with the Navy stem Days program. Steve Harvey and Jarrod Gahr received challenge coins for their work in developing the Skin Deep exhibit with the Puget Sound Navy Museum staff. Mary Ryan received an On-The-Spot Award and a challenge coin from nhhc for her work in collecting information and presenting the findings of nhhc’s 2015 Climate Command Survey to senior leadership. I received the Superior Civilian Service Award from Admiral Cox, Director of nhhc, which is the highest award a civilian employee can receive. Olivia Wilson, Mary Ryan, and Jarrod Gahr received their Five Year Service Awards from the Navy, and Jennifer Heinzelman received her Fifteen Year Service Award from the Navy. The list of awards is incredible; many of them received national attention, and I am extremely proud of our fantastic staff! This past year the makeup within the Navy staff changed with the arrival of a Collections Manager and a Volunteer and Events Coordinator at num. Collections Manager Kirk Dietz came to us from the Kalaupapa National Historical Park on the island of Moloka’i in Hawai’i. Kirk also has many years of museum experience working for the National Parks Service and the Department of the Interior. Kirk joined Lorraine Scott as part of the Collections Management department. Together they will continue organizing and tackling our collections issues and we are excited to welcome Kirk to our great team. Volunteer and Events Coordinator Mary Rogers came to us from the Smithsonian. She has years of collections management, disaster planning, and much more varied museum experience. She joined Olivia and me in the Administrative Department and we greatly appreciate her spirit, organization, and new ideas. In 2015 we also saw the departure of long-time Collections Manager Jennifer Heinzelman, who worked at num for more than 15 years. She departed for other museum opportunities, and while we will greatly miss her presence and expertise at the museum, we appreciate her years of service and wish her well with her new adventures! We are very fortunate to have all of the hardworking staff who make the magic happen at num. Changes in exhibits, the public face of the museum, occupied the staff through much of 2015. The Naval Undersea Museum opened several new temporary exhibits in 2015. Curator Mary Ryan developed a new Artifact Spotlight series that refreshes the look of the lobby. The opening of the temporary exhibit N.E.D.U.: Rising to the Challenge is the most noteworthy of the new temporary exhibits. This 500-squarefoot exhibit includes 30 informational panels, 9 graphic element panels, 20 labels, 28 flipbook pages, and 11 interactive screens that are part of a media interactive. The 10-panel mini-exhibit in celebration of the Year of the Military Diver opened in August. The newest installment of Every Picture Tells a Story featuring anti-submarine www.navalunderseamuseum.org
warfare helicopters opened, guest curated by pilot cdr Jeffrey Barta. The Curatorial and Exhibit staff also developed new exhibit content for both onsite and online exhibits that will open or go live throughout 2016. Artifacts are the heart of our organization, and improvements in collections management continued throughout the year. Even though the Collections Managers are usually out of public view, they are absolutely essential to the functioning of the museums. They manage approximately 52,000 artifacts, large and small, in the collections. In 2015, they eliminated 16% of artifact backlog and completed major improvements in the 3rd floor small artifact storage area, collections storage, artifact conservation, integrated pest management, security, and archival management. num’s acquisition of the launching plaques of dsrvs Mystic and Avalon, the Anthony Dunn collection of Trieste ii (dsv-1) material, a one-of-a-kind dsrv Mystic qualification book, and a rare collection of oceanography films are the noteworthy treasures added to our collections. Education programs, outreach, and special events continue to draw people to the Naval Undersea Museum and are where we receive our repeat visitation. num made great strides in strengthening its position as a steam center for the Navy in 2015. Our successes with Engineers Discover “E” Day, Science Saturdays, Navy stem Days, and many more programs demonstrate the public’s interest in and appreciation of the museum. num’s collaboration with the Puget Sound Navy Museum, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport, and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility to launch the Navy stem Days