US’ First National Coast Guard Museum Set to Open in One Year

One year from today, Americans will have the opportunity to experience the National Coast Guard Museum, the first national museum dedicated to preserving and sharing the history, heritage, and missions of the Coast Guard. The museum will open to the public during the week of Aug. 2, 2027, culminating with the Coast Guard’s birthday on Aug. 4.

Currently under construction along the Thames River waterfront in New London, Connecticut, the 80,000-square-foot museum will feature five public decks with three exhibit floors, five thematic experience wings, a rotating gallery for special exhibitions, educational classrooms, and event space. Designed to immerse visitors in the Coast Guard experience, the museum will combine interactive exhibits with views of the waterfront.

Visitors will explore more than 5,000 historic images, 600 artifacts, interactive exhibits and hands-on exhibits that bring to life the Coast Guard’s missions for all ages. Educational programming in STEM, leadership, civics, and maritime history will extend the museum's reach to classrooms and communities across the country.

Among the museum’s signature experiences will be a suspended MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter, complete with a life-sized aircrew modeled after an active-duty crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Visitors will also encounter some of the service’s most treasured artifacts, including the Medal of Honor awarded to Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro, the Coast Guard's only Medal of Honor recipient, whose extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Guadalcanal remains one of the defining acts of valor in Coast Guard history.