New Bedford Whaling Museum — Attraction in New Bedford

I'm a big fan of small museums and the New Bedford Whaling Museum manages to be three or four world-class niche museums in one. The professionalism and care put into its curation is obvious and appreciated.

Sadly, local history museums or museums of industry (not to mention some of America's largest museums) often become artifact dumps filled with objects that would be fascinating, if only some context were provided. Each object displayed in this whaling museum is extremely well-contextualized, illuminating a bygone industry that would otherwise seem two-dimensionally quaint or cruel. The curatorial choices showcase exceptional visitor empathy. On multiple occasions, the displays had anticipated and responded to questions I developed from points earlier in the museum.

My most immediately felt point of appreciation for the museum was its excellent exhibits on the social history of the whaling industry and the colonization of Southern New England. This museum avoided my #1 complaint with local history museums (I'm thinking of the State Museum of Pennsylvania here), which is the use of native american artifacts from non-local tribes (often plains tribes) and different time periods (often the mid-to-late 1800s) when discussing the local history of colonization. This museum rightfully used only artifacts germane to the people it was discussing in each of its exhibits.

If you are stopping anywhere in Southern New England, don't hesitate to make a day's trip to visit this wonderful...

EXTREMELY impressive collection and exhibits. Located in the picturesque heart of New Bedford's historic downtown (seriously one of the most beautiful downtowns in all of New England, comparable to Nantucket, Newport, or Marblehead), this is a truly world-class museum experience. The breadth and depth of their collection is staggering, and it's all beautifully displayed, in gallery after elegantly appointed gallery. Chock full of information about not only New Bedford's whaling industry, but all sorts of local history and whaling/fishing industries in general. Great for history buffs, anyone who's worked in fishing, and surprisingly good for kids, with the 1/2 scale replica of the whaling ship Lagoda, and a huge room just for kids featuring interactive exhibits, activities,dress-up clothes and games to keep them busy for at least an hour. This is one of my favourite museums in New England, perhaps ranking behind only the MFA and Gardner in Boston. You can make a whole day of it and still not properly see everything they have on display. I was expecting a typical, fairly humble medium-sized town local history museum, but this was so much more than that, something I'd have expected from a much larger city with a massive budget. And given its location, you could check it out during a one day visit, do some souvenir shopping at downtown's many quirky and eclectic shops, and do breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner at one of the excellent nearby...

I brought a date to the New Bedford Whaling Museum and we had a great time. Lots to look at, some very interesting things and things I won't post here because unlike my other social media, my guides account is the only one I keep PG-13. I could make some comments about the whale genitalia on display, but I'll keep my thoughts to myself 😇 LOL. I took particular interest in the giant whale heart sculpture due to my own heart condition. anything to do with hearts always attracts my attention. Of course there were plenty of model ships and full size boats. There's also a half scale whaling boat which is the centerpiece of the museum. You can climb on and look around. I saw lots of kids really enjoying it. We were there talking and meandering around for about 2 1/2 hours and didn't see everything though we were admittedly taking our time admiring everything. My only complaint was the admission price. Not sure how it chocks up comparatively to other museums but it seemed high to me at $19 per adult ticket. Other than that I had a great time and I plan to go back eventually and see what I missed. Saw a lot of reviews saying kids were not so welcome by staff. I did not see any group tours or kids on guided tours, but lots of kids with parents seemed to be enjoying themselves. I regret that I didn't take...