San Diego's new Navy SEAL museum takes visitors inside missions
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Visitors can operate a SEAL delivery vehicle in a game. Photo: Courtesy Navy Seal Museum
The newly opened Navy SEAL Museum downtown gives visitors an inside look at what it takes to be in the special operations force.
Zoom in: The immersive and interactive exhibits showcase real missions, and many of the guides are retired and veteran SEALs and special forces personnel offering first-hand accounts.
- Visitors can feel what it's like to operate a covert submersible in an underwater operation.
- A narrated, 3D animation walks through the mission that neutralized Osama bin Laden.
- A virtual reality experience puts people into a high-stakes hostage rescue mission.
The big picture: The first Navy SEAL museum opened in Fort Pierce, Florida, in 1985, and this expansion was "a natural step as San Diego is where all SEALs and many Naval Special Warfare operators are forged," executive director Brian Drechsler said in an emailed statement.
- The goal is to open a second, larger location here in five to 10 years, he told KPBS.
Fun fact: President John F. Kennedy established the first SEAL team at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in 1962.
Stop by: The museum is open from 10am-5pm at 1001 Kettner Blvd. every day except Tuesdays.
- It has timed entry, and tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for kids and free for military members.
