Environmental Conservation
Nauticus is passionate about the preservation and conservation of our natural resources and marine environment. As a River Star Model Level Business and a certified Virginia Green attraction, Nauticus is committed to minimizing it’s environmental impacts by preventing pollution wherever feasible in it’s operations and educating the public on the importance of green practices through programs, exhibits and events.
Nauticus has received many awards and recognitions for our green initiatives such as:
Most Innovative Green Projects award by the Virginia Green Travel Alliance in April 2019 for the installation of the Seabins program.
3- Star Level Sustained Distinguished Performance RiverStar Business by the Elizabeth River Project in 2021-2025.
2024 Virginia Green Travel Fully Certified Green Travel Destination and Large Green Attraction of the Year
2024 Keep Virginia Beautiful Green Grants Recipient – helped support our Seabins, Community Cleanups, Onsite Recycling, and Sail Nauticus Gardens and Composting Bin.
Nauticus Youth Volunteers
Nauticus is proud to present our Youth Action Council, a group made of some of our most senior and dedicated Discovery Crew volunteers. The members began their career at Nauticus as part of the Discovery Crew, where they spoke to and educated thousands of guests over their time here. Throughout the year, they lead programs and educate visitors about ecology, environmental stewardship, naval history, and technology. As part of the YAC, members plan and lead community clean-ups around Nauticus’ campus, as well as participate in the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit in the winter. Since 2021, the Youth Action Council and Nauticus have hosted 17 community cleanups, 366 people, and collected 18,487 items of marine debris around Nauticus and Town Point Park. They have won awards for their clean-ups from the Elizabeth River Project when participating in their Youth Resiliency Expo. Join our Discovery Crew to help expand and make concrete changes to the community.
Our volunteers have educated thousands of museums guests about environmental conservation, climate change, and different ways they can take action at home. They have also been a driving force behind craft preparation as they help collect, create, and organize all of the recycled craft materials.
Interested in becoming a volunteer? Learn more.
Nauticus Seabins
Through a partnership with Warstila Defense, Inc., Nauticus has installed the first Seabin units on the East Coast.
Seabin, a floating trash bin located in the water at marinas, docks, yacht clubs and commercial ports, collect floating trash by drawing in water from the surface. Using low-energy submersible pumps, the water is then pumped back into the marina, leaving litter and debris trapped in the Seabin’s catch bag to be disposed of properly. The bins also have the potential to collect some of the oils and pollutants floating on the water’s surface.
Maintained by Nauticus Education Staff, volunteers and the Youth Action Council, the Seabin will contribute to the health of the waterway by cleaning as much as one ton of litter from the river each year. The three Seabin units are open to the public for viewing at the Nauticus Marina.
Nauticus has collected over 8,500+ items since this program started in 2018. This data is collected and submitted to the Seabin Project and Ocean Conservancy through Marine Debris Tracker (debristracker.org).
Nauticus Green Team
Starting in March, 2023, Nauticus kicked off its Green Team to involve Nauticus staff, volunteers, members, board, and community partners to become environmental stewards for our Nauticus organization as well as within our downtown Norfolk community. This is a year-round project that all members can take part in to help our local environment. Some of our projects include: more digital paperwork, personal department onsite recycling, Seabins, refillable water bottle stations, NextTrek benches, and hosting Community Cleanup Events.
Sail Nauticus
Sail Nauticus, a program of the Nauticus Foundation, develops leadership and academic success through the art and science of sailing to underserved youth in Hampton Roads. Sail Nauticus programs includes Sail Academy, Schooner Virginia, sailing memberships, skills clinics, group outings, summer camps, and more. In the School Year, 2022-2023, 140 Norfolk Public Schools Students in grades 6-8 participated in the Sail Academy program every Monday-Thursday after school to practice communication, teamwork, and leadership skills, all while learning how to sail. For their environmental focus projects, they built a mobile pollinator garden from recycled trash cans and a rowboat built by prior Academy students, cleaned up marine debris from the river by boat and docks, used energy efficient wind power and electric motors while sailing around the Elizabeth River, and encouraged healthy eating habits with less trash production with serving fruit instead of snack bags and using refillable water bottles/stations.
Current Exhibits
Nauticus opened five new exhibits spaces as part of the transformational Reimagine Nauticus project!
Norfolk In Time, an interdisciplinary, highly interactive exhibition weaving stories of history, culture, science, technology and industry to showcase Norfolk’s unique resiliency in the face of continual challenge and change. Aquaticus, devoted to young visitors, this gallery encourages experience-based play and discovery using both fine and gross motor skills as well as interactive elements that are right-sized for little learners. Design, Build, Sail!, overlooking the Elizabeth River and our Sail Nauticus sailboat fleet, this state-of-the-art gallery blends hands-on interactives with compelling exhibits. Students and visitors learn practical STEM principles like hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, and buoyancy. Our Port, Virginia’s maritime community showcases a unique and dynamic collaboration, setting it apart from other industrial stories typically explored in museums. Our Port blends traditional exhibit techniques with innovative approaches to create a more engaging and informative experience for visitors. The Heart of the Navy experience deepens public appreciation of the Navy as a crucial, human-driven force shaping the future. This gallery highlights the essential role that family and community play in supporting the U.S. Navy’s mission.
In partnership with the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and Nauticus, U.S. Fleet Forces Command has created Stewards of the Sea: Defending Freedom, Protecting the Environment. This 1,000-square-foot, highly-interactive exhibit explores how the Navy protects marine life while fulfilling its mission.
Digital Guest Experience
In August 2020, Nauticus began offering digital membership cards to reduce our use of plastic (cards) and paper (renewal letters, card delivery, etc.) By going digital, we will avoid using thousands of sheets of paper and envelopes, and printing over 2,000 cards every year. It also offers our Members a convenient way to access their membership cards through their smartphone wallet app. To learn more, visit our Membership page.
For general admission visitors, Nauticus encourages all tickets be purchased online, in advance in order to save on ticket and receipt printing at the visitor welcome desk. The Nauticus map is now only located by the elevators inside the building and on the Nauticus website to decrease the need for paper maps.
Skip the Straw!
It is estimated that 119 billion pounds of plastic waste is currently in our oceans and waterways, and every year millions of pounds of new plastic waste builds up from the improper disposal of straws, cups, water bottles, plastic bags, and other single-use items.
In 2019, Nauticus committed to go straw free and switched providers in their cafe to offer only paper straws and purchase recyclable and even compostable food containers.
Nauticus also works with the cafe to promote sustainable seafood and other food choices.
Additional Virtual Programs & Activities
In 2020, we committed to reducing our use of single-use plastics or other consumable products in our educational programming and crafts. We accomplished this goal during Afro-futurism event held in February in celebration of Black History Month by using only recycled and recyclable products for all of our crafts and activities!
Nauticus has reaffirmed this commitment with our virtual programming and adventures as we craft and learn science with you at home. Below are several of our virtual offerings for families to enjoy environmentally friendly craft and STEM content.