Florida Maritime Museum in historic Cortez reopens with new stories to tell. Here’s a sneak peek

In the heart of one of Florida’s last commercial fishing villages, the Florida Maritime Museum celebrates the age-old relationship between Floridians and the water.

Recent years have found the museum’s curators embarking on a re-imagining of how best to share the Cortez community’s many seaside stories.

Now another phase of a plan to transform the museum is complete. Staff are hopeful that the many new improvements will help cast the local history into the future—and reel in a wider audience.

Inside of the Florida Maritime Museum, sheltered in a carefully preserved, historic schoolhouse built in 1912, visitors will still find marine life displays, historical photos and documents, among other artifacts.

But a months-long remodeling project has made the exhibits more interactive, engaging and accessible to visitors of all backgrounds and reading levels than ever before.

Elements of many displays are now set at a child’s height for ease of access. Bilingual signage opens the possibilities of enjoyment for native Spanish speakers. Text that accompanies exhibits is written at an eighth-grade reading level or below. Layout improvements have made the museum more accessible for all visitors. The museum has a fresh, colorful new look and branding.

And then there’s the interactivity.

The new Captain’s Corner exhibit, for example, features marine life collected by late commercial fisherman and Cortezian Blake Banks over his years on the ocean. The sea creatures are uniquely displayed in a lighted case with drawers that can be slid out for a closer look.

“A lot of these specimens have been on display before, but now you’re really able to interact with each artifact,” said Florida Maritime Museum supervisor Kristin Sweeting. “Now they’re presented in a new light.”

The display is also designed to appeal to all ages to encourage what Sweeting calls “intergenerational learning.”

A neighboring mural depicts mangrove forest, a crucial marine ecosystem found along the borders of Cortez.

Museum staff plan to use it as a launching point for discussions that connect fishing culture and the science that interweaves with it.

The new changes, along with those planned for a final phase of the museum’s update, are also geared at making it a friendlier place for school field trips once the coronavirus situation subsides.

Re-imagining a museum

Ideas to re-imagine the museum’s exhibits first started swirling during a community forum that museum staff held with area non-profits, local teachers and fishing folk several years ago, according to Sweeting.

It helped inform a plan to make the museum, which is operated by the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s office, more user-friendly. The museum just completed phase two of that plan, with a third still to come.

The final phase of the project will be the biggest, according to Sweeting, with plans to bring additional exhibits to life and add more changes that make the facility an ideal place for young learners.

The future exhibits include an introduction to Florida’s early maritime history in the south room of the school house— Sweeting says it will set the context for the rest of the museum — and another that will bring fishing and other waterfront traditions into focus.

“This village is representative of other fishing villages throughout the state, too,” Sweeting said. “We’re going to show you how all of them contribute together to Florida maritime history.”

A time frame has not yet been set for those additions. But for now, there are plenty of new sights to see inside and out at the museum.

In addition to the new Captain’s Corner display, visitors will find an indoor-outdoor exhibit that visualizes hurricane history and storm surge; a new community mosaic installation depicts a river in the museum’s butterfly garden; and there’s an updated gift shop to check out.

Another new exhibit titled “More than a Museum” documents the historical importance of the building that houses the Florida Maritime Museum. It also explores the craft of renowned master weaver Robert Sailors, who made the building his home for a time.

The museum reopened to visitors in January with COVID-19 safety measures in place.

For now, visits are being offered by appointment only, twice a day on Tuesday through Saturday. A maximum of 10 visitors are allowed in at a time, and guests are temperature checked and must wear masks and social distance.

Sweeting says that visitors already seem to be enjoying all of the updates.

“Seeing kids and their parents together in the exhibit space and engaging with it was just a wonderful feeling,” Sweeting said.

Details: Self-guided tour reservations available at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez. Free.

Info: floridamaritimemuseum.org. 941-708-6120.

This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.