the new Mercator

The museum section of the floating museum, Mercator, has been completely refurbished in a contemporary, digital and interactive manner. The old display cases have made way for the newest technologies, adapting the ship to the requirements and expectations of contemporary visitors.

The barquentine Mercator was built in 1932 and was used as a training ship until 1960. Since 1964 the ship has been moored in Ostend. After urgent repairs were previously carried out on the hull and other parts of the ship the interior has now been completely refurbished. The entire museum has been modernised to the tune of around €400,000.

Now there are three ways of visiting Mercator: you can walk around the ship freely with a pocket-sized tour guide, or choose the digital visit using an iPod, which provides additional information featuring testimonials and short movie clips. Young people will also enjoy the interactive iPod treasure hunt game.

Although the digital (r)evolution has finally reached Mercator the barquentine’s historical interior remains unchanged. The galley, huts, sick-bay, the radio room, the captain’s hut and many other typical features of this historic ship have been preserved. It is not an easy feat to turn a 79-year old ship into an interactive museum but Mercator has managed to strike a perfect balance between the old and the new.

Another fun fact: the ticket price has not changed in spite of the investments. Adults pay 4 euros, children 2 euros. Renting an iPod costs 2 euros.