U.S. Naval Academy

The Visitor Center is the first stop on any visit to the undergraduate college of the U.S. Navy. Information specialists welcome visitors to view a 12 minute film and take a guided walking tour of the yard with a professional, certified guide. The walking tour takes approximately one hour and 15 minutes. Walk-in tours are available year-round, but times vary by season. Groups of 16 or more people can be booked online in advance.

You can also attend USNA Admissions presentations in Leahy Hall Monday through Friday at 9 and 11 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m. on Saturdays at 9 and 11 a.m.

Everyone 16 and older must have a photo ID. Only vehicles with DoD stickers or handicapped tags may enter Naval Academy grounds.

Exhibits:

The centerpiece of the Graduates in Space exhibit is the Freedom 7 space capsule, flown into space in 1961 by Naval Academy graduate Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (Class of 1945).

Other displays in the Visitor Center include a Sample Midshipman’s Room, the original figurehead of Tamanend. Off the USS Maryland(from which the Statue of Tecumseh was cast), a model of the USS MARYLAND (BB46) and an extensive exhibit on the life and times of John Paul Jones, famous Revolutionary war naval hero who is buried in the crypt beneath the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel.

Special Programs:

• Navy Way Boot Camp – 1st – 5th grades
  Recruits learn Navy terms and traditions…they march, chant and follow orders.
  One hour.
• Educational Tour – 4th – 12th grades
  Based on elementary, middle or high school curriculum. Tour provides students an opportunity to use visual skills and to utilize information as part of their learning experience. Educational materials available for teachers.
  One hour.
• Special Navy Way Basic Boot Camp – Ages 6-12
  Three times a year in February, July and August, USNA hosts a special 2.5 hour boot camp where kids can experience what it’s like to be a swabbie. Young “recruits” are issued a Dixie cup cap…they learn Navy terms, how to march, chant and take orders. They eat in a simulated Mess. Graduates of Basic Boot Camp learn advanced marching, how to read semaphore flags and marlinspike seamanship. Both camps maybe taken on the same day.