Shipwreck Explorers: Great Lakes Museum PA Day

A steel ship floats. A little stone sinks. Try explaining that at the breakfast table and you might have a Shipwreck Explorer on your hands. On Friday, November 20, Kingston’s Great Lakes Museum is giving kids ages seven to twelve a whole PA day to ask the big questions about ships, water and what happens when the two stop getting along.

A day for kids who ask “but why?”

Shipwreck Explorers is a supervised drop-off program about the science of shipwrecks. The museum will get kids thinking about what keeps a ship afloat, how a vessel can sink and what happens afterward. For a child who’s looked out over the Kingston waterfront and wondered what’s underneath, that’s plenty to get curious about.

The museum offers full-day programming on selected days when school is out. This session is designed for ages seven to twelve, and the museum caps each day at 25 participants. If you’re coordinating with another family, check registration for both children before making your plans. The program is at the museum’s Ontario Street site.

Pack lunch and check the pickup time

The day runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum offers late pickup until 5:30 p.m. for an additional $10 plus tax per child. Lunch and snacks are up to you, so pack them before you head down to the waterfront.

Registration is $50 plus tax per child. The museum asks for at least seven days’ notice for a refund if you need to cancel. Its full-day programs page has registration and current details. If your child usually comes home from a museum with three more questions than they arrived with, Friday’s dinner conversation might be a good one. Ask them what they’d build to make a ship float, then see how long you can keep the answers out of the kitchen sink.

When and where

Friday, November 20, 2026, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. · Great Lakes Museum, 55 Ontario Street, Kingston · Ages 7–12 · $50 plus tax per child. Optional late pickup to 5:30 p.m. is $10 plus tax.

Register through the Great Lakes Museum