NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

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NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

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America’s First National Marine Sanctuary

Designated Jan. 30, 1975

10/31/2026

Steal their look!
Happy Halloween! Do you still need a costume? 🎃 Take inspiration from Monitor National Marine Sanctuary! These species are serving up some seriously stylish costume inspiration.
🦇 Check out more DIY costume ideas https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/spooky/ and celebrate the unique wildlife found in our national marine sanctuaries! 🐟
Which species would you steal a look from? Tell us in the comments!

Photo credits: Emma Hickerson/NOAA, Andrew David/NOAA, NOAA Fisheries, Rachel Plunkett

10/27/2026

Last week, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary joined Naval Station Norfolk STEM Days, welcoming 2,500 Norfolk Public School fifth-graders for a day of hands-on discovery and maritime history.

At our booth, students stepped into the shoes of marine engineers:

Engineering in Action: Designing and assembling working gear-box models of the USS Monitor’s iconic revolving gun turret.

Virtual Dive: Putting on VR headsets to plunge beneath the waves and explore the historic wreck site up close.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to build, explore, and dive into history with us!

Photos credit: Kyra Burlingame/NOAA

10/23/2026

Today is the 54th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act! 💙💫🎊

54 years ago, a new era in the history of ocean conservation began with the creation of the National Marine Sanctuary System. Since then, the sanctuary system has grown into a nationwide network of 18 national marine sanctuaries that conserve more than 629,000 square miles of spectacular ocean and Great Lakes waters.

Joining the system on January 30, 1975, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was the first national marine sanctuary ever designated in the United States. It protects the wreck of the famed Civil War ironclad USS MONITOR, and the sanctuary works with partners to honor and interpret it for the American people.

Get to know more of the incredible national marine sanctuaries in this system:

🏝️National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa (American Samoa)
🦭Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (California)
🦦Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (California)
⛰️Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (California)
🪸Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (Florida)
🐙Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Texas/Louisiana)
🪼Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (Georgia)
🦈Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (California)
🐋Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (Hawai‘i)
⛵️Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary (New York)
🛶Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary (Maryland)
⚓️Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (North Carolina)
🦑Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (California)
⭐️Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (Washington)
🌅Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary (Hawai‘i)
🐦Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Massachusetts)
🤿Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Michigan)
🌊Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary (Wisconsin)

Learn more: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/.

📸: Captured in September 2026, check out the latest image of the sanctuary! Credit: Candice Heizmann/D.E.P.T.H. Research & Exploration

10/13/2026

Happy Anniversary to the U.S. Navy!

When President Lincoln needed a game-changer to lead the Union Navy against the CSS VIRGINIA, Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson stepped up with a vision that would become the U.S. Navy's first ironclad warship: the USS MONITOR.

Featuring an "Impregnable Battery," of a ground-breaking rotating gun turret, shallow draft, and sleek profile close the waterline, Ericsson's bold design convinced the naval board to fast-track production. Built at the Continental Ironworks in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, MONITOR went from blueprints to the water in 100 days-launching into the East River on January 30, 1862.

Today, we honor the legacy of innovation, grit, and service that has defined the United States Navy since 1775.

Image: Library of Congress

09/30/2026

The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary team traveled to Silver Spring, Maryland, for two days of sharing the history, science, and engineering behind USS MONITOR.

At our table, young engineers took on a hands-on STEM challenge inspired by MONITOR’s innovative rotating turret. Visitors explored how gears work together to create rotation, built their own gear-powered turret, and then used their creativity to design a vessel around it!

On Friday, visitors also had the opportunity to dive deeper into MONITOR’s story with two special programs. Tane Casserley of Monitor National Marine Sanctuary shared how NOAA is using modern technology to explore and document the USS MONITOR shipwreck, while Will Hoffman of The Mariners’ Museum and Park discussed the ongoing work to conserve approximately 210 tons of artifacts recovered from the wreck site.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to build, learn, ask questions, and explore how history, engineering, archaeology, conservation, and technology all come together through the story of USS MONITOR!

Images: Tane Casserley/NOAA
Kyra Burlingame/NOAA

09/30/2026

What could your future in the maritime world look like?

