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In June 2020, PBS Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Archeology department set out on the blustery waters of Door County’s infamous Death’s Door. Headed toward Washington Island, their intended destination was not the island itself but below the surface of the water.

They were there to document two shipwrecks at the bottom of one of Lake Michigan’s most treacherous passageways physical artifacts that serve as dramatic underwater museums and serve as important historical documents which reveal stories of Wisconsin’s geographic, economic, environmental and cultural history.

Shipwrecks! is a comprehensive project — including a 60-minute documentary, a multi-faceted state-of-the-art virtual reality experience taking viewers to the depths of the Great Lakes, and, coming in 2022, a fully-interactive educational game for K-12 students called The Legend of the Lost Emerald. Explorers of every age will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the complex and eerie history of the more than 700 shipwrecks resting off the shores of Wisconsin, the communities rooted in the maritime world, and the “wreck hunters” searching for shipwrecks today.

This documentary is a feat of production made amid a global pandemic, teaching us how shipwrecks are both monuments to Wisconsin’s maritime history, speaking to specific moments when ships went down, but also markers of how many of our state’s communities were forged. The project is rooted in a legacy of partnerships with the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the enthusiasm shared across the state for these fascinating, dramatic, and crucial sites for maritime education.

Caption and credit for below photo: The three-masted schooner, Moonlight, built in 1874 by Milwaukee’s Wolf and Davidson shipyard. Photo/Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library

More Resources

From the PBS Wisconsin blog and our Airwaves program guide, read an extended Q&A with David Hestad, the producer of Shipwrecks! Hestad talks about how maritime infrastructure fundamentally shaped the economic history and culture of Great Lakes communities, how the practice of “shipwreck hunting” coincided with advances in diving technology, and the production challenges of filming on and under the water.

Learn about PBS Wisconsin Education’s innovative teacher fellowship integral to the design of The Legend of the Lost Emerald, the educational video game due for release in 2022. A community of educators, game designers, researchers and maritime archeologists have co-designed a game experience that investigates Great Lakes shipwrecks using the techniques and methods of real archeologists.

The Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program is dedicated to preserving Wisconsin’s historic shipwrecks and other underwater non-renewable cultural resources. From its inception in 1988, the cornerstones of the program have been: systematic field investigation and documentation, background research using historical methods, the use of cutting-edge technology, and proactive public outreach and education programs for all ages.

A comprehensive online resource produced by Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Wisconsin Historical Society, wisconsinshipwrecks.org invites you to explore Wisconsin’s Great Lakes shipwrecks through underwater video, historic photographs and archeological discoveries. The project views Wisconsin’s shipwrecks and maritime attractions as crucial tangible reminders of how important water has been in shaping the state’s history and culture. It unearths this “lost history” through research and education.

Documentary Credits

Producer, Editor

David Hestad

Executive Producer

Laurie Gorman

Editor, Videographer

Lina Soblyte

Videographers

Michael Eicher
Mike Baron

Underwater Videographers

William Salzmann
Evan Kovacs
Tamara Thomsen
Ken Merryman
Eric Poggemann
John Scoles

Project Advisor

Tamara Thomsen

Art Director, Graphic Designer

Brian Lorbiecki

Animator

Brandon Ribordy

Sound Editor

Beauxregard Neylon

Narrator

Terry Kerr

Color Corrector

Inga Foley

Online Editor

Tom Micksch

3D Modeler, Texture Artist

Tim Samedov

Production Assistants

Donna Crane
Mary Pokorney-Donelan

Digital Production Support

John Dachik
Matthew Kramer
Tom Micksch

Media Librarian

Ann Wilkens

Operations

John Steele
Doug May

Closed Captioning

Vicki Way Kipp
Catie Pfeifer

Marketing & Engagement

Erik Ernst
Carol Griskavich
Ian Lewitz

Website

Norman Yuson Cuaño
Chester Lee
Erika Kachama-Nkoy
Sigrid Peterson
Tim Schneider

Archival Sources

Local History Manuscripts Collection/Milwaukee Public Library

Special Thanks

Fund for Lake Michigan for 3D modeling and animation support

Immersive Experience Credits

Experience Design & Development

Philip Ashby
Lisa Bultman
Norman Yuson Cuaño
Tracy Erickson
Kit Hand
Anna January
Erika Kachama-Nkoy
Ian Lewitz
Yuwei Li
Brian Lorbiecki

Experience Design & Development (cont.)

Beauxregard Neylon
Catie Pfeifer
Brandon Ribordy
Amanda Roslansky
William Salzmann
Amber Samdahl
Tim Schneider
Cailin Short
Vicki Way Kipp

External Design Support

Michael Chopkin
Tori Galloway
Tim Samedov
Dan Sandberg / Atom Switch
Bryce Sprecher
Caitlin Zant

Voice Actors

Eric Greiling
Carol Griskavich
Otis Harris
Marian Herzog
Tom Kastle
Mike Kent
Dean Knetter
Kathy Miner
Kabura Mukasa
Peter Sobol

Project Advisors

Emily Shedal
Tamara Thomsen

Photography

Andrew Orr
[2007-34-8901] Wisconsin Maritime Museum Collection

Special Thanks

Special thanks to all of our playtesters who volunteered their time.