Long-awaited Coast Guard Museum Scheduled to Open in Spring 2027

By EMELY MIRANDA-AGUILAR
Stars and Stripes

An artist rendering of the new National Coast Guard Museum in New London, Conn. The museum is expected to open in the spring of 2027. (National Coast Guard Museum Association)

 

Visitors to the future National Coast Guard Museum in New London, Conn., will find themselves standing beneath a suspended HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter, offering a glimpse into the work that has defined the Coast Guard for decades.

Dedicated to sharing the branch’s 235 years of maritime service, the National Coast Guard Museum Association plans to open the museum to the public in spring 2027.

“We really felt the Coast Guard has never received the attention and regard that it deserves,” said Sue Curtin, current chair of the association’s board and former Coast Guard reservist. “Helping build this national museum would really elevate the Coast Guard, and give back to the country, and really honor men and women who have served in the Coast Guard.”

Currently under construction, the 83,000-square-foot museum will feature more than 5,000 images and 600 artifacts in exhibits highlighting the Coast Guard’s history and missions, according to the museum’s website.

The building is slated for completion by the end of 2026 before being turned over to the Coast Guard for exhibit installation.

The museum association has planned a series of events leading up to the opening to draw extra attention.

The museum is designed around five major themes that reflect the Coast Guard’s missions: Defenders of the Nation, Enforcers on the Seas, Lifesavers Around the Globe, Champions of Commerce and Protectors of the Environment.

“It’s a stunning, iconic, waterfront museum that really gives the nod to the service,” Curtin said.

The museum has been carefully curated to provide an immersive and educational experience.

In addition to the helicopter — an aircraft that has played a symbolic role since it entered service in the 1990s — the museum will include a movie theater, learning centers and simulated Coast Guard missions expected to engage an estimated 300,000 visitors annually.

The HH-60J Jayhawk Helicopter will be hoisted in the atrium of the new National Coast Guard Museum in New London, Conn., which is expected to open in the spring of 2027. (National Coast Guard Museum Association)

“Our goal is, it’s not just a museum for us, it’s a platform for the service to really get in front of the American public, in front of the Congress, in front of an international venue to really give it a place to tell its whole story,” said Wes Pulver, president of the National Coast Guard Museum Association and a retired Coast Guard captain.

Once construction is complete, it will be the only national military museum dedicated to one of the service branches located in the Northeast.

The Army and Marine Corps museums are in Virginia; the Navy museum is in Washington, D.C.; and the Air Force museum is in Ohio.

New London was selected as the museum’s home since it is one of the original Coast Guard cities and home to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

The new National Coast Guard Museum in New London, Conn., under construction. The museum is expected to open in the spring of 2027. (National Coast Guard Museum Association)

The project officially moved forward in 2014 when the National Coast Guard Museum Association, the city of New London, the Coast Guard and the state of Connecticut entered a Memorandum of Agreement to develop a “world class National Coast Guard Museum” and bring the long-discussed project closer to reality.

The following year, the association began hiring staff, including Pulver as executive director following his retirement, and launched fundraising efforts, marking the start of the museum.

Construction for the museum began on Aug. 4, 2025 — Coast Guard Day. The project is funded through a combination of federal appropriations and about $57 million raised privately, Pulver said. The federal appropriation was about $100 million.

“Let’s get the building done, let’s get it open, and let’s bring in our 300,000 plus visitors a year to the region, and experience — what Sue and I got to experience in the Coast Guard — a wonderful service that serves our nation in so many ways,” Pulver said.

EMELY MIRANDA-AGUILAR
Emely Miranda-Aguilar is a summer intern on the digital editing team at Stars and Stripes in Washington, D.C., as part of the Dow Jones News Fund multiplatform editing cohort. She is from Hyattsville, Md., and has a bachelor’s degree in Multiplatform Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.