Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center — Attraction in Sandwich

This is a lovely, small museum that makes me appreciate the wonders of the Cape Cod canal, why it was important, and how hard it was to build it. There is a continuously running, free movie that gives you the history up to present day and how the canal is used. Make sure you watch the beginning to see the fascinating attempts at building and enlarging the canal. I developed a better appreciation for the Army Corp of Engineers who were tasked enlarging the canal and to make it more safe.

In the museum, there information about the Army Corp of Engineers, a boat that you can climb on, information about navigation through the canal, interactive ship knot tying exhibit to try your hand, dried sea life touch exhibit, and some other fun kid-friendly activities.

You only need an hour there. There is a small gift shop. Outside, in a separate building, there are public bathrooms. Plenty of parking. You can walk to the canal and to the beach. You can see people fishing or playing in the water. The beach is rocky. If you stand on the shore and stare at the water, you will likely spot a cormorant or perhaps even a seal or watch a boat come by.

Walking distance away was Seafood Sam's which had excellent fried clam strips, fish and a really good lobster roll at a reasonable price plus an assortment of other food and a bar. Order at the counter and then take it to an inside or outside table or order at the bar.

At the visitor center, there are friendly,...

First and foremost, the staff at this museum are some of the most welcoming and informative people I have ever met!

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by all of the staff members, and were almost immediately thrust into a conversation about the canal, it's history, and a general question and answer session that was interesting and informative.

As we made our way through the exhibits, workers really made a noticeable effort to find out where we were from, and then even took the time to relate different topics that they were discussing to geology and historical places and events that we were familiar with in our home area.

Even though the museum is not huge, I highly recommend taking a moment to visit, as it was truly a personalized museum experience that I have never had the pleasure of experiencing before.

Great work, everyone involved, and keep it up! Fantastic...

Dave and Samantha were quite amazing as information sources about the Cape and canal operations/history. The Army Corps of Engineers offers a kid-friendly series of activities here in Sandwich. There is a nice overview video to watch in the Center's theater. As an engineer, I could have stayed for far longer to learn more about an 8 mile commercial canal first envisioned in 1825, and then completed by Belmont and Parsons a century later.

Take a few of the free informational pamphlets when you leave this...