The museum offers interactive displays featuring replicas of the ships that contributed to the discovery of the area, helped colonize the territory, or had a special and historic heritage significance for the Magallanes Region of Chile.

Replicas of weapons and ancient navigation tools are also exhibited, as well as copies of documents and books relating to the historic ships and an outdoor shipbuilding workshop.

Today the museum has three ship replicas: The Victoria was a nao (carrack) 27 metres (89 ft) long and 7 metres (23 ft) wide, part of the fleet commanded by Ferdinand Magellan that carried first Europeans to discover the waterway around southern tip of South America.

Commanded by Duarte Barbosa, the Victoria participated in the discovery by Europeans of Chile, being the first to explore the region, in 1520, and discovering or naming Patagonia, Cape Virgenes, the Straits of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego, the Pacific Ocean and other landmarks.

HMS Beagle remained in the Magellan Region for almost three years, and the observations made by Darwin were influential in the development of his theory of evolution.