program in 2014 and 2015 school year, in particular, has been a resounding success for the museum, local school districts, and the Navy. num served nearly 7,000 students and families through on and offsite programming in 2015. The Naval Undersea Museum also supported over 20,000 active duty Navy personnel and civilians through hosting ceremonies, meetings, and events in 2015. No recounting of the museum’s accomplishments would be accurate without a rousing acknowledgement of the volunteers who support our work in so many ways every day of the year. The museum’s volunteer staff is more than 60 strong and includes some of the friendliest and most accomplished people you will ever meet. They provide the quality that our visitors and the Navy recognize and appreciate. In 2015, the Naval Undersea Museum welcomed nine new volunteers. We also said thank you and farewell to volunteers Jennifer Dornbusch, Stan Marks, and Dorothy Ward. My staff and I could not operate the museums without the loyal, consistent, and dependable support of our superb volunteers. I look forward to 2016, knowing that the Naval Undersea Museum will continue to prosper with the strong support of the public, the volunteer staff, our private non-profit foundation, and the u.s. Navy. All the best, Lindy Dosher NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
EDUCATION & PROGRAMMING num’s educational programming continued to grow in both quantity and quality in 2015. The education department developed new programs and refined existing favorites to create exceptional learning experiences. With new fourth grade workshops for Navy stem Days and advanced Summer steam and Science Saturday initiatives, we’re solidifying our position as a leader in steam (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) programming. NAVY STEM DAYS Navy stem Days is a collaborative partnership between num, the Puget Sound Navy Museum, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport. The program brings eight local classrooms (grades 4–6) to the museum each month for all-day stem-based learning and activities. In just its second year of execution — with a doubled schedule — requests for the elementary school-level stem experience has soared to a full 2015 calendar plus a year-long wait list! stem Days is aligned with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Over 1,175 students have taken part in 2015’s eight stem Days. EIGHTY-TWO EDUCATIONAL AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS 2,000 OFFSITE 4,510 ONSITE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS OFFSITE VISITORS REACHED NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
DISCOVER “E” DAY OUTREACH PROGRAMMING Despite February’s unusual appearance of the sun, National Engineers Discover “E” Day drew 372 children and families to the museum for engineering learning experiments. Participants engaged in nine different hands-on activities, such as spectroscopes, catapults, and Cartesian divers. Activity stations were staffed by Naval Reserve personnel, civilian volunteers from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport, and museum volunteers. Discover “E” Day continues to be a highly successful annual event for num. SUMMER STEAM In late June we shifted gears towards Summer steam, a series of educational initiatives based in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. With families working together to solve challenges and explore new concepts, Summer steam supports education and slows “brain drain” between one grade level and the next. 1,000 visitors engaged with the program over ten weeks in 2015. Education staff participated in several off-site educational programs in 2015. These programs included hosting a booth at the annual Bremerton stem Showcase and the Regional History Day competition, participating as judges at a regional science fair, and representing the museum at community events like the Keyport Fest and Bremerton Veteran’s Day program. DSRV DAY In October we celebrated a year since we received dsrv Mystic by staging a full day of dsrv activities. Former dsrv pilot cdr Dick Taylor, usn (ret.) regaled a crowd with stories of his time as Officer-in-Charge of dsrv Avalon, our education department hosted dsrv-themed learning activities, and we displayed never-before-exhibited dsrv artifacts. www.navalunderseamuseum.org
