Museum Directory

Welcome!  Discover the history of ship-to shore radio at the site of "The World's Greatest Coastal Station"!  As you enter the museum, you will be invited to view “Chatham Radio WCC: The Untold Story” narrated by Walter Cronkite, capturing nearly a century of the station’s history in 12 fascinating minutes.  Then, through informative panels, videos and interactive exhibits, explore radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi’s life and legacy, the role of maritime radio in world events, ship-to-shore communication with the actual shipboard radio from the hospital ship SS Hope, and artifacts from Chatham Radio WCC’s history.  Experience firsthand how a radio operator touching a Morse code key in Chatham could be heard by his counterparts aboard ships sailing the seven seas and learn about the talented and skilled people who conceived, built and operated the station.  In addition to relaying commercial and personal messages to ships, WCC communicated with pioneer aviators including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes.  Wireless communication ended isolation at sea and has helped save countless lives.  Learn the poignant story of the SS Marine Electric disaster of 1983, and how maritime communications technology keeps mariners safe today.

Featured Exhibit:  From 1942 through 1945, Chatham Radio played a key role in defeating Germany during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic by intercepting Enigma-encrypted wireless messages passing between the Third Reich’s headquarters and its ships at sea.  “Station C” (its wartime US Navy designation) forwarded these intercepts to Washington, D.C. for decoding.  As the control station for the East Coast direction-finding network, Station C also directed the search for telltale radio signals that allowed enemy vessels to be located and tracked.  The museum’s Navy Years exhibit features working electronic Enigma cipher machine simulators allowing you to try your hand at message encryption.

More Things To Do:

Antenna Field Trail:  When you visit our historic site any time during daylight hours, walk the Antenna Field Trail.  The trail is a winding path through the flora and fauna of Cape Cod with interpretive signs identifying and describing the station’s various radio antennas, and it is free and open to the public during daylight hours.

Museum Store: Visit to browse the wide selection of books, logo clothing and other unique items, always available online at our website.

Programs:  The museum’s exhibits are augmented throughout the year by fascinating speakers, interpretive programs and special events that you may also find interesting.  See our Programs & Events Calendar for details.

For Student Class Visits or other Group Tour information call 508-945-8889 or e-mail info@ChathamMarconi.org

Fall Schedule: From September 6th to October 8th, the museum will be open Wednesday through Sunday 1:00pm - 4:00pm.