Enhance your visit to the Whaling Museum with special drop-in activities, squid dissections, and 3D movies! See the full schedule for activities throughout July and August.

Melville in Our Seaport is a four-day literary and cultural celebration honoring the enduring influence of Herman Melville and New Bedford’s defining role in shaping his most celebrated work.

CUFFE: TAXED is a new short film inspired by the remarkable true story of Paul Cuffe, a Black and Wampanoag mariner, entrepreneur, abolitionist, and visionary from the South Coast. Set during the American Revolution, the film follows 19-year-old Cuffe and his Wampanoag brother-in-law, Michael Wainer, as they run food through the British blockade to help feed the people of Nantucket

IN THE WHALE is an award-winning feature-length film about arguably the greatest fish story ever told, though this one is true. It’s the account of a man who survived to tell the tale of being swallowed by a whale, and what happened after he was spit out.

An engaging discussion about the 2026 Massachusetts Great Reads title Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity by Joseph Lee.

Interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities? Join us at the information session for an overview of the Museum’s volunteer program and upcoming training sessions. Meet current volunteers and Museum staff and learn how you can become a Whaling Museum volunteer.

In art and text, author Sarah Crabtree and illustrator Melissa Philley focus on the story of NB businessman William Rotch (1734-1828) and demonstrate the power of comics to illuminate the power of the archive, the contingencies of narrative, and the motivations of historical actors.  

Kick off your Labor Day weekend at the New Bedford Whaling Museum with an evening of art, culture, and high-energy live music as part of our popular First Fridays series. Enjoy full Museum access and explore the galleries at your leisure before the music begins. Live Music performance by The Catnip Junkies Band starts at 6:00 PM in the Harbor View Gallery.

Local History Guild is the NBWM’s quarterly Zoom program, an informal discussion about art, history, science and culture related to the museum’s mission, collection, and the surrounding region. This September, NBWM invites a group of historians and art historians to share their research on textiles in the nineteenth-century northeast.

Join the Moby-Dick Book Club, a virtual three-part series exploring Herman Melville’s iconic American novel. Whether you’re reading it for the first time or returning to it with fresh eyes, all are welcome to take part in engaging, thought-provoking conversations led by some of the world’s leading Melville scholars.

This eye-opening rethinking of nineteenth-century American history reveals the interdependence of the Northern industrial economy and Southern slave labor, as told by historian Seth Rockman, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for History.

This September, become part of a global celebration of cinema! Join over 100,000 film lovers in 500+ cities across six continents to watch the Finalists’ Films in the 29th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival—and cast your vote to help decide the winners!

Learn about art, history, science, and culture with activities designed for homeschool families! General admission includes access to museum exhibits and activities like the Inflatable Whale, Lagoda Below Deck, and other guided stations around the museum.

Join us in conversation with artist and retired Professor of Fine Arts Adrian Tió, who will share his artist’s journey and the story behind a selection of his work that will be on view in an upcoming book arts exhibition at the Whaling Museum.

Experience a night of immersive indie music as the Whaling Museum transforms into a multi-gallery stage, featuring live performances ranging from acoustic sets to experimental acts. Presented in collaboration with Unexpected Music, this 18+ event celebrates New Bedford’s vibrant creative community.

Join special guest travel host Maria Lawton for an unforgettable exploration of São Miguel culture, cuisine, and breathtaking landscapes.

Learn how both the notion of a Maine “fishing community” and the relationship the people of Maine have with the natural world has changed over time from author Janna M. Smith.

Celebrate National Authors’ Day at the New Bedford Whaling Museum with a special event honoring the writers and illustrators who bring maritime history and coastal culture to life. Browse a curated pop-up book sale from the Museum Store, meet select authors, and enjoy book signings with select authors.

Celebrate hip hop at the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s First Friday! Curated with 3rd EyE Unlimited, the night features a live DJ, dance, spoken word, and art in the Harbor View Gallery. Join us for an evening of rhythm and local talent on the waterfront.

Join author Jen Rose Smith to think about ice—glaciers, snow, snowflakes—in material ways, scientific ways, cultural ways, and to approach ice through a critical lens that puts the politics of race and indigeneity and the violence of dispossession and racialization at the center.

May Babcock is an eco-centric artist that creates paper works and sculptural forms from natural materials she sources from local environments. Join us in conversation as she shares her process in creating works for her New Ecologies series, a collection of sculptural paper forms constructed from sites around New England.

Close out the 2026 First Fridays series with the ocean-inspired sounds of The Whale Guitar and Sharks Come Cruisin’. Enjoy energetic sea shanties, a cash bar, and light bites in the Harbor View Gallery. Don’t miss this celebration of maritime community!

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition New Ecologies: May Babcock (on view November 20, 2026–April 18, 2027), this special evening program brings together film, contemporary dance, and conversation to explore how artists respond to changing landscapes and emerging ecological systems.

Journey through uncharted literary waters and explore Melville’s epic in bold new light with writer and literary historian Steve Mentz.

Each January, the New Bedford Whaling Museum hosts a celebrated live reading of Moby-Dick. The annual Marathon draws global enthusiasts—both in-person and online—to share in this remarkable literary tradition.