Calvert Marine Museum
Southern Maryland’s ancient seas and living waterways meet in fossil displays, estuarine exhibits, historic boats, and Drum Point Lighthouse.
Artwork inspired by Charles Willson Peale
At the mouth of the Patuxent, the Calvert Marine Museum joins three histories that are often told apart: marine fossils, the ecology of an estuary, and the communities that worked its waters. A prehistoric shark tooth and a living fish belong to different times, but both help explain why Southern Maryland’s shoreline is so revealing.
The outdoor campus extends the story through boats and Drum Point Lighthouse, whose raised cottage recalls a life lived above the water. Inside, the paleontology collections give beach finds context beyond the excitement of discovery. Scheduled lighthouse interpretation and cruises add different experiences, so decide which of those matters before spending the whole visit in the main building.
- River
- Patuxent
- Lighthouse
- Drum Point
- Deep time
- Miocene marine fossils
Quick guide
- Connect
- See the fossil gallery before looking for shoreline specimens.
- Choose a departure
- Check lighthouse tours and cruises when you arrive.
Know before you go
- Look at the teeth
- Shape gives clues to feeding, beyond the size of a fossil.
- Follow salinity
- Estuary exhibits explain why fresh and salt water support different animals.
- Inspect the lighthouse
- Notice how its living space sits above the supporting piles.
- Budget water time
- A cruise leaves less time for the indoor galleries.
Good to know
Drum Point Lighthouse stands at the museum after relocation. Cove Point Lighthouse is a separate site, so do not assume the same address or access arrangements.
Notice these
- Fossil shark teeth
- Raised lighthouse cottage
- Traditional Chesapeake boats