Houston Maritime Museum

The Houston Maritime Center's museum gallery features a wide range of models and artifacts to tell the story of maritime history throughout centuries. From Houston’s maritime heritage to today’s modern maritime industry HMC is the place to learn about the maritime world! With a broad collection of ship models, maritime artifacts and fascinating exhibits HMC is an interactive museum for all ages and interests.

Age of Exploration
Discover the world of maritime history with our Age of Exploration exhibit. Take a tour with one of our docents to learn the stories of famous explorers and vessels from early navigators through the ages.

Age of Sail
Sails dominated the seas for centuries. From warfare to immigration, sailing ships made a huge impact on history, modern political borders, and even modern ship design.

WWII and the Merchant Marines
WWII made a tremendous impact on maritime history. The Merchant Marines lost more people by percentage than any other branch of the military. Large armadas of ships would travel across the Atlantic in hopes of fending off the waiting German U-boats, hiding just below the surface.

The Houston Ship Channel
Explore the Houston Ship Channel and its impact on the City of Houston, the State of Texas, and the United States as well as important global influence. Responsible for over 20% of the total GDP of Texas, the Houston Ship Channel is an economic powerhouse with an incredible number of captains, pilots, long-liners, deckhands, and more, responsible for moving, loading, and unloading over 100,000 vessels each year!

The History of Buffalo Bayou
It runs through our city, but why did Houston form along the banks of the Buffalo Bayou? Take a tour with one of our docents to learn about the cotton trade, the emergence of oil and gas, the history of M.D. Anderson, Thomas Ball, and the founding of the Port of Houston and the Houston Ship Channel.