The
New Bedford Whaling Museum is a museum in
New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States that focuses on the history, science, art, and culture of the international
whaling industry, and the "Old Dartmouth" region (now the city of New Bedford and towns of
Acushnet,
Dartmouth,
Fairhaven, and
Westport) in the
South Coast of Massachusetts. The museum is governed by the Old Dartmouth Historical Society (ODHS), which was established in 1903 "to create and foster an interest in the history of Old Dartmouth."
[2] Since then, the museum has expanded its scope to include programming that addresses global issues "including the consequences of natural resource exhaustion, the diversification of industry, and tolerance in a multicultural society."
[3] Its collections include over 750,000 items, including 3,000 pieces of
scrimshaw and 2,500
logbooks from whaling ships, both of which are the largest collections in the world, as well as five complete whale skeletons.
[4] The museum's complex consists of several contiguous buildings housing 20 exhibit galleries and occupying an entire city block within the
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, although operated independently.
[5]