Each spring, the Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) of the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University, along with its affiliated institutions, hosts "Shipwreck Weekend." This annual event is designed to promote the various projects of the program, as well as to inform the general public of aspects of nautical archaeology. Visitors are invited to explore nautical archaeology and learn about the ongoing research into ships and shipboard life at Texas A&M University!

The details for 2012 will be announced shortly. Check back here for details!

The archaeological investigations sponsored and supported by the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation (CMAC), and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), take place all over the world. Archaeological work is often a long process, involving months in the field and years of study, making much of the work inaccessible to the general public. Shipwreck Weekend breaks that tradition by bringing nautical archaeology to a local audience.

Morning lectures will feature presentations by scholars from the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, the Nautical Archaeology Program and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology about current research and excavation projects. In the afternoon, the nautical program laboratories will be open for tours, and a children’s fair will feature activities and interactive displays about pirates, shipwrecks, scuba diving and more. These displays are intended to teach both children and adults about the various components of nautical archaeology and maritime studies, and to offer a different perspective on seafaring life in the past and present.

Shipwreck Weekend is a non-profit event funded by the Department of Anthropology, the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, and The Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Visual Culture Working Group..