Museum Open Sundays, 1-4 pm

captain a
  • Sign In
  • Create Account

  • Orders
  • My Account
  • Signed in as:

  • filler@godaddy.com


  • Orders
  • My Account
  • Sign out

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Staff and Board
    • Visitor Guidelines
  • SUPPORT
    • Donate
    • Become a Member
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Shop
  • VISIT
    • Hours and Location
    • Avery House Tour
    • Heritage Garden Tour
    • Conversations Project
  • Events
    • EVENTS CALENDAR
    • Music on the Lawn
    • Spark! Exhibit
    • Oyster Festival
    • Write by the Bay
    • Social Bridge
    • Captain's Cafe
    • Ospreys of the Patuxent
    • 2025 MD House and Garden
  • FUNDRAISERS
    • The Learning Pier
    • Norman Gross Collection
  • RENT US
  • CONTACT US
  • DONATE
  • More
    • HOME
    • ABOUT
      • Our Mission
      • Staff and Board
      • Visitor Guidelines
    • SUPPORT
      • Donate
      • Become a Member
      • Volunteer with Us
      • Corporate Sponsorship
      • Shop
    • VISIT
      • Hours and Location
      • Avery House Tour
      • Heritage Garden Tour
      • Conversations Project
    • Events
      • EVENTS CALENDAR
      • Music on the Lawn
      • Spark! Exhibit
      • Oyster Festival
      • Write by the Bay
      • Social Bridge
      • Captain's Cafe
      • Ospreys of the Patuxent
      • 2025 MD House and Garden
    • FUNDRAISERS
      • The Learning Pier
      • Norman Gross Collection
    • RENT US
    • CONTACT US
    • DONATE
captain a

Signed in as:

filler@godaddy.com

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Staff and Board
    • Visitor Guidelines
  • SUPPORT
    • Donate
    • Become a Member
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Shop
  • VISIT
    • Hours and Location
    • Avery House Tour
    • Heritage Garden Tour
    • Conversations Project
  • Events
    • EVENTS CALENDAR
    • Music on the Lawn
    • Spark! Exhibit
    • Oyster Festival
    • Write by the Bay
    • Social Bridge
    • Captain's Cafe
    • Ospreys of the Patuxent
    • 2025 MD House and Garden
  • FUNDRAISERS
    • The Learning Pier
    • Norman Gross Collection
  • RENT US
  • CONTACT US
  • DONATE

Account


  • Orders
  • My Account
  • Sign out


  • Sign In
  • Orders
  • My Account

Learning Pier

Donate Now

Learning Pier Updates

June 2025

The first part of the reconstruction has been completed. The pier has been raised to accommodate the ADA compliant ramp that replaces the steep stairs.


Stay tuned for more details about the next phases!

2023-2024

The money generously donated by members of the community funded a "replacement in-kind" of the existing pier. We wanted people to be able to still access the pier while we continued the next phases of the rebuild--coming up with a design, requesting contractor proposals, acquiring permits, and more. Once everything was approved, we just had to wait for the seasons to change and the work to begin.


And in the meantime, we hosted our environmental education partners for a few hands-on learning events.

October-December 2022

By Oyster Festival 2022, in the middle of our fundraising campaign, we were able to replace some boards to allow for limited public access. With the generous contributions from the Shady Side community and beyond, we raised $10,000 by the end of 2022 to put towards to the new Learning Pier.

Looking out over the water from the lawn

"Flotsam and Jetsam" Art Installation

January-February 2022

In early 2022, we reached out to then-State Senator, Sarah Elfreth (30), and Delegate Seth Howard (30B) to ask for their sponsorship of a Legislative Bond Initiative to be introduced at the General Assembly. The funds requested were to design and construct a new pier that would be an educational asset for the Museum and the Shady Side community. In addition to the significant value of public access to water, we would partner with other organizations in the area and those with special knowledge of local species to ensure that our pier brings educational value as well.


This also kicked off a year of fundraising in the community for the new pier.

Looking out over the water from the lawn

"Flotsam and Jetsam" Art Installation

October 2021

Our pier suffered damage from flooding and strong winds on Friday, October 29, 2021. We saw this as an opportunity to revitalize the structure and enhance its value to the public. Our new pier would include:

  • ADA compliant access from our grounds
  • small-craft access from the water
  • a combination of stationary and floating platforms
  • exhibits with updated and relevant information
  • hands-on environmental education

Dock with broken and missing planks

After the October 29 storm

Artwork Sales to Benefit the Pier

Lithographs by Neil Harpe

Neil Harpe's "Working the Chesapeake" collection comprises 12 black and white lithographs, which document the various Chesapeake Bay fisheries and the people who work the waters of the Bay. Each lithograph is part of a limited set and is signed and numbered by the artist. Each lithograph sells for $35 with all money going to the Learning Pier fund. Call the museum for more details and to purchase.

About the Art

The lithographs are printed on 100% cotton rag Arches paper from original pencil drawings on frosted Mylar®. The originals had been commissioned by Maryland Sea Grant to illustrate the book, "Working the Chesapeake: Watermen on the Bay," by Mark Jacoby (1991).  

About Neil

Neil Harpe was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. He approaches his art through a variety of mediums and often combines several of these approaches in a single work. Harpe is particularly known for his marine art. 


His artwork can be found in private and corporate collections including the permanent collections of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Calvert Marine Museum. His series of mixed media abstractions based on mathematical proofs are on permanent display at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. His lithographs were included in the “Art in the Embassies Program” of the U.S. State Dept. and were displayed at U.S. Embassies across the globe.   

Copyright © 2020 Captain Avery Museum - All Rights Reserved.

Powered by

  • HOME
  • Donate
  • Become a Member
  • Volunteer with Us
  • Corporate Sponsorship
  • Shop
  • Conversations Project
  • EVENTS CALENDAR
  • RENT US
  • CONTACT US
  • DONATE