Discover photography’s impact in this unique course combining six virtual sessions with a hands-on workshop at the Museum. Learn from experts using the vast NBWM photography collection to explore how the medium transformed the world.

Join us for a members-only day trip to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, CT! Enjoy an exclusive curator-led tour of exhibition “The Scenic Daguerreotype in America, 1840-1860” just before it closes.

In 2003, eight artists secretly built a 750-square-foot apartment inside Providence Place Mall, living undetected for four years. Executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg, SECRET MALL APARTMENT reveals the true identities and unseen footage behind this wild urban legend.

Writer Eric Jay Dolin in Rebels at Sea considers how a rag-tag fleet of Revolutionary War privateers helped us win the war and reveal the new nation’s ambitious, entrepreneurial character.

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.

Known for their deep rhythmic sensibility and collaborative spirit, Texas Street Revival balances tight arrangements with moments of improvisation, creating music that feels both intentional and expansive.

UMass Dartmouth Ecology students present their capstone projects on the biggest emerging issues expected to impact marine and coastal biodiversity conservation in the near future.

Embark on a very special trip to Madeira with fellow Museum Member and special guest travel host Maria Lawton! Experience the island’s vibrant culture, unforgettable cuisine, and breathtaking landscapes.

Hear from author Erin Pauwels about her new book on leading NYC studio photographer Napoleon Sarony, offered in conjunction with “Look Pleasant, Please,” NBWM’s newest exhibition on 19th-century portrait photography.

In Entangled Lives, author Marla R. Miller examines women’s work in rural post-Revolutionary Massachusetts, revealing the gendered social relations of labor in a time of transformation.

Experience an evening where art and music collide. All museum galleries will be open from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, with live music by Boo City at 6:00 PM in the Harbor View Gallery. Explore after hours with a lively atmosphere, lite refreshments, and a cash bar.

Join the New Bedford Whaling Museum for a day trip to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. Enjoy a private curator-led tour of the exhibition Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone, plus free time to explore the museum, have lunch, and visit Salem.

Learn about the award-winning biography that restores William Monroe Trotter to his essential place next to Douglass, Du Bois, and Malcom X in the pantheon of American civil rights heroes from author Kerri Greenidge.

Artist and Smith College Professor Emerita Susan Heidman will discuss her decades long career and artistic process in creating her Proteanna series, a collection of works that explore the bio-morphic shapes of the ocean’s “in-between entities.”

This isn’t a typical concert—expect an interactive, community-driven experience where the audience becomes part of the music. Help shape the setlist, react to short musical ideas, or influence the direction of a tune. Your energy becomes part of the performance, making each show unique and alive.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum welcomes author Will Sofrin to share the extraordinary story of the USCGC Eagle. Discover how this 1936 German vessel, originally the Horst Wessel, was seized as a war prize and transformed into a training ship for US Coast Guard officers.

Author Carol Gardner’s newest book The Divided North traces two Maine families, one Black and one White, as they navigate the turbulent nineteenth century. Their experiences reveal what it meant to live in a free state during the age of slavery.

With sweeping views of the New Bedford harbor, The Jethros will light the fuse for a sparkling celebration—delivering big sounds, feel-good rhythms, and irresistible energy that will have you on your feet and dancing all night long.

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.  

In a warming Arctic, Alaskans are leading efforts to adapt, innovate, mitigate loss, and protect life. Edited by Francesca Du Brock, learn about the book that grew out of an Anchorage Museum exhibition and offers a vital toolkit for resilience in uncertain times.

Experience an evening of endurance at the Whaling Museum’s Sailors’ Series! Captain Jerome Rand shares the gripping tale of his solo, non-stop circumnavigation aboard the Mighty Sparrow—a 271-day, 29,805-mile voyage around the globe without touching land.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.