At the Maritime Career Festival at The Mariners’ Museum and Park, we gave young explorers the chance to discover just how many different careers connect to our ocean and USS MONITOR!

Visitors could take a career quiz, try on scuba gear, explore the USS MONITOR shipwreck through VR, and put their skills to the test as an engineer.

From underwater archaeology and engineering to education and ocean science, there are so many ways to turn an interest in the ocean into a career.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to explore with us!

09/28/2026

Friend identification guide

If your friend is suspiciously low to the water, has a massive rotating gun turret, and helped change naval warfare forever… we have some news for you.

That is not your friend.
That is USS MONITOR.

Image credits from top to bottom:
The Naval History and Heritage Command
Monitor Collection/ NOAA,
Painting by J.O Davidson, The Mariners’ Museum and Park®
MONITOR Model by Northrop Grumman

09/22/2026

USS MONITOR is heading to !

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary will be joining NOAA Heritage Week this Friday and Saturday, September 25–26, in Silver Spring, Maryland!

Stop by our table for a hands-on STEM challenge where young engineers can design and build their own gear-powered rotating turret and vessel, inspired by the engineering of USS MONITOR!

And on Friday, don’t miss two special programs diving deeper into MONITOR’s story:

12–1 p.m. ET | Ironclad Legacy: USS Monitor in the 21st Century
Join Tane Casserley of Monitor National Marine Sanctuary to learn how NOAA is using underwater drone technology and high-resolution sonar to uncover new details about the historic USS MONITOR shipwreck and how modern partnerships are helping preserve its legacy.

2–3 p.m. ET | Monitoring the USS MONITOR: An Overview of the Conservation of an Ironclad
Join Will Hoffman of The Mariners’ Museum and Park to explore what happened after approximately 210 tons of artifacts were recovered from MONITOR's wreck site and learn about the incredible work underway to conserve this massive archaeological collection for future generations.

Come build, explore, and discover how history, engineering, archaeology, conservation, and technology all come together through the story of USS MONITOR!

Learn more at: https://www.noaa.gov/heritage/explainers/noaa-heritage-week-2026

Image: Tane Casserley/ NOAA

09/10/2026

Conservator Spotlight: Meet Elsa Sangouard!

Senior Conservator Elsa Sangouard has been working with USS MONITOR for almost 15 years! From starting as an intern at The Mariners’ Museum and Park to helping preserve some of MONITOR's largest and most challenging artifacts, Elsa has spent her career helping ensure this history survives for generations to come.

When asked what her work on MONITOR means to her, Elsa shared:

“Helping perpetuate the story of USS MONITOR and its crew is pretty special! I particularly enjoy the challenge brought by the scale of the conservation project. Our team of conservators and scientists has to be quite creative to develop techniques adapted to preserving this invaluable part of history. Conservation of such large objects is quite the undertaking and has never been done before. Sometimes it means advancing traditional conservation treatments, but most times, we must innovate, which is pretty exhilarating.”

And after almost 15 years working with MONITOR, Elsa even has a favorite artifact: the ship’s wool coat!

Get to know Elsa and learn more about the people working behind the scenes to preserve USS MONITOR and its stories for future generations.

Photo: Mariners' Museum and Park

09/08/2026

What can a 164-year-old letter tell us? Quite a lot.

For International Literacy Day, we’re revealing a little piece of the past through the words of USS MONITOR crewman George Geer.

In this November 29, 1862 letter to his wife, Martha, Geer writes about an ordinary evening aboard MONITOR. He describes passing the time by writing home and shares details about the crew’s meals, including dinner, tea, and supper. It may seem like everyday conversation, but details like these give us a glimpse into what daily life was really like for the sailors who lived and worked aboard the famous ironclad.

Geer’s surviving letters to Martha provide a remarkable firsthand look at a sailor’s experience during the Civil War. More than 160 years later, his words are still helping us read, and understand, the past.

Letter: George S. Geer letter to his wife Martha, November 29, 1862. The Mariners’ Museum and Park

Address

100 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA
23606

Website

http://monitor.noaa.gov/

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