Whaling Museum

Whaling Museum Review

Immersing you in Nantucket's whaling past with exhibits that include a fully rigged whaleboat and a skeleton of a 46-foot sperm whale, the Whaling Museum—a complex that includes a restored 1846 spermaceti candle factory—is a must-see. The museum received a $14 million expansion and refurbishment in 2005. Items on view in the handsome galleries include harpoons and other whale-hunting implements; portraits of whaling captains and their wives (a few of whom went whaling as well); the South Seas curiosities they brought home; a large collection of sailors' crafts, a full-size tryworks once used to process whale oil aboard ship; and the original 16-foot-high 1850 lens from Sankaty Head Lighthouse. The Children's Discovery Room provides interactive-learning opportunities. Be sure to climb—or take the elevator—up to the observation deck for a view of the harbor.