SCHOOL AND TOUR GROUPS The Naval Undersea Museum welcomed over 35 school, youth, and adult groups in 2015. More than 1,120 students and tour groups participated in museum-led activities or explored the galleries with docent-led tours. SCIENCE SATURDAYS 2015 saw the growth of Science Saturdays, a steam (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) based, multigenerational program. Its family-friendly hands-on activities are thematically based in scientific concepts, which are integrated with the museum’s content. Approximately 322 visitors participated in 2015’s seven Science Saturday programs, a 278% increase from 2014. STQRY APP stqry is a mobile storytelling application that connects visitors to information about local museums and cultural institutions. In the last year, more than 4,000 digital visitors have used the app to learn more about us and our collection. T
NEW EXHIBITS 2015 was another strong year for num’s exhibition department. The exhibit team continued its ongoing efforts to replace the museum’s aging exhibits with new, engaging ones. Following 2014’s focus on submarine and deep submergence history, we switched gears in 2015 — temporary exhibits developed and installed this year expanded our diving interpretation. This year also brought plans for new exhibits projects to come, both in 2016 and longer term. NEDU: RISING TO THE CHALLENGE Opened September 25 The Navy Experimental Diving Unit (nedu) is the diving community’s secret weapon — it keeps Navy Divers, eod techs, and Special Forces divers safe and expands their diving abilities. This new exhibit tells the story of nedu and its most notable accomplishments, including developing the decompression tables used worldwide and certifying diving equipment to the Navy’s exacting standards. THREE NEW TEMPORARY EXHIBITS OPENED EXHIBIT PANELS WRITTEN, DESIGNED, AND INSTALLED 65 1 CURATOR NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT GUEST
“ It is the interactions among people, real objects, phenomena, and ideas that make museum exhibitions unique. Exhibitions are the essence of a museum experience.” Kathleen McLean EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY ASW Helos, opened in July 2015 saw the third installment of this exhibit series, which parses photographs to explain the history and stories behind different components in each image. asw Helos, guest curated by pilot cdr Jeffrey Barta, explains how Seahawk helicopters conduct antisubmarine warfare operations. UNITED STATES NAVY MILITARY DIVERS Opened in August Navy divers possess unrivaled diving expertise and abilities — excellence necessary to safely handle the dangerous, challenging nature of military diving. This display, developed for the Year of the Military Diver celebration in 2015, introduces visitors to the several types of military divers in the u.s. Navy. www.navalunderseamuseum.org
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COLLECTIONS & RESEARCH The core asset of any museum is its collection. We derive our identity and products — education programs and exhibits — from our artifacts. In 2015 num’s collections and curatorial departments continued their excellence in collections management and research, with achievements like adding 658 new artifacts to the collections, facilitating tours of dsrv Mystic, and supporting a cnn research and filming project. The collections department also doubled in size with the addition of a second Collections Manager! SIGNIFICANT ACQUISITIONS In 2015, we accessioned 658 new items into the collection. Notable acquisition included the launching plaques of dsrvs Mystic and Avalon (the equivalent to a ship’s bell), the Anthony Dunn collection of Trieste 11 (dsv-1) material, a one-ofa-kind dsrv Mystic qualification book, and a rare collection of oceanography films. 658 NEW ITEMS MORE THAN 40,000 ITEMS IN THE ARTIFACT COLLECTION ADDED TO THE COLLECTION IN 2015 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 131ANSWERED NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
LIBRARY REORGANIZATION The num library reorganization, begun in 2014, was completed in 2015. num now has an expanded Curatorial Research Library and designated space to expand much needed small artifact storage in the future. Many books and other resources from the num library were transferred to seven Navy libraries and museums across the country. DSRV MYSTIC TOURS In July, num hosted VIPs from the Naval History and Heritage Command (nhhc) for a special tour inside dsrv Mystic. nhhc Director Sam Cox, mso Director Jim Bruns, and mso Deputy Director cdr Jeffrey Barta traveled from Washington, d.c., to partake in the rare opportunity. The Collections Department coordinated the tours with detailed photo documentation of Mystic’s interior by a specialized