The ALICE exhibit tells the story of the historic wooden boat ALICE, piloted by Captain Willard Glazier during his remarkable journeys of exploration and adventure. Through photographs, artifacts, interpretive displays, and maritime history, the exhibit highlights the craftsmanship of wooden boats and the spirit of 19th-century travel and discovery. Visitors can explore the legacy of Captain Glazier and the enduring role small craft played in America’s waterways and maritime heritage.

The PS EMPRESS QUEEN exhibit features a detailed model of the classic sidewheel steamer, showcasing the elegance and engineering of 19th-century river travel. Highlighting the era of steam-powered commerce and passenger transportation, the display offers visitors a glimpse into the vessels that once connected ports, rivers, and communities across America’s waterways. 

Explore the movement of ships across the globe in real time with the ShipTracks interactive exhibit. Visitors can follow modern commercial vessels, historic trade routes, and regional maritime traffic while learning how waterways continue to shape commerce, industry, and daily life along the Gulf Coast and beyond. This hands-on digital experience connects Louisiana’s rich maritime heritage with the modern world of shipping and navigation.

The CSS Pioneer was an experimental submarine built by the Confederacy during the Civil War, across Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. Built at the Leeds Foundry in New Orleans, it was tested on the lake but never saw combat during the Civil War. With the Union encircling New Orleans, the submarine was scuttled in Bayou St. John and would later be raised and sold for scrap following the war.

Housed here at the Maritime Museum of Louisiana are various models and replicas of Louisiana’s current and former lighthouses. Various lighthouse models on display include the New Canal Lighthouse, Pass Manchac Lighthouse, and even a model of the local Tchefuncte River Lighthouse. In addition to the models, we also have the light assembly that formerly belonged to the Pass Manchac Lighthouse, before its destruction in 2012, among other lighthouse artifacts.

Discover how rivers, rain, and coastal waterways shape our environment through the Watershed Sand Table interactive exhibit. Using hands-on terrain modeling and augmented reality projection, visitors can build landscapes, redirect water flow, and see how erosion, flooding, and watershed systems affect communities and ecosystems. This engaging exhibit brings the science of Louisiana’s waterways to life for visitors of all ages.

The Museum’s present location was once the site of the Jahncke Shipyard, established by Fritz Jahncke in 1900. The shipyard would employ some 2,200 workers to construct six wooden ships in fulfillment of a contract with the U.S. Navy, an effort that constitutes the largest industrial effort in the northshore’s history. Though World War I ended before all of the ships were finished, the shipyard changed the face of Madisonville forever.

Nestled in with our steamboat display, here is just a small sample of common wildlife present in the Tchefuncte River. Taxidermized alligators, birds, snakes, and even deer are just a few of the animals present in this display.

For more than 40 years, Donald J. Sharp has been pulling together information about James Rumsey and his times. This exhibit displays many tales of Rumsey and his successes on the Potomac River in Shepherdstown, West Virginia which were possible only by the groundwork that was done in St. Tammany Parish.