An exciting maritime mystery exhibition
Use your hands and minds in a voyage of discovery to uncover facts about the writer of an intriguing diary found washed ashore in a sea chest.
Learn about environmental science and marine biology, maritime history and archaeology, art, navigation, botany and life at sea. Find out about how flags were used to communicate with other ships, discover how a sextant works and see what rats ate on board ships.
Click to open the interactive QuickTime panorama
Background |
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| Background to Suspects in Exhibition | 205 kB | 491 kB |
| Beat it - Percussion Instruments in the Pacific | 222 kB | 564 kB |
| Botany Bound - Botanists On Board | 53 kB | 21 kB |
| Can You Fathom It - River Soundings | 48 kB | 14 kB |
| Captain's Code - Semaphore Flags | 168 kB | 46 kB |
| Carving Clue - Sculpture in the Pacific | 428 kB | 865 kB |
| Choose a Chest - Tools and Clothes Carried in Sea Chests | 49 kB | 16 kB |
| Delve Deep - Pearl Oysters | 53 kB | 21 kB |
| Exhibit Descriptions, Subjects & Clues | 30 kB | 61 kB |
| Haul Away - Signal Flags | 172 kB | 58 kB |
| Out to Dry - Clothing and Laundry on Ships | 50 kB | 16 kB |
| Perch a Parrot - Sextants and Navigation | 221 kB | 442 kB |
| Pressing Problem - Collecting Specimens | 182 kB | 383 kB |
| Puzzling Portholes - Landscape Painting | 47 kB | 12 kB |
| Raise the Rigging - Ship Sails and Rigging | 49 kB | 15 kB |
| Restore the Relic - Ship Bells | 49 kB | 15 kB |
| Roaming Rats - Vermin on Board | 48 kB | 11 kB |
| Scurvy Science - Antiscorbutic Foods & Vitamin C | 51 kB | 19 kB |
| Scuttlebutt's Secrets | 46 kB | 8 kB |
| Spot the Skipper - a History of Silhouettes | 47 kB | 11 kB |
| Tattoo Clue - Polynesian and European Tattoo History | 128 kB | 132 kB |
| Tests of Time - Chronometers and Navigation | 49 kB | 16 kB |
| Tracks in Time - Animal Footprints | 152 kB | 36 kB |
| Who's Hidden - Art Restoration & Conservation | 48 kB | 10 kB |
Further information |
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| Artistic Techniques | 50 kB | 16 kB |
| Artists & Illustrators | 49 kB | 18 kB |
| HMB Endeavour's Journey | 238 kB | 46 kB |
| HMS Bounty's Journey | 236 kB | 46 kB |
| HMS Resolution I's Journey | 248 kB | 49 kB |
| HMS Resolution II's Journey | 246 kB | 48 kB |
| James Cook - a Brief Biography | 49 kB | 16 kB |
| Plants collected onboard Endeavour and Resolution II | 80 kB | 38 kB |
| Naturalists Onboard | 87 kB | 20 kB |
| Non European Voyagers on European Sailing Ships | 48 kB | 15 kB |
| Tasmanian Aborigines | 47 kB | 11 kB |
| The Life of a Boy on A Ship | 50 kB | 16 kB |
| William Bligh - a Brief Biography | 28 kB | 15 kB |
| Women Onboard | 47 kB | 13 kB |
Classroom activities and curriculum links |
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| Sea Chest Secret Activities | 488 kB | 145 kB |
| Primary National Curriculum Links | 57 kB | 32 kB |
| Secondary National Profile Links | 47 kB | 26 kB |
Want to hire Sea Chest Secret for your science centre or museum? Find out more about our Travelling Exhibitions.