New Bedford Whaling Museum

New Bedford Whaling Museum Anchored by the sea and its stories, the NBWM champions art, science, history, and culture. Wheelchair accessible.
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Discover the rich history, art, science, and culture of Southcoast Massachusetts, and New Bedford's ties to the rest of the world, told through the stories of its people. Surrounded by cobblestone streets once strolled by Frederick Douglass and Herman Melville, the Museum is conveniently located within the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. Dive into whale biology, ecology and behavior,

and marine mammal conservation. Marvel at massive whale skeletons and the world’s largest ship model, the Lagoda – a half-scale model of a 19th century whaling vessel. Learn how Yankee whalers sailed the seven seas and see how famous maritime artists portrayed their voyages. See a digital replica of America's longest painting in motion - the incredible “Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World.” The original 1848 painting is longer than the Empire State Building is tall! The Museum’s collections number in excess of 750,000 items, including the world’s largest collections of scrimshaw, whaling logbooks, and journals. After your visit, browse books on maritime, whaling, and local history, as well as unique gifts related to the collection at the Museum's gift shop.

Take the New Bedford Whaling Museum beyond the galleries.Published twice a year, *Vistas* is the Museum’s journal of art...
09/06/2026

Take the New Bedford Whaling Museum beyond the galleries.

Published twice a year, *Vistas* is the Museum’s journal of art, history, science, and culture, bringing together scholarly articles and approachable stories inspired by the Museum’s activities and diverse collections.

It’s a chance to linger a little longer with the ideas, objects, people, and research that make the Museum such a rich place for discovery.

Want *Vistas* delivered straight to your mailbox? Print editions are mailed directly to Museum Members as an added benefit. Become a Member and get your copy.

whalingmuseum.org/about/vistas

Faces from another century, captured in a city undergoing extraordinary change.As New Bedford’s whaling industry rose an...
09/05/2026

Faces from another century, captured in a city undergoing extraordinary change.

As New Bedford’s whaling industry rose and fell, new communities arrived, technology advanced, and the city evolved, local photographers were there to document the people living through it all.

These are some of the faces and stories visitors can encounter in “Look pleasant, please”: Early Portrait Photography in New Bedford. Swipe for a glimpse inside the exhibition, then come see it for yourself before it closes September 7.

whalingmuseum.org/exhibition/look-pleasant-please-early-portrait-photography-in-new-bedford/

09/04/2026

September is filled with exciting programs and events at the Museum!

From your last chance to see “Look Pleasant, Please” to the first virtual Moby-Dick Book Club of the year—and First Fridays this Labor Day Weekend—there’s something for everyone.

For more information and tickets, head to whalingmuseum.org

What can a piece of fabric tell us about life nearly two centuries ago? Quite a lot.Our Local History Guild returns virt...
09/04/2026

What can a piece of fabric tell us about life nearly two centuries ago? Quite a lot.

Our Local History Guild returns virtually on September 8 for “The World of Textiles in the 1800s,” an exploration of textiles and their place in the culture and history of the 19th-century Northeast.

Joining the conversation are Madelyn Shaw, former curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the Smithsonian; Emily Whitted, PhD candidate at UMass Amherst; and Mariah Kupfner, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Public Heritage at Penn State Harrisburg.

Local History Guild is the Museum’s quarterly Zoom series bringing together experts for informal conversations about the art, history, science, and culture connected to the Museum’s collections and the surrounding region.

September 8 at 5:30 PM EDT
Online via Zoom

Learn more: whalingmuseum.org/program/local-history-guild-the-world-of-textiles-in-the-1800s

Come for the whales. Stay for everything you didn’t expect.Stand beneath massive whale skeletons, climb aboard a whaling...
09/03/2026

Come for the whales. Stay for everything you didn’t expect.

Stand beneath massive whale skeletons, climb aboard a whaling ship, encounter art and objects from across centuries and oceans, and discover the people and ideas that helped shape New Bedford and the world beyond it.

At the New Bedford Whaling Museum, history, science, art, and a little adventure share the same roof. Bring the family, bring your curiosity, and see where it takes you.

09/02/2026

Before selfies, snapshots, and camera rolls, having your portrait taken was an occasion.

Travel back to the early decades of photography with “Look pleasant, please”: Early Portrait Photography in New Bedford. The exhibition brings together portraits made between photography’s invention in 1839 and the turn of the 20th century, revealing not only how the technology changed, but how New Bedford changed along with it.

There’s still time to see it in person, but not much. “Look pleasant, please” closes September 7.

Learn more: whalingmuseum.org/exhibition/look-pleasant-please-early-portrait-photography-in-new-bedford/

Start September on a high note with Brass, Sass and Serious Fun!First Fridays returns to the New Bedford Whaling Museum ...
09/01/2026

Start September on a high note with Brass, Sass and Serious Fun!

First Fridays returns to the New Bedford Whaling Museum on September 4 for an after-hours evening of art, culture, community, and high-energy live music. Explore the Museum galleries at your own pace before The Catnip Junkies Band takes over the Harbor View Gallery at 6:00 PM.

A cash bar will be available, with complimentary lite bites provided. Tickets are $12.50 for Museum Members and $25 for the public, with reserved tables for six also available for guaranteed seating.

Kick off Labor Day weekend with a night at the Museum and discover why First Fridays have become a favorite way to experience the galleries after hours.

Learn more and reserve tickets: whalingmuseum.org/program/first-fridays-brass-sass-and-series-fun/

Photo: The Catnip Junkies Band

08/31/2026

Last chance to “look pleasant.”

“Look pleasant, please”: Early Portrait Photography in New Bedford closes September 7 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Before it goes, step into the world of the 19th-century portrait studio and discover how photographers and their sitters captured identity, family, status, and a changing New Bedford through a rapidly evolving medium.

From daguerreotypes and tintypes to cabinet cards and early photographic albums, more than half a century of portraiture is waiting in the Wattles Gallery.

Plan your visit before September 7: https://www.whalingmuseum.org/exhibition/look-pleasant-please-early-portrait-photography-in-new-bedford/

You’re invited to help mark a major milestone in the future of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.Join us for Topping Off, N...
08/31/2026

You’re invited to help mark a major milestone in the future of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Join us for Topping Off, New Bedford Style on September 4 as we celebrate the next step in the construction of our new Welcome & Exhibition Center.

Guests will have the opportunity to sign the final beam before gathering to watch as it is lifted into place at the highest point of the new building.

Friday, September 4
10:00-11:30 am
New Bedford Whaling Museum

Coffee and pastries | Beam signing | Welcome and remarks | Topping off

Come add your signature to this moment in Museum history and celebrate the progress of a space being built for our community and generations to come.

The next chapter of the New Bedford Whaling Museum is taking shape.A campaign to build a new Welcome and Exhibition Cent...
08/29/2026

The next chapter of the New Bedford Whaling Museum is taking shape.

A campaign to build a new Welcome and Exhibition Center will create 20,000 square feet of expanded galleries, community gathering spaces, and program areas designed to serve visitors and the region for generations to come.

At its heart will be a 6,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art gallery level providing new opportunities to display the Museum's extraordinary Panorama and other important works from the collection, while welcoming exhibitions co-curated with major institutions.

This is more than an expansion. It's an investment in greater access, deeper connection, and new possibilities for learning and discovery.

Learn more about this transformational moment and the campaign for the Museum's future: whalingmuseum.org/open-doors

Address

18 Johnny Cake Hill
New Bedford, MA
02740

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15089970046

Website

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