The Santa Maria: It is Always 1492 in Columbus, Ohio

The Santa Maria is a museum quality replica of the ship Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492 and is docked on the Olentangy River in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The ship is just beautiful, and I find Central Ohio lucky to have an accessible piece of history that allows visitors and the community to have a hands on experience. My kids and I love taking tours of the ship because we get a glimpse into what the crew experienced on their voyage some 500 years ago.

My children are four and two and both have done extremely well on the tour – I think they are so captivated being on board The Santa Maria that there isn’t time for meltdowns. The tour guides gear the tours towards children, which makes it a ton of fun for young ones. The kids get to pull ropes, touch and smell hardtack biscuits (no wonder sailors had broken teeth!), climb down into the hull, see where the captain slept, learn how a cannon was fired, and other fascinating facts. In the captain’s quarters are children’s books about pirates, which are always a big hit for my kids. For some reason they enjoy sitting in the captain’s bedroom and having mommy read to them.

Each year the ship hosts a variety of family-friendly events. This passed May, my Travels with Pirates friend and I took our kids for Pirate Weekend. There were reenactors who staged an attack on the ship, fired guns and cannons (real weapons/not real artillery), and dressed in period garb. The swarthy pirates were even taking pictures with families who asked. The children loved seeing people dressed up and acting like sea lobbers. I found the older kids enjoyed when the guns were fired, but our younger (four and under) kids weren’t too fond of being startled and we probably should have taken the kids on shore and watched from there. Another Pirate Weekend is coming up September 17 – 18, 2011. If “Ro, ho ho ho and a bottle of rum” isn’t your style, perhaps save your family visit for regular hours or visit during Halloween for “The Haunted Ship” October 27 – 29, 2011. Take a look at the calendar of events here: The Santa Maria.

I was giddy when I saw that they host Santa Maria Pirate Parties. Yes, you can have your child’s birthday party aboard the ship!! It is an hour and a half of children pretending to be *real* pirates running around a *real* ship, going on a treasure hunt, cake, punch, and your kid gets to pirate party with their best buddies. How stinkin’ fun would this be? Perhaps I need to keep this in mind for MY birthday!! For more information look here: Santa Maria Pirate Parties.

The Santa Maria is located in Battelle Riverfront Park at 25 Marconi Blvd. between Long Street and W. Broad Street on the north and south and Front Street and the Scioto River on the east and west. Phone: 614.645.8760

Get to sea mateys, and if you do, follow these fine suggestions fer a good sea lobbin’ time:

• Parking can be found along the water front. I generally park at meters on Marconi just before hitting Broad Street. Bring change!!
• Call ahead for tour times for the day. Once you get there you can buy tickets at the little building just left of the ship. Visitor info here.
• Please, please, please instruct your children on water safety around the ship.
• Wear baby. No room for strollers on board the ship. Plan to help small children up and down steep steps.
• Bring a lunch and picnic on shore. There are lovely shaded areas all around the ship. Or plan a day when Pearl Market is open and grab lunch. Then cross the street and eat on the Ohio Statehouse steps.
• Don’t forget your camera.