naval undersea museum

We took our young grandchildren. All of us learned a lot and the kids loved the hands on exhibits. A small shop on site for souvenirs.

This museum is a must visit if visiting the Kitsap County area as the county is known for their navy presence. Great knowledge about the submarines and best of all- FREE!

We were exploring Bainbridge when we learned of the Bangor naval base. My husband loves museums so when we learned we couldn't get into the base without more preparation, we stopped here for a quick tour! Jerry greeted us so warmly, he is originally from Wisconsin so no wonder we loved him! The displays were so informative and well laid out. I had no idea about the underwater suits and that deep sea diving began so long ago by tying rocks to your feet. They still use this technique today! We didn't have a lot of time but couldn't leave without visiting the gift shop! Highly recommend a visit here and please plan ahead. I would say 2 hours, but my husband would say 5! He reads EVERYTHING!

I'm a former submariner, it was great to see such as a rich history of the submarine displayed here with artifacts from WW2, modern periscopes to use, torpedoes and much more.The gift shop has a lot of things scaling from the budget-constrained visitor to those with some $$ to spend.I had the opportunity to interact with one of the staff to ask questions and they were very helpful. Actually seeking me out later during my self-guided tour to give me a little more information from my earlier question.Outside the museum are some older, smaller subs used in deep submergence projects. Lots of picture taking opportunities inside and outside the museum.This museum is easy to access; when entering the keyport naval base there's a road leading to the left for the museum that is not behind the base's gate so the public has full access to the facility hosting the museum.

This was a great place to spend a few hours! Grandson loved all the exhibits. We will take others there when we they visit. The gift shop needs a few different selections.

I've always been fascinated by diving and submarines, so when I saw this museum while driving by, I had to go in. The museum is located in Keyport, WA, near Bremerton, and next door to the navy's undersea warfare center. There are great exhibits for kids as well as adults. Lots of history about diving and subs. Numerous torpedos are on display. Anyone with a navy submarine background should bring their family here.My wife and I both enjoyed the time spent there.

Ok museum, a bit small, but it was free! Nice submarine bridge and lots of torpedoes. The Trieste II was outside and hugh.

Since this was along the highway we decided to pop in. Lovely little well done museum featuring history and education of all things underwater - diving, torpedoes, submarines, and the evolution of technology relating to all. Also a great room of oceanography to appreciate what our impact on the seas are. Appropriate for young and old!

We had planned to go hiking, but since it started raining decided to visit the undersea museum, which has lots of information on the history of submarines and of submarine exploration.It is very interesting and one (if not the only) attractions in the area that can be visited even with bad weather.

My brother in law has worked on submarines and so we decided to go the museum to learn more about subs and I have to say that this place is pretty cool. They have a lot of equipment used on military subs including the many different torpedo designs over the years. They also have some of the first undersea suits used by the navy. Our kids had fun playing around the submarine control center and I enjoyed watching some of the videos exhibits. The museum isn't super flashy with lots of different exhibits, but it has a lot of different artifacts and it's fascinating to learn more about our military's advancement in undersea equipment.

I don't know if this was done by the same people who do the Smithsonian Museums in DC but it is definitely the same quality level of both information & artifacts. It's relatively small - I only had 30 minutes to spend and saw a lot of it, but I could have easily spent 2 hours looking at everything. It has detailed info for those interested in science, naval history, warfare (civil war to current), oceanographic concerns, and diving. They were developing an exhibit on the sinking of the Thresher that should be interesting. They have actual torpedoes from all ages, the full torpedo tubes, a full "con" off a WWII era submarine for kids & adults to play with, lots of scientific displays for kids & adults showing things like buoyancy, viscosity, salinity, oxygen, and insulation. It's quite a ways from the Seattle area - plan on 2 hours by ferry or driving. Combine it with a trip to the Bremerton warships, a picnic in the quasi-Swedish themed Poulsbo, or the Olympic National Park.

The artifacts and interactive displays are first rate. Have you ever sat at the dive controls of a nuclear sub before?

As a retired teacher I kept thinking how much my students would have LOVED this museum! Then I realized how much I was actually learning about the development of undersea travel, the impact of geograohy/salt/water pressure on people and undersea adventures, use of subs in wars, torpedoes, and the timeline of today's modern submarines. If you have any interest in ships, subs, history, salt water, torpedoes, Civil War, WWI-II, then you will LOVE this free museum!!

Interesting and at your own pace. If you ever want to know more about the exhibits, the docents are happy to oblige. They have unique concerts and lectures on occasion.

This FREE museum was the highlight of our Kitsap visit. Well-done exhibits, a friendly docent who greeted us at the door, and lots to see, read and even touch made this interactive attraction on par with some of the best museums we've visited in big cities. Not only is there a thorough array of naval, wartime paraphonically and equipment, there is also and extensive history of undersea commerce, exploration, and science. The museum is also “right sized” – just enough to explore for a 1-2 hours without the kids getting bored. Not so big that you leave tired without having seen it all, but not so small that you wondered why you bothered coming or felt like something was missing. The exhibits had extensive write-ups for each item, interesting for kids and adults alike. Several things were interactive, so the younger children could get “hands on” – even a dress up area for the little ones to try on sailor / Navy gear. We happened to be there when a young, active duty sonar tech was there with his wife. He said a couple of the things were outdated (e.g. the oval shaped door they had for kids (or adults) to enter one of the areas is now round – but he pointed out a photo of the current door shape that they had right nearby). But, for the most part, he made it seem like much of the exhibit was still pretty relevant. The array of diving gear, especially the masks/helmets, was impressive. Though we expected the Navy/war stuff to be on display, we were pleasantly surprised by the extensive history of undersea exploration. This museum is well-worth the visit, even if you make it the key destination. For anyone coming from Seattle, a nice itinerary with this museum at the center, could include the following: 1) From Seattle (downtown Colman Dock) take the ferry to Bremerton, 2) drive to Keyport (where the museum is located), 3) afterward, head north for lunch in picturesque Poulsbo and explore the marina/old town shops, 4) and drive back via Bainbridge (check out Winslow for more shops and/or dinner and 5) take the Bainbridge Ferry back to Seattle would make a fun and interesting outing that is easily doable in a day.