Tours Offer Behind-the-Scenes Look at Conservation of Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge

GREENVILLE, N.C. - March 12, 2014 - PRLog -- Special training and skill are required to extract the glass beads, trigger guards and even the cannons from the cement-like casings that contain them when they are recovered from Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge (http://www.qaronline.org/) (QAR), from under the sea. It is part of the time-consuming work of conservators who treat thousands of artifacts from the shipwreck. Exclusive behind-the-scene tours will begin March 4 to reveal the magic at the QAR Conservation Lab.

The QAR  Lab is offering opportunities for a special behind-the-scenes look at conservation in progress through different types of tours -- First Tuesdays, Special Group Tours, Open Houses and Educational Class visits. Visitors will be able to share the excitement of being among the first to see objects last looked upon by pirates almost 300 years ago, in addition to helping to support the work of the QAR Lab.

Each tour includes visiting the warehouse containing one of the largest collections of cannons to be excavated from a single wreck, parts of the hull structure, and a 12-foot anchor from the pirate ship. Mastery of the mysteries of the sea through X-ray technology, a preview of artifacts ready for museum exhibit and other processes will be explained.

To book a tour, please email courtney.page@ncdcr.gov or call (252) 744-6721. More information on visiting the lab is here (http://www.qaronline.org/visit).

Reservations are required for the First Tuesday tours, at 10-11:30 a.m. or 2-3:30 p.m. A donation of $10 per person is requested to Friends of QAR (http://www.friendsofqar.org/), which can be applied to membership in the group that supports the work of the QAR team. A maximum of 15 people is allowed per tour, and the program is best suited to visitors older than age 12.

Special group tours can also be booked. These include an introductory presentation, refreshments and a tour of the lab. The suggested donation for this tour is $20 per person to the Friends of QAR, which also can be applied to membership. Reservations must be made at least one month in advance. A maximum of 30 people can participate per tour and must be age 12 or older.

Two free Open House programs are scheduled April 26 and Nov. 15 (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days). No reservations are required for the Open House programs, and all ages are welcome. Members of the Friends of QAR get a preview at 10 a.m. on each Open House date.

Free educational tours are also available by scheduling a month in advance for a maximum of 20 people per tour, ages 12 and older.

The staff looks forward to greeting visitors and showing the action from behind the scenes. The tours are free to members of the Friends of QAR, and the free Open House events will open the lab to all visitors.

The QAR Shipwreck Project and the conservation lab are part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The lab is located near East Carolina University in Greenville.

About the Discovery of the Queen Anne's Revenge

The Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground in Beaufort in June 1718. Intersal, Inc., a private research firm, discovered the site believed to be Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR) on November 21, 1996. QAR was located near Beaufort Inlet, N.C., by Intersal's director of operations, Mike Daniel, who used historical research provided by Intersal's president, Phil Masters. For more information, please visit www.lat3440.com and www.qaronline.org/.

About the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's cultural resources to build the social, cultural and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDCR's mission is to enrich lives and communities by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina that will spark creativity, stimulate learning, preserve the state's history and promote the creative economy. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.

Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and spurring the economic stimulus engine for our state's communities. NCDCR's Divisions of Archives and Records, Historical Resources, State Historic Sites and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina's rich cultural heritage to offer experiences of learning and reflection. NCDCR's State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state to develop and to offer access to educational resources through traditional and online collections including genealogy and resources for the blind and physically handicapped.

NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state's creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.