NOTE: The word ‘Great’ is in quote marks as the exhibit includes the Great Lakes AND inland lakes of NY.

Contacts:

Dave White, New York Sea Grant, E: dgw9@cornell.edu, P: 315.312.3042

Kara Lynn Dunn, Publicist, E: karalynn@gisco.net, P: 315.465.7578

Holly Liapis, SUNY Albany,  E: The Office of Communications, P: 518.320.1311

David Boughton, PA Sea Grant, E: dbb11@psu.edu, P: 814.217.9011 x108


The Great Shipwrecks of NY’s ‘Great’ Lakes exhibit's panels and maps will make an appearance at The State University of New York Gallery in Albany, NY from May 4 to May 27, 2016. Photo: Lake Erie Seaway Trail

ALBANY, NY, April 12, 2016 -  The Great Shipwrecks of NY’s ‘Great’ Lakes Traveling Exhibit developed by New York Sea Grant will be installed at The State University of New York at Albany Gallery, 353 Broadway, Albany, NY, from May 4 to May 27, 2016. Admission to the exhibit from 10 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday is free.

The Great Shipwrecks exhibit features shipwrecks spanning more than 200 years across New York State. Ten interpretive panels highlight fascinating details about the historic underwater wrecks and landscapes in Lake Erie, Ontario, Lake Champlain, the Finger Lakes, Lake George and the St. Lawrence River. A miniature replica of the ‘turtle ship’ radeau, North America’s oldest warship purposely sunk by the British in Lake George in 1758, was made specifically for this exhibit.

“The State University of New York is proud to host this intricate traveling exhibit featuring the historic shipwrecks of New York and the beautiful lakes and rivers forever affected by their presence,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “We look forward to sharing this exhibit with our friends and neighbors in the downtown Albany community.”

The exhibit also includes an aquatic ROV, remotely operated vehicle, provided by the Great Lakes Research Consortium, and one of the New York Sea Grant Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign educational vessels for 2016.

New York Sea Grant first developed the Great Shipwrecks exhibit to be the 2014 Great New York State Fair Signature Exhibit in the New York State mini-park at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY. Among the hosts for exhibit to date are Tyler Art Gallery, a teaching gallery regularly used by art classes and museum studies students at SUNY Oswego, and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Basin Harbor, Vermont.

“Lessons from history are essential educational vehicles. Understanding New York’s maritime history and the risks individuals took to pioneer that history are important as we think about future economic opportunities related to our waterways, commerce and coastal hazards. New York Sea Grant is pleased to present this exhibit to spark learning and discussion,” said New York Sea Grant Associate Director and Cornell Cooperative Extension Assistant Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth.

Pennsylvania Sea Grant is hosting the exhibit at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle, PA, through April 24, 2016. Pennsylvania Sea Grant Maritime Education Manager David Boughton estimates that 18,000 viewers will have seen the exhibit there.

“We cannot thank New York Sea Grant enough for sharing the 11 panels that prompted this exhibit that has broken all previous attendance records for a winter season display,” Boughton said, “and the timing perfectly parallels our application for a National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Erie.”

New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist David G. White estimates the Great Shipwrecks of NY’s ‘Great’ Lakes Traveling Exhibit was seen by more than 40,000 people in its inaugural travel year of 2015. Learn more at www.nyseagrant.org/shipwreck.


The traveling exhibit, which in late April wrapped up a nearly two month stay at Erie, Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge Environmental Center, has also made stops at the Lake Erie Seaway Trail Visitor Center in Hamburg, NY (late Fall 2015-early winter 2016), the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (Summer 2015),  Syracuse's Museum of Science and Technology (Spring 2015), SUNY Oswego (early 2015) and at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, NY (late Summer 2014). Photo: Lake Erie Seaway Trail


After a very successful run at the Syracuse Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) in Spring 2015, the "Great Shipwrecks of NY¹s 'Great' Lakes" exhibit found a home at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, where it was on exhibit thorugh Labor Day. While at the MOST, it was seen by over 35,000 museum guests before a brief stop in Burlington, VT for an exhibit at the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network Conference. Photo: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG) coordinated the Great Shipwrecks exhibit development in partnership with the Great New York State Fair, Great Lakes Research Consortium, and Great Lakes Seaway Trail. Lake Champlain Sea Grant, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, H. Lee White Marine Museum, National Aquatics Services, Mexico, NY, Cub Scouts and others participated in the State Fair exhibit. Federal funding for The Great Shipwrecks exhibit was secured through a Great Lakes Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway grant.

NYSG, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

NYSG maintains Great Lakes offices at SUNY Buffalo, the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark, and at SUNY Oswego. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Manhattan, in the Hudson Valley through Cooperative Extension in Kingston and at Brooklyn College. 

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published several times a year.


More Info: State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school and business in the state. In 2014-15, SUNY served nearly 1.3 million students, including nearly 600,000 in credit bearing courses and programs and nearly 700,000 through continuing education and community outreach programs. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in nearly $1 billion of externally-sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree are SUNY alumni. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.