BOSTON  – Just in time for Independence Day, America’s most patriotic holiday, the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, which tells the story of “the single most important event leading up to the American Revolution,” has been awarded #1 ‘Best Patriotic Attraction’ in 10 Best Readers’ Choice 2016 travel award contest sponsored by USA TODAY.

Readers were asked to vote for their favorite patriotic attractions from a pool of 20 nominees, including the Colonial Williamsburg, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Boston’s Freedom Trail, etc. over a four week period of voting.

The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, which opened in June 2012 and is owned and operated by Historic Tours of America, is situated over the same body of water where the Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. The museum tells the story of the events leading up to the Boston Tea Party and immediate aftermath that led to the start of the American Revolution.

The museum provides a unique immersion experience in history by representing key events in from 1773 to 1775, through live actors, tea [crate] throwing off authentically resorted tea ships, high-tech interactive exhibits, and an award-winning multisensory film, Let it Begin Here.

On display at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is the Robinson Half Chest, one of only two known surviving tea chests from the original Boston Tea Party (the second is owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington DC).

“We are humbled and honored to be awarded ‘Best Patriotic Attraction’ among such an esteemed group of nominees,” says Shawn P. Ford, Executive Director of the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. “Every day, the entire team at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is passionate about telling and teaching the story The Boston Tea Party, celebrating and recognizing its significance in American History. We could not be more proud to have received this recognition and thank everyone who voted for us. ”