Ribbon cutting ceremony aboard USS Wisconsin (BB 64)

Photo By Max Lonzanida | The immersive Ship Experience Access Room (SEAR Room) was opened to the public on December 7, 2018 during a brief ceremony aboard the USS Wisconsin (BB 64). The space transforms a once vacant space to an area that opens up nearly 10,000 square feet of confined and difficult to access locations on the iconic ship via a system of 20 video cameras using a live feed. The project was a collaboration between the City of Norfolk, Nauticus, the Nauticus Foundation, IPConfigure, Axis Communications and ScanSource Security. (US Navy Photo by Max Lonzanida/Released).  

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

12.26.2018

Story by Max Lonzanida  

Naval History and Heritage Command

On December 7, 1943, the USS Wisconsin (BB 64) slipped into the water for the first time at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Scores of shipyard workers were on-hand to witness Mrs. Martha S. Goodland, wife of the Governor of Wisconsin, break a bottle to launch US Navy’s newest battleship at the time. Cheers rang out throughout the crowd, and not a moment too soon as the majestic battleship was launched just two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Work continued on her at a feverish pace, and she joined the fleet on April 16, 1944. She would be placed in reserve and brought back in service a total of three times before she was finally decommissioned in 1991. Today, she is moored in timeless grandeur next to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and Nauticus in Downtown Norfolk as a museum ship.

On December 7, 2018, seventy five years after her initial launching, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held aboard the ageless battleship. In a space tucked away off the wardroom, staff members from the City of Norfolk, Nauticus, the Nauticus Foundation, IPConfigure, Axis Communications and ScanSource Security held a ribbon cutting ceremony to launch the opening of a new Ship Experience Access Room (SEAR Room). The room is meant to mirror a control center, with four large screen displays mounted in the space. In front of the monitors, a set of controls enables the user to select feeds from 20 cameras strategically mounted in difficult to access compartments of the ship. It opens up almost 10,000 square feet of space, and allows visitors who would be otherwise unable to access the spaces the opportunity to do so. In-fact, it is the first of its kind amongst any historic museum ship in the nation.

Present on that day was Christopher Goodland, a US Army Veteran and a relative of the ship’s original sponsor, Martha Goodland. He had travelled from Wisconsin to present a proclamation from that state. The proclamation, signed on October 23, 2018, declared December 7, 2018 as USS Wisconsin (BB 64) day. It recognized the iconic ship’s service to our nation that has spanned decades. Goodland, along with other dignitaries at the event, held up the ceremonial scissors and cut the large red ribbon which officially opened the SEAR room to the public. Afterwards, the group went on a guided tour of the battleship, led by Clayton Allen, the ship’s operations manager to take in some history of and explore the confined spaces that are now accessible via the new SEAR room.

About the Museum:

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. It celebrates the long history of the U.S. Navy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and is co-located with Nauticus in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. The USS Wisconsin (BB-64) is an Iowa-Class Battleship that was first commissioned on April 16, 1944. She was finally decommissioned in on September 30, 1991 and struck from the Naval Register on March 17, 2006. She is moored permanently as a museum ship adjacent to the museum. Admission to the museum is free, simply by-pass the ticket line and take the stairs or elevator to the museum on the second deck. The museum hosts a robust educational program for area schools and commands, with free educational programs to area schools aligned with state curriculum standards, a travelling sea chest program, a premier Lego outreach program, and historical presentations for area commands. To inquire, contact their Educational Director, Laura Orr at [e-mail] or at [phone]. The museum is also host to a robust volunteer corps, who serve as docents, support special events, and assist in museum archives. To inquire, contact their Volunteer Coordinator, Darcy Sink at [e-mail] or at [phone]. Lastly the museum proudly hosts military ceremonies, such as re-enlistments, retirements, and promotions for area commands aboard the U.S.S Wisconsin and in the museum’s gallery. To inquire, contact their special events coordinator, Tom Dandes at [e-mail] or call [phone].

• Date Taken: 12.26.2018
• Date Posted: 12.26.2018 12:06
• Story ID: 305107
• Location: NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US