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.

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

The New Bedford Whaling Museum's connection to its community stretches back more than 120 years.Founded as part of the O...
08/28/2026

The New Bedford Whaling Museum's connection to its community stretches back more than 120 years.

Founded as part of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society in 1903, the Museum began with a group of deeply engaged citizens motivated by civic pride and a desire to preserve the region's artifacts and stories. Their goal was "to create and foster an interest in the history" of the area.

That mission continues to evolve today. As a guardian of the region's heritage and culture and a champion for whale preservation, the Museum connects past and present while encouraging new generations to consider our relationship with the ocean, our communities, and one another.

More than a century later, New Bedford's stories continue to inspire discovery.

Art. History. Science. Culture. One extraordinary seaport connecting them all.Anchored in the history of New Bedford's w...
08/27/2026

Art. History. Science. Culture. One extraordinary seaport connecting them all.

Anchored in the history of New Bedford's whaling industry, the New Bedford Whaling Museum shares the diverse stories of the people and communities that shaped this maritime region, both past and present.

Through exhibitions, collections, scholarship, and programming, visitors can explore everything from whales and ocean science to fine art, global migration, maritime history, and the many cultures that have made New Bedford the "city that lit the world."

Come curious. Leave with a deeper understanding of New Bedford's place in the world.

Ready to dive beneath the surface?Big Blue Pictures brings the ocean to life through an immersive 3D theater experience ...
08/26/2026

Ready to dive beneath the surface?

Big Blue Pictures brings the ocean to life through an immersive 3D theater experience at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. As the first and only 3D theater on the SouthCoast of Massachusetts, it's a chance to add another dimension of discovery to your Museum visit.

Now playing: Shark Kingdom. Come face-to-face with one of the ocean's most fascinating predators through spectacular underwater imagery and an experience designed for the big screen.

Daily showings make it easy to add a trip to Big Blue Pictures to your day at the Museum.

When does a book become a work of art?Opening October 16, Boundless: The Book as Art invites visitors to reconsider one ...
08/25/2026

When does a book become a work of art?

Opening October 16, Boundless: The Book as Art invites visitors to reconsider one of the most familiar objects in our lives. What happens when artists experiment with a book's structure, materials, imagery, and design? How far can the traditional form be altered while still remaining a "book"?

Discover the possibilities in Boundless: The Book as Art, on view in Wattles Family Gallery 6 from October 16, 2026 through February 15, 2027.

Learn more:
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/exhibition/boundless-the-book-as-art/

Meet Amanda McMullen, President & CEO of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.Since joining the Museum in 2018, Amanda has led...
08/24/2026

Meet Amanda McMullen, President & CEO of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Since joining the Museum in 2018, Amanda has led a team of nearly 50 employees and 125 volunteers and docents in advancing the Museum’s mission and strengthening its role as a cultural, educational, and community institution.

Her career has included leadership and museum experience at Meeting Street, the Smithsonian, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Old State House/Bostonian Society. A Syracuse University graduate and alumna of Leadership Rhode Island, Amanda has also been recognized by Providence Business News with its “40 Under 40” Award and 2016 Chief Operating Officer of the Year/C-Suite Award.

Beyond the Museum, she serves on the New Bedford Economic Development Corporation’s Regen Committee and the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island PBS Foundation.

We’re proud to have Amanda at the helm as the Museum continues to preserve and share the stories of our region while building an ambitious future for generations to come.

Explore the histories, ideas, and cultures connecting Portuguese-speaking communities around the globe through the New B...
08/23/2026

Explore the histories, ideas, and cultures connecting Portuguese-speaking communities around the globe through the New Bedford Whaling Museum's Portuguese & Lusophone World Lecture Series.

Through lectures, film screenings, panel discussions, and cultural events, the series creates opportunities to examine the rich cultural, historical, and linguistic heritage of the Lusophone world and its enduring influence locally and internationally.

The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at Brown University with support from FLAD – Luso-American Foundation, of Lisbon.

Learn more and explore the series:
whalingmuseum.org/program/the-portuguese-lusophone-world-lecture-series/

08/22/2026

Meet Lloyd MacDonald, Trustee at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and lifelong local. For Lloyd, the museum is a living repository of the culture, history, and stories that make this area what it is.

Haven't been yet? Lloyd says it's time.

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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