Twenty years after the recovery of the turret of the USS Monitor from the waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News is celebrating the anniversary with a community event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, featuring family-friendly and interactive activities and lectures.

The Monitor was a revolutionary vessel in the history of ship design and the turret, weighing nearly 120 tons, is the most recognizable artifact from the Civil War ironclad. The USS Monitor famously faced off against the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) in the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads.

Although the battle between the ironclads resulted in a draw, the impact of the turret’s design changed the course of naval technology and development forever.

In addition to celebrating the anniversary of Monitor’s turret recovery, August also marks 50 years since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) established its first national marine sanc...