Due to financial constraints Mystic Seaport Museum will not be accepting donations to the collections in 2026.
How To Donate
To donate to the collection, please submit information about your materials using this DONATE TO THE COLLECTIONS form. Upon submitting information via the form, you should be directed to a web page with the following information:
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- confirmation that your information was received,
- instructions on how to send photographs,
- when you should expect to hear from us,
- who to contact if the donation is urgent.
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We receive numerous donation offers each week, and our staff dedicates significant time to evaluating each one. This process involves researching the provenance of items, comparing them to objects already in our collection, and assessing their relevance and need. If we have any questions regarding your donation, a staff member will reach out to you. Our Staff Acquisitions Team and Trustee Collections Committee meets monthly to review all offers, so potential donors should expect to hear from us within approximately one to two months.
Unsolicited Donations
We kindly request that potential donors refrain from dropping off items at the Museum unless specifically instructed to do so by a Collections staff member. The Museum cannot accept unsolicited donations. Any unsolicited materials dropped off or sent to the Museum will be considered abandoned property. Mystic Seaport Museum reserves the right to dispose of the materials as it sees fit.