I'm a Salem resident and I am on a mission to tour all the local attractions. About this one:

I visited it with friends on its opening weekend. We did not know what to expect, and we were all actually very much impressed by the level of quality of this exhibition! (I also visited it a second time in 2023! Still impressed!)

What it is: This is a museum-quality exhibition on the history and legend of “Black Sam” Bellamy, a pirate who gained a great fortune at the beginning of the 1700s, but met his death off the coast of Cape Cod where his ship Whydah sank, with all his treasures. Fast forward to a few decades ago, archaeological explorer Barry Clifford dedicated time, money and energies to retrieve what was left of the Whydah, bringing back to life the world’s only fully authenticated pirate treasure ever discovered. Part of this treasure is on display here (the rest is part of his private collection). The person at the ticket window gave us a brief but informative introduction before entering the museum, and he did show up again a couple of times while we were visiting the exhibit to answer our questions and gave us additional information. The exhibit begins with a video about Bellamy, and I remember that I thought that the quality of the video, of the sound, of the special effects (I believe there is some lighting effect) reminded me of my trip to the Universal studios in Florida (I mean this as a compliment! 😊) A door opens to the exhibit - specifically to the reproduction of a bell found on the ship. The exhibition is fairly big - if you stop and read everything, you'll need at least an hour to see everything.There is a mix of archeological finds and reproductions of objects, a reproduction of the inside of the ship, there is a scene of a tavern, some interactive activities, videos and photographs etc.

PROs This is extremely well presented and informative. Although it was never mentioned inside the museum, I believe this show was originally organized by National Geographic (maybe a slightly different version/the original version of it?), as the book about the exhibition that I purchased at the gift shop mentions National Geographic. Compared with several of the other Salem attractions, it is soooo much cooler. I highly recommend this. Also, now pictures (no flash) are allowed!

CONs There are no real cons. The only thing to mention is that this exhibition has literally nothing to do with the history of Salem ---EDIT - actually, I should have said that the facts of the Whydah didn't take place in Salem, as it is more accurate. Thanks to the museum for pointing that out! (See comment below) --- I do understand why it was opened here - Salem is associated with piracy, and the exhibit definitely nicely matches the spirit of the town.