Excellent museum in Sturgeon Bay, there are plenty of things to learn and discover about the maritime history of the county. Boat miniatures are very well detailed and provide a good overview of the boats that have been built in the shipyard nearby.

This museum is awesome! Lots of cool information about the history of ships in the Great Lakes and how Sturgeon Bay shipbuilding contributed to World War 2. My favorite part was the exhibit about shipwrecks!

This whole town is lovely and such a joy to come to year after year.Just come visit and slow down your life.Take in and take out

Every body there was professional. My daughter and I loved all the stories ️ and hands on for the kids. Will go there again

This is a very well-done museum. There has been an annual classic & wooden boat show every August since 1991. The exhibits are also changed quite often, so the museum remains interesting to people who have already visited in the past. The exhibits are very interactive and fun for kids to enjoy as well.

Great museum that does not take long to visit, but has a dense amount of history and knowledge to enjoy. Their gift shop is one of the best nautical themed I have seen.

Love this place! Great local museum run by the best staff ️

This is a first class Maritime museum. Part of the museum is a 149 Ocean going tug launched in 1919. A must see...

So much great history and information! I loved the lighthouse section and the rich ~depths~ of stories and artifacts housed here. Well worth the price of admittance!

Great exhibits, and the tree raffle is so fun! Hope I win something

Stopped here on our way home from Door County. Adult prices: $10 for the museum, $8 for the tug, and $15 for both. The museum consists of four areas: two downstairs and two upstairs. There is much to see and history to read with so many awesome models of ships throughout the years. One room upstairs (The Shipwrecks of Door County) was all hands-on activities and items to get a feel for what being on the water would be like. We had read about the possibility of a tugboat tour if they had a tour guide in that day, which they did! We met with our guide, Paul, at 1130. There were 7 of us on the tour. We headed outside where he gave us the background of the tug, John Purves. It turned out that he was one of the volunteers who worked on bringing the tug back to its former glory! After learning its history we boarded the tug and went on a tour throughout receiving info on what the crew would have used the area for, what the renovation folks had to do to fix the area and what was all original pieces. Paul really knew what he was talking about and was a wonderful guide. We ended the tour in the pilot house where we received a little booklet on the tug (free!). Definitely spend the extra $5 for the tug tour, it is so worth it. We spent a total of three hours at the museum and tug, time well spent.

Great stop to learn a lot about ships and lighthouses. Its very interactive and fun for all ages. They have activities, a tugboat tour, pictures, models, and even real ships! The place is great and not too big, but can keep people entertained for hours on end.

Clean and interesting. Cool history of Sturgeon bay and advancements in maritime technology, was hoping for more sturgeon stuff though.

Very nice museum that covers the history of the area. Theyre building an observation tower that should have a fabulous view. Worth the visit.

Wonderful museum. Lots of interactive displays.

Very cool museum. Lots of interesting things and interactive exhibits.What is really interesting is you can see some of the boats that have been made in the area.

Very interesting place. Lots of information. Cant wait to see new additions.

Very well put together and need Museum! Kid-friendly, and very informative. Love the ambience of the center. Clean facilities, and an adorable little gift shop by the entrance. Very family-friendly. Was a huge fan of the lighthouse exhibits, and the hands on activities upstairs. Great place to spend several hours exploring and learning.

Must see experience in Sturgeon Bay, come back in May 2021 to see the new exhibits in the Lighthouse Tower!

Lots of fun. Cook exhibits. Just wish they had an actual ship docked to step onboard and get a complete experience.

Fun museum with lots of local heritage! Light houses, boats and diving.

Interesting and fun. My granddaughter enjoyed it.

This is a very cool place to stop. I would highly suggest paying the extra three dollars for a boat tour. Tour takes about 45 mins. Highly recommend

Did not feel as though the museum offered much. Whole outside area closed due to construction. Overall disappointing

Nice place to go and take the kids so they can learn some history

The history of the area is amazing... cant wait to visit again planning our next visit so that we can tour the boat

A great meusem with an interesting Tucker boat tour. There is so much to learn here about the history of the area and the boats and the people involved.

Great History! Clean and very informative! A+

Lovely museum. Took a tour of the tugboat John Purves (although the tour is based on available volunteer hours, so be aware it may not always be available) which was really cool. Lots of great exhibits. Great for those interested in maritime history, and a couple of neat interactive exhibits as well. Models and replicas everywhere, so kids should have something to look at if they aren’t interested in the source material. Highly recommended.

