Percy & Small Exhibit Update
In 2025, we began embarking on an update to the Percy & Small Shipyard, seeking to elevate the visitor experience and provide a refreshed interpretive lens for a modern audience to connect with the historic site.
Twenty years after the current exhibits were installed, we’re excited to convey new research that will broaden the interpretive scope, taking a nuanced look into the people who worked in the Percy & Small Shipyard and the impact their work has had on the world.
Launching of the schooner Edward B. Winslow in 1907
These human stories will complement existing scholarship on vessel engineering and construction, and contextualize the industry within broader social, cultural, and environmental perspectives. In an effort to improve accessibility and engage audiences of all ages, new exhibits will feature hands-on learning interactives, state-of-the-art technology, and opportunities for scholarly dives into the people and processes that built the world’s largest wooden sailing vessels.
An exhibit of this magnitude is no small endeavor. Current plans are the result of a years-long interdepartmental effort to identify goals, brainstorm solutions, and scratch through countless ideas, drafts, and models. A structural remodeling of the orientation wing began last winter, widening the space to improve circulation and immerse visitors in an interactive orientation to the Percy & Small Shipyard. Exhibit updates to the historic buildings will follow in a second phase, with an overall goal of completion for May 2026.
-
Make the experience dynamic and interactive, increasing visitor intrigue and dwell time
Improve accessibility, both physically and intellectually
Define the shipyard as a cohesive experience, with all-season orientation and interpretation
Strengthen educational value in core curricula with human-centric stories of labor and process
Instill an appreciation for the cultural, industrial, and environmental significance of the site
-
Graphic entrance in Sewall Hall that defines the space and introduces the shipyard experience
Reimagined floor plan to increase visitor capacity and improve circulation
Expanded respite space for visitors to prepare for transitioning between outdoors and indoors
Animated shipyard diorama paired with on-cue media to orient visitors to the site
Media and tech interactives that present Percy & Small workers, buildings, and vessels
-
Expanded visitor access area for increased exhibitions, programming space, and circulation
Hands-on Wyoming model-building station to acquaint visitors with vessel vocabulary and building processes
Thematic signage to introduce vessel design, purpose, and impact, both economically and environmentally
Designated demonstration space for boatbuilders to engage visitors in the lofting process
Interactive listening station to hear personal stories from shipwrights
Multi-user lofting interactive that simplifies the process and encourages learning by doing
-
Updated graphics and signage to reflect new themes and match the new visual style
Redesigned hands-on touch table that meets accessibility standards
Reorganized interpretive layout to focus attention on demonstration space
-
Graphics and displays that convey the awe-inspiring scale of material used in ship building
Auger interactive that tallies tool rotations and compares to the total needed to build Wyoming
Gamified treenail station where visitors pound wooden nails into a replica section of hull
Pigment grinder and paint mixing interactives that engage visitors in the labor of making paint
Display highlighting fire damage to portray the building as an object for interpretation
-
Updated interpretation focused on mill workers, tool mechanics, and environmental impact
Listening stations featuring audio interviews with Percy & Small mill workers
Interactive engineering table of gears and belts to teach the mill’s interconnected mechanics
Transparent, sliding window panels illustrating the shipyard through critical eras in history
Expanded visitor-accessible floorplan to support longer dwell time and group programming
Enhanced lighting and object placement to emphasize the tools and work that took place here
-
New interpretation that discusses labor inequality through the lens of living conditions onboard vessels (captains versus crew) as well as working conditions at the shipyard
Graphic substitute for Joinery Shop exhibit upstairs, in compliance with accessibility standards
New exhibit to display technique and purpose of Percy & Small’s construction of small craft, the historical use of this space
Updates to existing displays that discuss work occurring outside in the shipyard
-
Improved orientation signage that guides visitors along the masts of the Wyoming
Thematic interpretation and shaded canopy built into the bow respite area
Updated audio tour that integrates the Wyoming story into the shipyard narrative
Thoughtfully placed benches at every mast to encourage sitting and listening to the audio tour
-
Landscaping that attracts visitation, encourages respite, and improves event functionality
Chairs, benches, tables, and shade canopy to define space as picnic area
Interpretive signage conveying site use during Percy & Small, tying into rest of shipyard exhibit
Enhanced food and beverage service
-
Updated tool displays and interpretation on caulking process and gangs
Sensation station to touch oakum, smell pine tar, and hear the percussive sound of caulking
Hands-on caulking interactive to caulk the seams of a replica hull
Outdoor signage that conveys indoor experience for accessibility standards
-
Improved landscaping, signage, and lighting to draw attention to the structure
New display includes tools and hardened tar to better convey the oven’s purpose and use
Special emphasis on the spill-over tar as a site-specific interpretive artifact
Signage to link Caulker’s Shed and encourage visitors to conclude the complete shipyard circuit
