***UASC May 2023 MEETING****
Wednesday, May 31st @ 07:00 PM CST – Meeting of Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
Featured Presenter: Kevin Cullen
Presenting: How The Wisconsin Maritime Museum is Bringing World Class Shipwreck Artifacts Into Public View
***THIS MONTH’S MEETING IS IN-PERSON AND ZOOM ***
On Zoom - Registration Link:
In Person – Chicago Maritime Museum, 1200 W 35th St., Chicago, IL 60609, (773) 376-1982,
Pre-meeting Informal Social; 06:30 – 07:00
Business Meeting; 07:00 – 08:00
Featured Presentation: 08:00 – 09:00 (or later if necessary)
How The Wisconsin Maritime Museum is Bringing World Class Shipwreck Artifacts into Public View
This presentation will address how the Wisconsin Maritime Museum has absorbed a significant Great Lakes maritime legacy collection salvaged from over 40 shipwrecks, prior to the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987. In total, more than 10,000 artifacts were recovered and recorded principally by one avocational underwater archaeologist, Allan “Butch” Klopp, with the intention of displaying them in a museum in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The Sunken Treasures Maritime Museum closed in the 1990s and the artifacts were held in private hands until they were transferred to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum between 2021-2022. Kevin will discuss how the museum was able to take on this collection and will highlight the challenges and opportunities these maritime legacy collections hold for a new era of research and public access.
Biography:
Kevin Cullen is the Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, in Manitowoc, WI. He is a national award-winning museum curator, amphibious archaeologist, and maritime historian. For the past twenty years he has directed numerous private and public archaeological surveys on land and underwater. He is past President of the Wisconsin Underwater Archeological Association (WUAA 2011-2021), and currently serves as Vice-President. Kevin is a senior tutor for the Nautical Archaeology Society and has supervised several shipwreck mapping projects working with Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologists to train volunteer divers in the methods of underwater archaeology. Recently, Kevin was appointed as an Advisory Council member of the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. He holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from UW-Madison and Master of Science degrees in Anthropology and Museum Studies from UW-Milwaukee. In his pastime Kevin enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, playing instruments, scuba diving and competing in triathlons. He is also a dual citizen of the United States and the Republic of Ireland.