A nice museum that details the history if the area. Lots of models to see. Decent gift shop with some good trinkets.

What a great job of preserving your history...loved the tugboat tour...our guide was great.

Seamen, Ships and Christmas Trees TooAs my time in Wisconsin begins to wind down, I recently traveled to Sturgeon Bay, in search of lighthouses. I’ve always been fascinated by them since seeing one in the movie, The Portrait of Jennie.My first stop was the maritime museum to gather some insight into the history of the town. One of the brochures I picked up about the museum offers a scavenger hunt that gives insight into the various galleries in the building. For example, in the Carla & Ellsworth Peterson Gallery, you can look through a 1985 periscope that was installed on the USS Lewis and Clark SSBN 644. It was removed in January of 1992.In the Horton Gallery, I learned the importance and contributions that dogs made as companions to lighthouse keepers and to rescue missions. In the presentation, “Sentinels of the Shore” insights to the history of the lighthouses of Door County is a wonderful tribute.I will admit that I was distracted by the Merry-Time Festival of Trees. (November 11-December 12) I’m a sucker for Christmas and these wonderful symbols, over twenty-five different decorated delights, were a joy. Businesses, organizations and residents adorn each tree in regards to a theme and surprises underneath its branches. The best part is that each one is a part of a raffle that allows you to bid on a tree of your choice.The admission fee of 10.00 provides a ticket to the raffle. The museum offers AAA discount. Overall: This visit was worth the time. They have a nice gift shop that offers shirts, mugs, knick-knacks and a wonderful collection of books related to maritime history, lighthouses and other information. Fingers crossed that I win the tree of my dreams.

Nice and clean. Informational.

Always had fun here when I came with the family. They usually have a different theme every year which is nice. The make-shift boat building competition is always fun to watch. Great direct connection to the tugboat.

Very neat place. Spent hours there and still probably missed some things. So much to learn. Will definitely be back in the spring when the tug boat is open

Worth the Time! It was a rainy day in Door County, a great day to tour the Museum. We walked in and was greeted with a warm and friendly hello. We felt welcome. We took the tour of the John Purves tug boat, the gentleman giving the tour was very interesting and informative, he answer all of our questions. The displays were well done and had some nice hands on experiences. It is worth the time!

Affordable tickets and a great variety of content! Free parking!

Amazing paint job.

Fun place! My favorite part is the whole museum was the model area. So much work had to be put into those models. Also love that you guys have a model of my grandpas navel ship. I LOVE TUGBOATS!

Great place to take your kids.

Second visit. Very interesting.

Loved the new displays added since we were there 6 yrs ago. Brought along grandsons (9 and 12 yrs) and they really liked being able to put hands on many displays. Enjoyed the ships wheel on the Elba and the periscope.

VERY cool! Free walking tour outside of awesome artifacts. Admission prices totally reasonable. Brandon at the front desk goes above and beyond for patrons! John Purves tugboat is like walking back in time. Definitely check this place out!

Lots of history. Great place to visit

Its a neat little museum!!

Loved the museum. Very interesting.

The museum has a lot of small boat replicas, a working periscope, a gift shop and other hands on learning activities. I would have given it 5 stars if one of the floating tug boats had been open to tour, but they are just for looking at from the dock. However, the tug boats are open to the public to continue looking at from the dock after the museum closes.

Very interesting place to visit!!

Our favorite part was the tour of the tug boat. We learned a lot from the guide about the lakes and the history of tug boats and other watercraft on the lakes. It was amazing how the crew worked and lived on this boat. Well worth the time and money.

Nice museum...but please note: The hours posted on door and here on Yelp are not what the actual hours are. We paid at 3 pm on a Saturday and thought we had 2 full hours. We were alarmed when upstairs watching a video when the lights went out and we heard a click of the door closing. This was at 4:20.The curator (probably a volunteer) was upstairs thank goodness and we were able to get out. She informed us the museum had been closed for 1/2 hour (? it was 4:20) and they close at 4 pm. The sign on the door says 5 pm.We would have never paid $20 for 1 hour in any museum, not nearly enough time to enjoy everything.Our car was clearly in sight in the parking lot, so it was obvious someone was still in building. Also, we heard no announcement telling us they were closing. Very odd and disappointing experience.

Great stop for a family. Lots of interactive components, videos, and fun displays.

Nice and modern exhibits - everything was really clean and well kept up and quite a few exhibits had interactive elements. It was a manageable size, with plenty of interesting things to see. Overall a good value.

