Past Programs

The world’s only forum devoted to the indigenous shipboard art of whalers during the “Age of Sail.”

The Nautical Antiques Show kicked off this year’s Scrimshaw Weekend and featured high-quality antiques from some of New England’s most respected dealers.

Gaps in Analysis and New Perspectives on Whaling, World Cultures, and Contemporary Issues.

The week’s activities included Right Whale Day on Monday, NASA Space Day: Explorations of Faraway Places on Thursday presented by New Bedford Science Café Kids, and more!

Learn to eat, see, and hear like a right whale! Hands-on marine-themed crafts and activities help foster a greater appreciation for the status and plight of this magnificent marine mammal.

An evening with Emmy-nominated comedian, political satirist and host of CNN’s United Shades of America. W. Kamau Bell is known for his incisive, scathingly funny commentary on modern society.

Dr. Richard Connor’s lecture brought attendees ‘onboard’ for 30 years of incredible dolphin discoveries.

An indoor guided tour of the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s collections, exploring the historical impact of inspiring SouthCoast women.

Alex Bocconcelli, Research Specialist at WHOI, dove deep into the history of beaked whales.

This year’s opening lecture featured stories of the Abel-J, the research vessel that William Watkins journeyed on to gather his foundational recordings of marine mammal bioacoustics.

On AHA! night, young people ages 12 to 25 years lit up the night with brilliant words illuminating the lives of historic women of the SouthCoast.

Visitors learned how the U.S. Navy and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) contribute to the protection of marine mammals, and more at the Museum’s newly installed Whales Today exhibition.

Kids and young scientists discovered how dolphins and fish communicate, learned how sound travels in the ocean, found out creative ways that scientists cut down on ocean noise pollution and listened to the language of right whales.

The Museum’s February Vacation Week featured Captain Paul Cuffe Day and free “Whales Today” fun. A special ocean-themed New Bedford Science Café Kids took place on Friday.

To celebrate the life, times, and legacy of one of New England’s most remarkable figures.

A documentary on Herman Melville, the writing of Moby-Dick, and Melville’s secret love affair. AHA! night at the Museum.

The Museum’s annual read-a-thon of America’s most iconic novel, Moby-Dick. Besides the main reading, the event includes two mini-marathons: a Portuguese-language reading of an abridged Moby-Dick and a children’s version of the novel.

A merry-time evening with seasonal libations, festive hors d’oeuvres, and live entertainment.

This award winning documentary explains the newest science, proving how plastics, once they enter the oceans, break up into small particulates that enter the food chain where they attract toxins like a magnet.

This lecture took part during the opening of the exhibition titled Portugal and the Great War: Contexts and Protagonists (1914-1918).

This one-day, two-part festival of short documentaries featured culturally rich and inspiring films on climate change, agriculture, the migration of people and birds, and outdoor adventures.

An afternoon for kids to explore and learn some weird, icky, and fascinating facts about life in the ocean.

Author John R. Bockstoce, a leading scholar of the Arctic fur trade who also served as a member of an Eskimo whaling crew, explored the twentieth-century history of the Western Arctic fur trade to the outbreak of World War II.

Filme: A mãe é que sabe. A 2016 comedy in Portuguese with English subtitles. Presented in partnership with the Consulate of Portugal in New Bedford and Instituto Camões.

All Panorama related events, exhibitions, media coverage, audio tour, museum publications and more.

The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Panorama took guests around the world and back in time with music inspired by the sea and exotic ports of call.

Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures – Author Nick Pyenson’s research has given us the answers to some of our biggest questions about whales.

Attendees joined more than 100,000 film lovers across 300 cinemas and six continents to simultaneously view and vote on the Finalists’ Films.

Dr. Jason Mancini’s talk focused on the hundreds of Indians that found work in the ports of Mystic, Stonington, and New London and explored their “roots and “routes.”

The official ribbon cutting ceremony with a reception and exhibition opening on September 21, 2018.

Photographer and former Whaling Museum curator Nicholas Whitman offered a gallery talk on his exhibit of photographs related to Albert Pinkham Ryder paintings.

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the eruption of the Capelinhos Volcano and the resulting Azorean Refugee Act of 1958.

