CEO Corner
Updates from Jonathan Williams
Jonathan Williams is the President & CEO of the Pacific Battleship Center, home of the Battleship IOWA, LA Fleet Week, and the National Museum of the Surface Navy. A purpose-driven leader and storyteller, he shares updates and insights from one of the nation’s most innovative nonprofit organizations. His writing explores leadership, community, and culture — connecting lessons from the deck plate to the boardroom while highlighting the people, progress, and purpose that continue to drive the mission forward.
Newest Updates
Battleship IOWA CIO David Canfield Talks Museum Tech with AV TECHNOLOGY
Battleship IOWA Museum CIO David Canfield spoke recently with AV Technology. In an article published this week he discusses the technology utilized in our exhibits to create an immersive interaction. “The museum relies on technology to augment the visitor experience. ‘I think that is the key to our strategy,” Canfield said. ‘We do not want the visitor to experience to be ‘tech,’ we want them to experience the ship. The tech helps bring the experience alive.’” Click here for the full article...
Week of 06/07/20 – A Difficult Recovery
IOWA Family: After the first week open, it appears that this is going to be a difficult recovery. Our deepest appreciation for your continued support and please continue to support us during this recovery with your donations, time, and sharing of our message, if able. I was hoping that general tour traffic would have been higher with pent up demand. From May 30th to June 6th, 2020 we had a total of 142 visitors compared to the same period last year with 2,830 visitors. A whopping 95%...
Battleship IOWA Fuel Consumption Lesson
Battleship IOWA Museum's education team has released another cool virtual lesson for students, parents, and teachers. Are you curious How much fuel a battleship uses in comparison with a car or truck? How many miles can it sail when it’s "topped off?" What what kind of fuel economy it can get? Find out how to calculate the answers to these questions and more in our FUEL CONSUMPTION LESSON! For more lessons like this one, be sure to join our Virtual Education group on...
Week of May 31st, 2020 – A New Chapter
IOWA Family: It was great to be open again and see our crew come together for the first time in over 2 months. Our first reopening weekend generated 5% of our normal attendance or a 95% reduction from 2019. We are open, but have a very long road towards recovery. There is no doubt that we will need your continued support and contributions to make it through this crisis. This weekend was emotional for many of the crew. Coming aboard again and seeing the crew out in force, wearing their masks...
Saturday, May 30th 2020
Good morning IOWA Family. Today is Saturday, May 30th and we will reopen for limited capacity outdoor tours at 10am this morning. Today is an emotional day for many. Coming aboard again and seeing the crew out in force, wearing their masks and practicing distancing, makes me proud to be a small part of this amazing team. To see our ship family again simply feels great and makes us realize how much we missed each other since mid-March. Today is the first day I have walked into my office with...
CEO Update for May 26, 2020 – Reopening on May 30, 2020
Flag designed by George Palaziol, US Coast Guard Veteran. Your support and contributions continue to matter! Thank you! Please continue your support by sharing our message and donating at http://pacificbattleship.com/donate. This week, we begin a new chapter in the life of the Battleship IOWA Museum, as we plan to reopen our outdoor decks only for visitors on Saturday, May 30th. We owe a debt of gratitude for the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom, Assemblymember Mike Gipson, L.A. County...
Battleship IOWA Virtual Conversion Project
Inspired by the arrival of USNS Mercy, our education team got together with LAUSD’s Office of Outdoor and Environmental Education to create another amazing virtual learning opportunity consisting of five lessons that can be used individually or as a whole unit of interactive learning to cover two weeks. Here's a chance to explore and learn the engineering design process and solve problems using science and critical thinking just like engineers do. Convert Battleship IOWA into a hospital...
Update – May 18th, 2020
IOWA Family: We continue our efforts to reinvent the way our organization operates to adjust to the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that tourism oriented businesses such as museums, attractions, hotels, and airlines will continue to have significant challenges over the next few years. We believe with your support and being nimble, efficient, and innovative will help us through these trying times. We are keeping our finger on the pulse and remain in contact with our elected leaders to...
Battleship Word Search
Students, parents, and teachers! Looking for more fun educational resources? Battleship IOWA Museum's education department is busy prepping new content, but in the meantime, we've got a battleship-themed word search for you. You can do it online or use the printable version attached here. Time yourself and email your best to our education department. Record so far is 4:49. Ready? GO! And keep an eye on our Virtual Education Facebook group for our next lesson!
Battleship IOWA Update for 05/11/20 – Reopening
IOWA Family: We begin this week optimistic on potentially reopening in the coming weeks. Last week, the Governor announced outdoor museums would be in the next part of Phase 2 and L.A. County authorities announced museums would be in their next part of Phase 2. We are optimistic that the City of Los Angeles will concur with these recommendations. A limited reopening as outlined below will help generate much needed revenue, but it will be far from closing the gap. We need to remain focused on...
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