Hull’s Maritime Museum is gearing up for a big moment next week, as the much loved city centre landmark prepares to reopen its doors after a transformative £20m refurbishment.
From Saturday 8 August, visitors will be able to step back inside the historic building and explore a completely refreshed experience. The museum now features around 50% more objects on display, with more than 1,300 items showcased across newly designed galleries and open storage areas. The updated displays dive deep into Hull’s 800 year connection to the sea - charting how maritime trade, migration, fishing and whaling shaped the city and influenced communities far beyond the Humber.
The reopening forms a key part of the wider Hull Maritime project, which celebrates the city’s seafaring heritage. Alongside the museum’s transformation, work is underway at the North End Shipyard to welcome the Arctic Corsair to its new home, with dredging of the River Hull already in progress to prepare for the vessel’s arrival.
Among the remarkable objects visitors can expect to see are:
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Rare scrimshaw from the Truelove - a newly acquired whale tooth linked to Hull’s famous whaling ship, which completed an extraordinary 72 Arctic voyages
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A decorated sperm whale tooth by American scrimshaw artist Edward Burdett, showing the Phoenix of London in pursuit of a whale
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Engraved whale teeth by Frederick Myrick depicting the Nantucket whaleship Susan off the coast of Japan
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Hand‑painted whale ear bones transformed into surreal, expressive human faces
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A whale jawbone plaque illustrating an unusual bowhead whale hunt, complete with icebergs and mermaids woven into the border