Welcome to the Curator’s Corner. Here, members of the Intrepid Museum’s Exhibits Department will be posting stories about our exhibits, the artifacts in our collection, and the history of our two ships, the aircraft carrier Intrepid and the submarine Growler. We hope to provide extra details about the artifacts and spaces that you’ll encounter as a visitor to the Museum, as well as information about objects that are not currently on view or compartments that are not open to the public.

Now that the Intrepid is back home at Pier 86, we’re putting the finishing touches on our exciting new hangar deck exhibit, which illuminates the “Humanity Behind the Hardware” – the stories of the machines and the people who operated them.

Our permanent installation tells the personal stories of the individuals who created, serviced, and lived aboard the Intrepid using artifacts from our collection. Visitors will see photographs, uniforms, diaries, gear, models and mementos, most of which have never before been on public view. Some of these items relate to day-to-day life aboard the ship – pilot helmets, log books, training materials. Others reveal sailors’ creativity and personal expression, such as a collection of handmade patches from the Cold War period like the one shown here.

Check back every month for a new Curator’s Corner posting. We look forward to sharing a few of the many fascinating Intrepid and Growler stories with you.

Jessica Williams
Curator of History