Lots of neat maritime stuff.

Small but friendly and easy to navigate

Great museum with lots to see. Could spend a couple of days to really see everything. The tour of the ship was awesome!

So much history and maritime lore in one place! Great interactive exhibits for kids. Tug boat tour was eye opening.

Very informative a d fun

Absolutely love little museums and this one had loads of history.

Informative and interesting, but it was very warm inside. Tugboat Tour was great!

Considering their smaller size this museum does a fantastic job. You walk in the place and come out with a wealth of knowledge if youre willing to read and observe. They cover how things turned up in their area in early 1800s. They cover the shipbuilding the area did during the second World War. Well worth your time.

Teen age grandkids enjoyed the time spent here.

Pretty interesting museum and nice size so youre not there all day.. Touring the John Purves tug boat was really neat but be prepared for the steps and close quarters if that is a concern.

Very nice place

What a amazing place to visit and learn some of our American heritage and history!

Great history, really enjoyed it!

The tour guide we had was very informative and if youre in the area I would take the tour

If you like history and museums this is a good place to visit

Great to see so many pictures of the shipbuilding past of Sturgeon Bay. From guys bending wood in the 1800s to riveting steel during WWII, its good to see this history remembered.

A lot to see. Kids under 5 were free. They have a working periscope that was a hit with our kids. Lots of model boats and history.

Nice local museum. Interesting to tour century old tug. Was a great activity for a rainy day adventure.

Wonderful exhibits!

Tour guides were very knowledgeable, plus theres alot of artifacts in the museum that helped me understand the history of Door County

Very good hisory of shipping and ship building. Many models of ships with ifo. Amazing craftsmanship.

Nostalgic wonderful Maritime engine on display world war II submarine excellent

Amazing place if interested in everything to do with boats and ships of Door County. Much to see and learn!

Interesting exhibits showing the history of shipping on the great lakes. Highlight is the tug boat tour, it is worth the extra charge.

If you are interested in the maritime history of Door County 5 stars, 4 stars for landlubbers. Take the tug tour.

Wow! So much history on the Great Lakes, great displays and information. The tugboat tour was fantastic!

Great displays and interactive learning exhibits. The current display on shipwrecks was especially good.

These photos are of the Door County Norrh Tree in the Merry-Time Festival Trees running now through December 10th at DCMM.

Very nice facility with good displays. We spent three hours there and enjoyed every area. Time and money well spent.

It would have been perfect but we werent able to tour the tug. No tour signs were posted.

Was a great visit. Friendly staff and fun!

Toured a tugboat! Had great exhibit and several videos about the area lighthouses and shipwrecks. Very interesting!

Fun small museum of maritime history. It was really slow on a day right after Christmas when we visited, so I enjoyed getting to fully appreciate all the sites. My favorites were the exhibit on ships mascots/dogs, the interactive piloting simulator, and the authentic submarine telescope that gave you a full 360 degree view of the town out the museum roof. The stained glass windows were also lovely.

Museum was very interesting. The tug boat tour was AMAZING!!

Very nice museum with interactive features. Really enjoyed as there were less than 20 people there.

The Door County Maritime Museum is a great place to learn about the shipping industry and how it affected the Sturgeon Bay and Door County area. Very interesting.

Wonderful museum if you like history of the boats on the Great Lakes its the place to go. Very clean very well laid out and thought I had museum.

A must see in Sturgeon Bay. Learn the history of the Door Peninsula and the people who built the city.

Awesome museum. Thunderstorm prevent us from touring the tugboat but will do that next time.

Very interesting stop on the way north. Although we didnt tour the tug this year.

This a great museum for the whole family to check out. Youll learn about the maritime history of the Great Lakes and see great displays. They even have interactive activities, like steering a freighter through the Sturgeon Bay canal.

Good activity on a rainy day

Its a great place to stop at. Have been there multiple times.

Outstanding night for a seasonal fundraiser. Pleasant staff, nice selection of finger food, great company. And of course theres the museum itself. Amy and crew do a wonderful job of telling Sturgeon Bays and the Great Lakes maritime history. A modern facility with lots to learn for all ages.

History Buffs will love it and so do people that are with them

Very interesting. Displays are great and well kept. Im fairly new to door county so, to see all thats happened in the surrounding waters is very neat.

Lots to see here. Its a tribute to the long and storied history of this corner of the great lakes.

Great history