Since it was opened in 1990 the museum was used to display exhibits recovered from several local shipwrecks and the submerged landscapes of the Solent.

After the wreck of HMS Pomone was discovered at The Needles in 1969, the Isle of Wight Council funded a team to research and excavate the site.

[1] In 1984 another wreck was discovered immediately offshore of Yarmouth and work began excavating that site as well.

[5] Submerged landscapes: The submerged landscapes exhibits explain the history of the Solent as a dry river valley before rising sea levels flooded it and created the strait that exists today.

[4] It focuses on the Trust's excavations at Bouldnor Cliff and includes artefacts recovered from the sea bed.