Battleship Cove is a unique museum for anyone interested in life at sea or military history.

Battleship Cove is a museum in Fall River that highlights what life on a warship and a submarine were like during the war. When you first enter through the gift shop, you are greeted with some military aircraft including a helicopter and a Cobra. There are five naval craft: the USS Massachusetts, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., the USS Lionfish, the Hiddensee (an East German ship), and a PT 617 and PT 796. You can easily spend hours lost below the deck of the ships docked here.

My children are younger, so our visit was fairly surface-level. We walked the decks and halls of the ship, looked into different cabins and control rooms, and strolled the former hospital ward. We looked through the submarine periscope, climbed into the gunner cabin on deck, and sat at the mess hall tables. For those able to go at a slower pace, there are displays with explanations and informational videos throughout the museum. Along the floor of each ship is a painted line to guide you. The USS Massachusetts has three different colored lines, each indicating a different focus for a self-guided tour. There is also a gift shop with some cool items.

It is important to note that you’re actually on a ship. Hallways are short and curvy, so it’s easy for kids to run ahead. Submarines are tight, so you have to climb over and duck under the narrow doorways. There are gadgets and levers sticking out from walls throughout, at just the height of a toddler's head. Stairways from one deck to another aren’t so many stairways as they are ladders. Decks can get wet and slippery. Because of all the levels and narrow hallways, it would have been impossible to visit with a stroller or a wheelchair.