Nantucket Whaling Museum

The history of whaling comes alive at the Nantucket Whaling Museum (15 Broad St., 508/228-1894, www.nha.org [1], 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily mid-Sept.–Oct; call for off-season hours, $15 adults, $12 seniors $8 children 6 and over, free children under 6), which recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation. Peruse halls detailing the first whale killing off of Nantucket [2], firsthand descriptions of life on whaling boats, explanations of how the industry worked, and breakdowns of everything that the parts of whales were once used for.

The new space accommodates an enormous life-size whale skeleton that hovers above visitors’ heads, and a gallery of whaling artifacts—from harpoons to scrimshaw. A movie and regularly scheduled live talks round out the experience.