Getting There: Wayfinding on the Water in the Pre-Modern Age

April 18 – October 2024

Navigation by water has always involved risk. Today, we are accustomed to having instant directions at our fingertips. This exhibit explores the motivations and methods of water travel before modern wayfinding aids were invented. It took a combination of art and science – observing nature and developing tools to better measure the world – that mariners used to find their way.

For centuries people have dared to travel, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles, because the lure of new resources or opportunities offered hope for a better life. Developing technology and improved navigational tools aided in the safer and more successful search for raw materials, for new markets, for trading partners, and for new lives.