Francis Russell Hart Nautical Museum

The Francis Russell Hart Nautical Museum is a maritime museum at MIT and houses around 1,500 ship models, 120,000 plans, and 200,000 photographs. These collections document the development of ship engineering and naval design.

The museum was founded in 1922 by MIT's Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. It joined the broader MIT Museum system in 1982.

The collection shows how ships were built in the Boston area and which techniques changed over time. Visitors can see how people once designed and constructed vessels.

Visiting requires advance registration, especially for weekend visits, since the museum sits on the MIT campus. Allow time to browse the extensive collections.

The museum holds the largest of three significant shipbuilding archives from the 20th century, documenting industrial practices in detail. This archival collection is rare globally and shows how steel ships were once manufactured.

Location: Massachusetts

Part of: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

GPS coordinates: 42.35850,-71.09310

Latest update: December 14, 2025 14:40