Take time to explore our vast collection and enjoy free wifi in the comfort of the Compass Lounge. Using new technology in a way that is intuitive and easy to understand, the Compass Lounge and Compass Card open up the Museum’s objects and archives and demonstrate the connections between diverse histories and people. 

Location: National Maritime Museum ground floor (see floor plans)

Open daily, 10.00-18.00 (last admission 17.30), until 26 July. Admission free.

The Compass Card

The Compass Card reveals the hidden connections between people and the objects in the collection.

Every visitor is given their own Compass Card – the size of a credit card – with a unique barcode. As you move throughout the museum you can collect objects that interest you by inserting the card into dedicated units placed in the galleries. Follow up in the Compass Lounge or at home to reveal hidden stories and archival material: rmg.co.uk/compass. 

If you register your digital compass you will be sent a free ebook reflecting the objects collected on your visit.

Over 4000 images from five collections – ship models, oil paintings, flags, uniforms and coins/medals – are displayed within this horizon, grouped by visual similarity. This aesthetic arrangement began by using ‘computer vision’ software from the University of Dundee to extract and compare colour and texture information.

This view transcends Museum classifications, allowing thousands of objects to be seen without imposed interpretation. All images are presented at the same scale so each object has equal status. The coins are shown larger than actual size, revealing details that might be missed when looking at the original object.

Representing collections in this way exposes patterns. Looking at the uniforms, you see swathes of the particular blue that inspired the naming of the colour ‘Navy blue’. Ordering the ship models by texture exposes technological development, seen in the clusters of sails, oars and masts. Looking through the layers of flags, it becomes clear that their restricted colour palette was honed to improve visibility at sea.

The plan chest is a physical embodiment of the Museum’s Collections website. Wooden drawers are pulled out to reveal large digital touchscreens – each showing some of the most popular objects on Collections Online. By changing to reflect online activity – how many times objects have been viewed, shared, added to a personal collection or tagged – the plan chest showcases the collection in use.

Smaller screens display individual curator’s top picks from the museum, acting as mini galleries that can respond to specific events or exhibitions. Visitors can create their own galleries at rmg.co.uk/collections.

Seeking out stories and re-mixing the Museum's collection – the National Maritime Museum's Youth Advisory Group are taking over the Compass Lounge.

Detail of a photograph from 'Traders Remixed' by Maisie Maud BroadheadIn response to the opening of the Museum’s new Traders gallery the group have curated a display featuring contemporary photography and Museum collections to explore the impact of trade between Britain and India on ordinary people’s lives.

Quite literally putting themselves in the picture, they have worked with photographer Maisie Maud Broadhead to re-imagine the hidden histories buried in the Museum’s archives, of India's people.