Arts and Crafts, the Highlights Tour, All Aboard the Lagoda and more during the months of July and August.

Attendees joined Museum curators as they presented a series of lectures surrounding the opening of A Spectacle in Motion: The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World.

At this inaugural event, attendees enjoyed fine fare and spirited sounds inspired by exotic locations.

These 15-20 minute performances included various references to locations depicted in the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World. Presented by Your Theatre, Inc.

Artist and performer Sue Truman was on hand for an afternoon workshop at Kilburn Mill. Attendees made their own miniature moving panorama called a crankie!

A family-friendly event to celebrate the ocean and learn about marine life.

The 2018 Gala was a grand celebration of the Museum’s spectacular, newly conserved 1,275′ Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World.

Whaling Museum admission was free on July 20. Sponsored by the Highland Street Foundation.

Author Steven Ujifusa discussed the family life and business careers of Warren Delano II and Moses Grinnell, the revolutionary ships they owned, and New Bedford’s crucial role in the development of the American clipper.

Lou and Bonnie Silverstein demonstrated the time-honored practice for Museum visitors on July 16th.

A tour of Terceira, Faial, Pico, and Sao Miguel on a magical nine-night trip in October.

The Original Panorama exhibit opening day at Kilburn Mill with family activities and food offerings available.

The official launch of the Lighting the Way walking trail, mobile app and website.

Organized to celebrate the National Day of Portugal – led by the Consulate of Portugal in New Bedford, in partnership with the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

A day-long summit on Tourism to exchange ideas, learn about current trends, and strategize.

Modernizing Reed and reviving his legacy, the New Bedford Whaling Museum High School Apprentices mimic Reed’s Photography style.

The lauded writer, editor, and activist addressed the issues of which she’s most passionate.

Submit proposals for a unique interpretations of the Panorama. Due 5/18/18.

Drawing on his new book RisingTideFallingStar, Philip Hoare discussed how humans relate to the sea’s natural history – its whales, its birds, its tides, its extremes, and what these stories say about us.

Friday, May 18, 2018. Open to the membership and the public.

This year’s lectures celebrated a collection of remarkable maritime photography.

The Whaling Museum, in partnership with the Second Half: Lifelong Learning Institute, presented a series of eight classic “oldies but goodies” movies.

The world’s only forum devoted to the indigenous shipboard art of whalers during the “Age of Sail.”

Thousands of antiques from some of New England’s most respected dealers.

A sneak preview of A Spectacle in Motion for artists.

Spring lecture – “Underwater Yellowstones: Marine Sanctuaries off Our Coast and Associated Benefits and Challenges for Fish, Whales, Scientists, and Humans”

The best of Holland with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, April 19 to April 28.

Explore the Museum, take a highlights tour, climb inside an inflatable whale, get crafty at our art stations, and learn stories of life aboard a whaleship from Museum docents.

A New Bedford Science Café Kids event for all kids and young scientists.

Coline Jenkins reflected on the strong women in her family – Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Hetty Green – and gave a blow by blow account of erecting the first statue of REAL women in New York City.

Learn to eat, see, and hear like a Right Whale.

A Call to Action aimed to place William Rotch’s life and activism in the contexts of his Quaker upbringing, the economic and political relations between North and South, and the lives of African Americans, both free and fugitive.

Ceremony March 26 at the corner of Johnny Cake Hill and Union Street.

Visitors learned how the U.S. Navy and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center contributes to the protection of marine mammals.

A selection of Nicholas Whitman’s recent photographic work exhibited adjacent to the Whaling Museum’s Albert Pinkham Ryder painting, Landscape, c. 1870.

A musical that tells the story of how women got their rights in America, told by the women who were there.

Attendees learned about this fascinating story through a narrated ballet for all ages.

A week of family-friendly events to engage children in hands-on history, science, and arts-based projects. Free with Museum admission.

The return of a stimulating Local History Guild conversation at the Museum on AHA! night.

In addition to the main event, the Whaling Museum hosts two mini-marathons: a Portuguese-language reading of Tiago Patricio’s abridged Moby-Dick; and a children’s version by Classic Starts.

A meal well-suited for hungry sailors followed by David Shaerf’s documentary film Call Us Ishmael. The evening also included a discussion of the film with scholars from the Melville Society Cultural Project.