Sept. 6th - 7th , 2025
CT Maritime Hartage Festivalal
city peer New London, CT
NLCB partnered with the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival. NLCB had a great time introducing the art of boatbuilding by constructing “hot glue gun boats.” Youth used their artistic skills to create a hull from wooden parts and then built it out artistically.
This event was free and open to the public.
For more details, please visit the CT Maritime Heritage Festival site:
https://ctmaritimefest.com/
Sept. 29th - Dec. 1st , 2025
Mystic Museum of Art
9 Water St, Mystic, CT 06355
NLCB partnered with the Mystic Museum of Art to run a homeschooling class that introduced the art of boat building through the construction of cardboard boats. Youth used their artistic skills to create a hull from plans and then built it out in an artistic manner.
Aug 16th, 2025
Lyman Allyn Museum of Art
625 Williams St, New London, CT
NLCB partnered with the Lyman Allyn Art Museum to offer a class introducing the art of boat building through the creation of a figurehead. Using paper craft and exploring new mediums, youth designed and constructed their own figureheads, building them out with creativity and personal expression.
Aug11th - 15th, 2025
Mystic Museum of Art
9 Water St, Mystic, CT 06355
NLCB partnered with the Mystic Museum of Art to run a full-day summer camp introducing the art of boat building through the construction of paper boats. Through hands-on paper-based techniques and experimentation with new materials, youth followed plans to form a hull and then expanded on it with their own creative interpretation.
Aug, 3th - 8th 2025
Spark Makerspace
7 Union St, New London, CT 06320
NLCB partnered with Spark Makerspace to host a Toolbox Build Workshop, introducing the fundamentals of building through the construction of toolboxes. Teens worked in the Spark woodshop, where they learned basic woodworking skills and safe tool use while following plans to build their own toolbox. They then added personal design elements to make each piece their own. At the end of the class, students were able to keep the hand tools they used to build their toolboxes.
July, 16th - 18th 2025
Old Lyme Library
Old Lyme, CT
NLCB worked with the Old Lyme Library to build its first 6-hour canoe, bringing community members together for a hands-on, collaborative project.
Over the course of three days, participants learned the basics of boat construction, working step by step to assemble the canoe from raw materials. The project was a success, with strong teamwork and a shared sense of accomplishment throughout.
The finished canoe was then launched on Rogers Lake in Old Lyme, marking an exciting milestone and a rewarding conclusion to the build.
July, 12th 2025
Celebrate New London
New London CT
At Celebrate New London, NLCB spent eight hours working with the public to build a “New London Canoe Boat.”
It was a wonderful day of hands-on collaboration, where anyone passing by, participants of all ages, was invited to jump in and help work on the boat. Together, community members contributed to building NLCB’s first boat in New London.
Thank you to all the families who came out to build with us and be part of the experience.
June, 21st - 22nd 2025
Mystic & Noank Library
Mystic CT
We built six “jellyfish”-style boats at the Mystic & Noank Library in collaboration with Mill Hollow Works. The build took place over a weekend on the library grounds, creating a lively, hands-on environment for participants.
The program was free and open to the public. Youth ages 11–18 participated alongside a parent or guardian, working together to construct each boat from start to finish.
May, 17th 2025
New London Historical Society New London
This was the first year of the Mariner Festival, and NLCB was on site with Spark Makerspace. Together, we offered hands-on activities, including hot glue gun boats and paper boat building.
Visitors of all ages were invited to stop by, participate, and experience the fun of creating their own boats.
Jan. 15th - 17th 2025
CT Marine Trades Association Hartford Boat Show at Mohegan Sun
Our first event was participating in the Hartford Boat Show, hosted by the Connecticut Marine Trades Association.
Over the weekend, we led hands-on activities, including building “hot glue gun boats,” tin foil boats to explore why boats float, and paper boats. These projects helped introduce basic boatbuilding concepts in an accessible, engaging way.
We were excited to be part of the event and to join the many vendors representing the marine industry.
For more information, please use the site below
https://ctmarinetrades.org/
