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Nantucket Whaling Museum
The Nantucket Historical Association’s Whaling Museum is a must see for anyone going to Nantucket. The museum features the restored 1847 candle factory, an 1849 Fresnel Lens used in Sankaty Head Lighthouse on the eastern end of the island, a restored 1881 tower clock, exhibition space for changing and traveling exhibitions, a fully accessible rooftop observation deck overlooking Nantucket harbor, and a forty-six foot skeleton of a sperm whale that washed ashore on New Year’s Day in 1998.
The exhibits are excellent. The scrimshaw, Nantucket baskets, and of course the sperm whale skeleton are amazing. There is also a full scale whaling dory and the NHA’s important collection of whaling tools including harpoons, lances, and cutting-in tools.
The candle factory exhibit shows how candles were made from the oil of sperm whales and contains full scale tools of the trade including a massive press. The two-story press operated with a system of pulleys and was used to extract oil from the spermaceti. Today it is the only beam press in the world in its original location.
When visiting the Whaling Museum, the rooftop observation deck is not to be missed. Positioned to see all of the harbor and much of the town, the deck offers spectacular views of the island.
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Categories: History, Nantucket, Places
Keywords: nantucket, history, whaling, Nantucket Whaling Museum, places
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Check out this interior view of the Nantucket Whaling Museum at gigapan. Very cool!