Immigrants: The Roots of Innovation

It is said that the Internet is making the world a smaller place, connecting people and places that were once hugely separated by many miles and mindsets. However, the world has been getting “smaller” for years — in large part due to immigration and the free flow of ideas that come with it.

Now on view at the Conference House Park visitor center and at the Biddle House in Conference House Park, this exhibit highlights narratives of important pioneers in the fields of maritime navigation and communication so people today can understand how our ancestors started making the world “smaller” slowly but surely over centuries by learning how to travel vast oceans. The exhibit also includes a selection of devices, navigational maps and prints from the Museum of Maritime Navigation and Communication (located in Rosebank, S.I.), devoted to preserving and displaying devices and equipment that were used over the years to navigate waters worldwide. This exhibit also includes a working model of a dry dock.