Museum unveils new name and logo at groundbreaking ceremony

MOBILE, Ala. - The National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico has
officially changed its name to GulfQuest. The maritime museum unveiled its new name and logo at the groundbreaking ceremony today at Mobile Landing.

The new branding identity was developed to prepare for marketing the museum as a premier destination for Gulf Coast residents and visitors. Nine nautical flags in the logo spell out the museum?s name, and the compass rose inside the Q will serve as a design element inside the building and on promotional items for the maritime museum.

The museum will retain use of its original name - National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico - as a positioning statement in the form of a tagline that will, in certain uses, appear at the bottom of the new logo.

?The name of the museum is very important for communicating what visitors will
experience,? Tony Zodrow, Executive Director of GulfQuest, said. ?In selecting
GulfQuest, the word ?Gulf? best identifies both our maritime focus and the geographic region we?re addressing. The word ?quest? indicates that we want our visitors to go on their own personal quest to explore the Gulf of Mexico. Taken together, GulfQuest says this is a fun museum, a place that families and school groups will want to explore.?

In addition, the name GulfQuest references the history of the region, since Spain, France and England each set out on their own quest to capitalize on the Gulf of Mexico beginning in the 1500s when the first explorers arrived here, Zodrow said.

Projected to open in spring 2011, GulfQuest will be the first museum dedicated to presenting the maritime heritage and culture of the Gulf Coast, and only the third maritime museum in the U.S. to primarily feature hands-on, interactive exhibits rather than maritime artifacts and memorabilia. Many of the museum?s temporary and traveling exhibits will showcase maritime artifacts pertaining to Gulf-related topics.

GulfQuest?s interactive exhibits will address topics such as early Gulf settlements, marine archeology, deep sea exploration, modern shipbuilding, maritime commerce and industry, navigation techniques, weather and hurricanes, the river systems and coastal stewardship.

GulfQuest is a public-private partnership, made possible through collaboration
between the City of Mobile and a non-profit organization that is planning the museum and will operate the facility under a long-term agreement with the City of Mobile. The non-profit is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of community and state leaders representing a variety of professional disciplines.

For more information, please contact GulfQuest, with temporary offices at the
International Trade Center (250 N. Water Street, Suite 131) in Mobile, at (251) 436-8901 or visit www.gulfquest.org.