"Join the Crew" Launches at The Mary Rose this Summer

Prepare for adventure this summer holiday as the Mary Rose launches a family experience based on the bestselling book ‘You wouldn’t want to sail on the Mary Rose’. Bringing to life the ship’s miraculous story with a new interactive trail for families.

Visitors can sign up to ‘Join the crew of the Mary Rose’ upon arrival at the Mary Rose museum and will then be equipped with an activity booklet and pen. Activities can be done around the museum or at home. Explorers can uncover a treasure trove of Tudor objects from the seabed, get hands on and discover about life on board and what it took to be a crew member.

When the Mary Rose was excavated by archaeologists on the seabed, it contained chests full of beautifully preserved artefacts. Visitors will discover chests throughout the museum galleries and piece together the stories of life on board the Mary Rose. They will sniff Tudor smells, handle replica objects recovered from the Mary Rose, listen to the sounds of the past and see the ship brought to life with cutting edge technology.

Also new this summer, oscar-winning Actress Dame Judi Dench is helping visitors to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard step back in time to relive the sinking of the Mary Rose in its stunning new experience. 1545 will allow visitors to be fully immersed in the Battle of the Solent and re-live the final breath-taking moments on board King Henry VIII’s favourite ship.

Dame Judi is introducing the experience, which is home to the Mary Rose and the world’s biggest collection of Tudor artefacts.

This is also the last year to discover even more about who the crew really were and where they were from as the trail incorporates our temporary exhibition ‘The Many Faces of Tudor England’.

‘Join the crew of the Mary Rose’ costs £1 with a valid Mary Rose tickets and those intrepid explorers who complete the trail will be rewarded with a join the crew pop badge.

The adventure begins on 6th August 2021!