HOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM

HOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM, DBA AS HOUSTON MARITIME CENTER, WAS FOUNDED BY JAMES "JIM" L. MANZOLILLO WHOSE INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCES AND EXTENSIVE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF MARITIME ARTIFACTS AND SHIP MODELS SET ANCHOR TO HIS DREAM. AS A WORLD WAR II MERCHANT MARINE VETERAN, NAVAL ARCHITECT, MECHANICAL ENGINEER, SHIP BUILDER, AND LECTURER FOR CUNARD CRUISE LINES, JIM'S VISION WAS REALIZED WHEN THE HOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM OPENED IN MAY 2000. OVER TWO DECADES THE COLLECTION HAS GROWN EXTENSIVELY TO COVER THE WORLD OF MARITIME HISTORY AND CULTURE FROM THE EARLY PHOENICIANS TO WORLD WAR II TO THE MODERN ENERGY INDUSTRY. MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE A LARGE AERIAL MAP AND INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT OF THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL DETAILING ITS MANY FACILITIES AND LANDMARKS, THE TEXAS NAVY THEATER WITH SEATING FOR 15 PERSONS, AN EXHIBIT ON THE HISTORY OF BUFFALO BAYOU AND COMMANDING MODELS OF SHIPS THAT TRAVERSE THE WORLD MOVING MILLIONS OF TONS OF GOODS IN AND OUT OF THE PORT OF HOUSTON ANNUALLY.

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR HOUSTON MARITIME CENTER OFFERS A SERIES OF LECTURES ON THREE DISTINCT MARITIME-RELATED TOPICS: HISTORY, INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL. SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, INDUSTRY VETERANS, AND FOR SOME PRESENTATIONS JOINT PANELISTS DELVE INTO THESE MATTERS EXPLORING LOCAL, REGIONAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL AREAS OF INTEREST. STARTED IN 2004, OUR HISTORY LECTURE SERIES IS THE MUSEUM'S LONGEST-RUNNING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. PAST LECTURE TOPICS INCLUDE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE EXXON VALDEZ, THE HISTORY OF BROWN SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE WIND, THE JONES ACT, SEA MONSTERS ON RENAISSANCE MAPS, OYSTER CONSERVATION, AND TEXAS SHIPWRECKS AMONG MANY OTHERS. FOR 2024, LECTURE TOPICS INCLUDED UNDERWATER PIPELINE SAFETY, HURRICANE PREDICTIONS AND PREPAREDNESS, NUCLEAR POWER IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY, AND THE HISTORY OF THE BATTLESHIP USS TEXAS. A SPECIAL PRESENTATION, "FINDING THE VIRGO," AT THE HOBBY CENTER, FEATURED THE STORY OF LAUREN VUONG AND HER FAMILY'S RESCUE BY A LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS TANKER SHIP AS THEY FLED VIETNAM.