To celebrate National Poetry Month, the Battleship New Jersey Memorial and Museum is sponsoring a poetry contest. The topic is freedom.

For inspiration, you can visit the battleship or a replica of the infamous slave ship, the Amistad, which will be docked at Wiggins Park Marina on the Camden Waterfront through April 20.

Poems should be up to 12 lines for participants in grades four to seven, and up to 24 lines for older entrants.

Entries may be mailed to Poetry Contest, 62 Battleship Place, Camden 08103, or can be faxed to (856) 966-1883. The deadline is Monday.

Winners will receive a prize from the battleship gift shop. The winning poems will be published in the Courier- Post on April 29, at the end of National Poetry Month.

The battleship is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for children under 12 and for senior citizens and veterans with valid identification.

The Amistad will be open from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. on weekends. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.

Employees of the Courier-Post, the Home Port Alliance and the battleship, and their immediate families, are not eligible to win.

Call Cathy Karmilowicz at (856) 642-6226 for more information. Call (856) 757-9400 or visit www.camdenwaterfront.com for more information about ship tours.