After five years at the Watermen’s Museum, Executive Director Dr. David Niebuhr decided he needed to get back on track with his ultimate career goals.
At the end of December, he left the museum for a position in Louisiana as the vice president of the Audubon Nature Institute.
Prior to arriving at the Watermen’s Museum, Niebuhr worked as the vice president of the education division at Mote Marine Lab in Florida and most of his background before that was in education. His position as executive director of the Yorktown-based Watermen’s Museum was a change of pace, but still afforded him the opportunity to work around education-based programming as the museum offers several camps for children.
A friend of Niebuhr’s who lives in Indiana nominated him for a job at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans, so Niebuhr asked the Watermen’s Museum Board of Directors if he could submit an application packet.
Once Niebuhr decided to accept the job, the Watermen’s Museum decided to eliminate his position to have its board fill the role in the place of a paid employee — at least for the near future.
“It seemed like a great fit for me, so it was the right time. They’re at a point where they’re putting some new things together and I was at a point where I kind of needed to get back into my career, and that’s how the timing was perfect for both of us,” Niebuhr said.
Now, Niebuhr is volunteering as the Watermen’s Museum’s director for cultural and scientific resources. That position will have him helping with scientific and biological studies alongside the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, as well as helping with educational programs and conducting historic maritime research, said Steven Ormsby, president of the Watermen’s Museum. Niebuhr said he will be returning to Yorktown from New Orleans at least once a month to help out.
“I continue to be associated with the Watermen’s Museum because I believe in it,” Niebuhr said. “A lot of people were under the impression that the success we had at the Watermen’s Museum was because of me, [but] the success was because of the team that we had there. … The Watermen’s is on a great path to success and I plan to continue to help them achieve that success.”
As a new season draws near for the Watermen’s Museum, which operates annually between April and December, Ormsby said the team is planning some expanded offerings. The board plans on increasing offseason activities and using the museum’s Carriage House as an events venue.
On the first Friday of each month, the museum will host a themed dance. The first dance will take place at 6 p.m. March 1 and will be Mardi Gras-themed. Pirates will invade the museum area April 26. In October the museum plans on hosting an Oktoberfest event.
Summer and spring break camps are being offered, including Pirate Camp, Boat Building Camp, Archaeology Camp and Nature Explorer Camp. Additional information and signup sheets are available at the museum, which is located at 309 Water St. Information can also be requested by email at [email protected].
For more information about the museum and its events, visit its website.
