St Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum

Historic Preservation and Maintenance - In order to fulfill its mission, the Museum performs historic preservation on several historic structures, including the Saint Augustine Lighthouse. The Light Station was restored to U.S. Department of Interior standards. The keepers' house, light tower, the WWII Jeep garage, the summer kitchens, the Fresnel lens, the lantern and restorations consume approximately 20 percent of the operation's staffing hours. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic places and in 2010 the Museum achieved its Smithsonian Affiliate status. The museum maintains the aid to navigation as a private aid and keeps the light shining.

Maritime Archaeology - The research arm of the Museum is the separately incorporated Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP). LAMP archeologists host various field school students from across the United States, giving these students and other students hands-on experience in the field. LAMP has been working on a 1782 shipwreck site and objects such as a Queen Anne pistol, ships deck pump, ship's bell, and various others have been retrieved by student divers. Current conservation work on these objects is supervised by the Museum. Fully conserved objects are displayed at the Museum's "Wrecked Exhibit" under permit by the State. LAMP publishes an annual archaeological research report that is presented to the State of Florida Division of Historical Resources. During the year, volunteers donate their time to build a variety of small craft and to tell and share stories of the maritime heritage to the vast number of tourists visiting the town.

Interpretive and Educational Services - Education is core to the Museum's mission. Interpretive and educational services were fully part of all programs for the 47,000 +/- school age children that visited and the 200,000 +/- annual visitors. Various services offered included the "Wrecked" exhibit, the Lighthouse Summer Camp scholarship program for at-risk children, the Behind-the-Scenes tours included with paid admission, and various programs within the Maritime Archaeology Specialty Programs. All program content was tied to and teaches Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM_ education and the Museum Mission. The Museum performs scientific research in the waters of the nation's oldest port city and cares for up to 13,000 artifacts, archaeological specimen, and historic archival documents. Some 3,000 objects are on long-term loan from the State of Florida.