photographer. COLLECTIONS OVERSIGHT Much of our collections work occurs out of sight, behind the scenes. Additional projects of note accomplished by our collections management department in 2015 included: • Inventorying 2,558 objects, of which 1,575 were reviewed and processed, as part of a multi-year collections inventory. • Washing the exteriors of macro artifacts Trieste 11 (dsv-1) and Deep Quest, two of our outdoor submersibles. • Developing exhibit mounts and security for 26 artifacts while assisting the Exhibits Department with three new exhibits and displays. • Managing our active loan program, which currently has 45 artifacts on loan to 29 separate organizations. www.navalunderseamuseum.org
RESEARCH Our curatorial staff fielded over 130 historical and artifact questions in 2015! Like our mission, the inquiries covered a wide range of subject areas. We were pleased to share our knowledge and resources with everyone who contacted us for help, including: • The Cable News Network (cnn), requesting information about Trieste 11 (dsv-1) for an episode of their new show “Declassified.” • eod Mobile Unit 2, seeking assistance in identifying a torpedo found off Fort Lauderdale to allow its safe recovery. (It was a Mark 13!) • A phd canidate writing his doctoral dissertation about the torpedo problems of World War 11, looking for technical documentation about the Mark 14 torpedo and Mark 6 magnetic influence exploder. num staff also conducts and supports ongoing research into the history, significance, and technology of our artifact collection. In 2015 we took on several projects, including: • Studying and researching newly acquired dsrv artifacts, including their launching plaques, that document the early years of the dsrvs. • Introducing an “Artifact Spotlight” display that lets us exhibit new artifacts each month as well as sharing information about the artifacts on our website. • Reviewing 80 archival boxes (100 linear feet) of dsrv documents acquired from the Submarine Rescue Unit in 2014 with dsrv Mystic. • Assessing the 313 commemorative plaques in our collection to research and document their provenance wherever possible. NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
PUBLIC RELATIONS HIGHLIGHTS DSRV Day: In September, num stepped into the spotlight when cnn chose us as a film site for an episode of its new show, “Declassified.” A crew from production company all3Media set up an entire film set in our submarine gallery to interview cdr Dick Taylor, usn (ret.), who participated in the declassified mission being featured. num’s own Trieste ii (dsv-1), also part of the operation, was also filmed for the episode, which will air in summer 2016. TRIPADVISOR AWARD TripAdvisor awarded us a 2015 Certificate of Excellence for the second year in a row. The award is given to organizations that receive consistently outstanding reviews by TripAdvisor travelers. NATIONAL AND LOCAL PRESS VIP Mystic Tour: • nrnw Public Affairs, Naval Undersea Museum Opens DSRV Mystic to VIPs (7/28/15) • Navy.mil homepage, Naval Undersea Museum Keyport Opens DSRV Mystic to VIPs (7/23/15) • nrnw Public Affairs, Naval Undersea Museum Keyport Hosts DSRV Day (10/20/15) • Navy.mil homepage, Naval Undersea Museum Hosts DSRV Day (10/19/15) • Kitsap Sun, Naval Undersea Museum to Host DSRV Day Celebration (10/7/15) • Central Kitsap Reporter, Rescue subs to be celebrated at Naval Undersea Museum (10/2/15) • Kitsap Sun, Museum to Feature Submarine Rescuers (9/30/15) Education Programs: • Navy.mil homepage, Naval Undersea Museum Keyport Hosts STEM Fair (11/27/15) • nrnw Public Affairs, Naval Undersea Museum Hosts STEM Fair (11/23/15) • nrnw Public Affairs, Students Test Science, Engineering Skills at STEM Fair (4/22/15) • Navy.mil homepage, STEM Fair at Puget Sound Navy Museum (4/15/15) • nrnw Public Affairs, Discover ‘E’ Day Brings Out Future Engineering Candidates (3/11/15) • nrnw Public Affairs, Naval Undersea Museum Hosts Discover “E” Day (3/2/15) • Navy.mil homepage, Puget Sound Navy Museum Hosts STEM Day (2/18/15) CNN FILM SHOOT www.navalunderseamuseum.org
