Tampa Bay History Museum opens new gallery about pirates

A new gallery called “Treasure Seekers: Conquistadors, Pirates & Shipwrecks” (Photo by Tampas Downtown)

TAMPA, Fla. — Is the pirate’s life for you?

The Tampa Bay History Museum opens a new gallery Sunday called “Treasure Seekers: Conquistadors, Pirates & Shipwrecks.”

The permanent exhibition at the museum in Tampa, Florida, includes a 60-foot replica ship with pirate holograms; an immersive theatre that shows what it was like to be at sea; and recovered sunken treasures.

Artifacts include a 17th century ship’s bell and a rare astrolabe, an ancient navigation tool that determined latitude by measuring the angle of the sun and other celestial objects.

Also featured: stories of real pirates like “Calico” Jack Rackham and female pirate Anne Bonny.

Pirate history is popular in the Tampa Bay area, with the massive Gasparilla festival each January and the Buccaneers NFL team named for a type of Caribbean pirate.