History on the High Seas
San Francisco Maritime Museum
San Francisco, California
Housed in the Museum’s glassed cupola, this exhibit immerses visitors in the historical and present-day world of maritime communications. Vintage headsets carry urgent Morse code messages from a 4U Victory Ship radio, and a signal lamp invites users to flash messages to the Hyde Street Pier. Guests tap into a live link from the US Coast Guard, monitor real vessels via radar screens, and use scanning radios to catch the chatter of Harbor Pilots and Tugboat Captains.