NAVY SUPPORT We are pleased to support Navy commands and personnel by hosting Navy-related events at the museum. In 2015, we hosted 20,483 Navy and civilian personnel for 258 meetings, retirement ceremonies, Change of Command ceremonies, briefings and trainings, reenlistments, and other special events. Major Navy commands supported included: Commander Submarine Group 9 Commander Submarine Squadron 19 comsubdevron 5 Marine Corps Security Force Battalion Naval Base Kitsap Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest Naval Operations Support Center Kitsap Naval Reactor Representative’s Office Naval Safety Center Naval Sea Systems Command Naval Submarine League Naval Submarine Support Center Naval Undersea Warfare Center – Division Keyport navsup Fleet Logisitcs Center Puget Sound Navy Band Northwest Navy College Navy Region Northwest Nuclear Weapons Inspection Detachment Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility Region Legal Service Office nw Southern Illinois University Strategic Weapons Facility pnw Trident Training Facility u.s. Naval Sea Cadet Corps u.s. Navy League Cadets udt-seal Association pacnw uss Alabama (ssbn-731) (Blue) and (Gold) uss Henry M. Jackson (ssbn-730) (Blue) uss Jimmy Carter (ssn-23) uss John C. Stennis (cvn-74) uss Louisiana (ssbn-743) (Gold) uss Nebraska (ssbn-739) uss Nevada (ssbn-733) (Gold) uss Nimitz (cvn-68) uss Ohio (ssgn-726) (Blue) uss Will Rogers (ssbn-659) Veterans Association Vincennes University NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTIONS num is fortunate to have a large, dedicated volunteer corps. In 2015, 72 volunteers worked 4,962 hours orienting visitors to the museum, providing scheduled guided tours, conducting collections research, operating the museum store, assisting with exhibit installation, facilitating educational programs, undergoing training, and supporting the administrative department. PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS Sixteen volunteers earned Presidential Volunteer Service Awards in 2015 — fifteen volunteered more than 100 hours to earn the Bronze level award, and one volunteer devoted over 250 hours to earn the Silver award. SPECIAL PROJECTS num’s largest new 2015 exhibit, NEDU: Rising to the Challenge, benefited greatly from the generous aid of num volunteers. Ted Newman, Bob Paul, and Mike Peterson gave many hours to assist the Exhibits Department in preparing the exhibit gallery, painting gallery walls, helping install graphic panels, and assisting with exhibit lighting. Collections Volunteer Charles Gundersen devoted more than 230 hours in 2015 to assist the Collections Department. Charles is working on a multi-year project to help process the Willard Searle collection, which numbers over 150 linear feet of documents. www.navalunderseamuseum.org
The following people volunteered their time and energy at the Naval Undersea Museum during 2015: John Alcantra Libby Anderson David Anderson Samuel Anderson Sharon Baker Dan Batman* John Berge Burt Boyd Hoyt Burrows Kim Callender Donald Chalupka Delores Contreras* Tim Cullen Glen Curtis Cate Devine Jennifer Dornbusch Nick Evans Olivia Galles Harry Gilger Steve Grether Charles Gundersen* Nikki Haas* Norm Haas Tom Heman* Caroline Hoag Darlene Iskra Phyllis Jelley* Joyce Johnson* Robert Johnson Brian Kenward* Bob Latham David Ledbetter* + Silver Presidential Volunteer Service Award Recipient * Bronze Presidential Volunteer Service Award Recipient NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT Tom Lee Dick LeVon Raymond Long Paul Lucas* Stan Marks Estelle McNeice Larry Meehan Robin Moreau Ted Newman* Victor Nielson Helene Norman Robert Paul* Michael Peterson* Jan Pietras Joe Rhodes Bill Ridley Trish Ridley Bruce Riggins* Frederick Roecker Susan Roecker Nancy Sanders Ellen Schroeder Carol Sigg Larry Snyder* James Strycharski+ Tony Sultan William Swope* Kevin Syltebo* Jun Talosig Louann Terry Mary Jo Tharp Bonnie Thomas Don Tjossem Tom Tompkins Vivian Tucker Jerome Turner Dorothy Ward Kee Webb Cathy Wedelstaedt Roy Wilson
NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM STAFF Collections Manager Director Design Manager Exhibit Manager Educator Volunteer & Events Coordinator Curator Collections Manager Operations Manager KIRK DIETZ LINDY DOSHER* JARROD GAHR* STEVEN HARVEY* VALERIE JOHNSON MARY ROGERS MARY RYAN LORRAINE SCOTT OLIVIA WILSON *Staff shared with the Puget Sound Navy Museum 2015 STAFF AWARDS LINDY DOSHER received the Superior Civilian Service Award, the highest award a civilian employee can receive. JARROD GAHR, MARY RYAN, and OLIVIA WILSON received their Five Year Service Awards. MARY RYAN received an MSO Excellence Medal and an OnThe-Spot Award for writing the 2015 MSO Climate Command Assessment executive summary and plan of action. VALERIE JOHNSON received a Time Off Award for her work with the Navy STEM Days program.
2015 ANNUAL REPORT NA VAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 1 Garnett Way, Keyport, WA www.navalunderseamuseum.org
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