(WEAA)—Seventh-grade students from Hardy Middle School in Washington, D.C., will trade their classrooms for the Inner Harbor Tuesday, April 7 when Living Classrooms Foundation kicks off its 2026 maritime education season.
Students board three historic vessels — the pungy schooner Lady Maryland, skipjack Sigsbee, and Chesapeake Bay buyboat Mildred Belle.— at 9 a.m. The historic ships with depart at 9:50 a.m. from the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park on Thames St. in Baltimore. Aboard, students will take part in hands-on science and history programming covering the War of 1812, Black maritime history and Chesapeake Bay ecology.
The season opener comes on the heels of national recognition. Tall Ships of America named Living Classrooms its Sail Training Program of the Year at its national conference in San Diego. The organization served more than 9,000 individuals from Baltimore, the D.C. region and beyond last year, with 53% of students coming from Title I schools. Lady Maryland Capt. Laura "LP" Page was also honored as Sail Trainer of the Year.
Founded in 1985, Living Classrooms manages a fleet of seven historic vessels and serves thousands of students annually from April through November.
For information on Living Classrooms Maritime Education, visit https://livingclassrooms.org/programs/maritime-education.