The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is a 501 (c) (3) accredited, not-for-profit organization existing to research, interpret, and exhibit the maritime history of Florida and the Caribbean in ways that increase knowledge, enrich the spirit, and stimulate inquiry.
Programs & Events/ What's Happening
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2025 Public Programming FREE!
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum Lecture Series
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All events take place at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, 200 Greene Street, Key West. The public is invited to attend without charge. Unless otherwise noted all events begin at 6:30pm; doors open at 6pm.
January 28:
​Before Juneteenth: Florida’s Emancipations
A showing of the mini documentary that tracks the timeline of emancipations and their celebrations in Florida with introduction and follow up conversation focusing on emancipation in Key West led by Corey Malcom, Ph.D. Malcom, Lead Historian for the Florida Keys History Center and Director of Archaeology at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, is featured in the film partially funded by a Florida Humanities Broadcasting Hope Media Grant.​
February 4:
​The Amistad
A presentation by scholar, artist, and activist Dinizulu Gene Tinnie. Tinnie will discuss the history and significance of the Cuban slaving schooner Amistad. Seized by captured Africans onboard while enroute to a Caribbean plantation it was intercepted in August 1839, off the coast of Long Island, NY, by the U.S. brig Washington. Tinnie will delve into the intricacies of this important event and its relevance to the maritime slave trade. He will also discuss his role as the co-director of an ambitious project to build a full-scale replica of a 19th century slave ship including a virtual, digital version.
February 11:
​Collections Insights – The Santa Clara
An informal tour of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum’s recently installed exhibition Uncovering the Santa Clara led by Corey Malcom, Ph.D. This tour will provide a behind the scenes look at the museum’s conservation lab, wet storage, and visible permanent collection storage, all spotlighting artifacts from Santa Clara. Malcom, Lead Historian for the Florida Keys History Center and Director of Archaeology at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, led the museum’s archaeological team responsible for the excavation and identification of the Santa Clara. He is the author of Solving a Sunken Mystery: The Investigation and Identification of a Sixteenth-Century Shipwreck.
Must register due to space limitations. Registration Link:
February 18:
Silver Coins and Intriguing Artifacts:
Histories, Mysteries, and Connecting the Dots
Carol Tedesco, author of "Treasure Coins of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha & the Santa Margarita" and other shipwreck-related books and archaeological "mystery" articles, is to speak Tuesday, Feb. 18. With a focus on silver coins and other intriguing artifacts, she will discuss the similarities and differences in Spanish Colonial shipwreck cargoes based on year, geography and twists of fate.
February 25:
​Stories from the Golden Crew
Panel discussion with members of Mel Fisher’s Golden Crew moderated by Carol Shaughnessy. Panelists include Tom Ford, Syd Jones, Andy Matroci, and Vince Trotta. Shaughnessy will initiate and guide a lively exchange of memories as experienced by some of the key figures who worked the famed Atocha’s “main pile” recovering priceless historic artifacts from the wreck site.
