New England attraction- A historic whale museum in Nantucket, Massachusetts

NHA’s Whaling Museum
Nantucket, MA

Back in 1846, a candle factory was built by the Mitchell family just shortly after Nantucket’s Great Fire. Less than two years later, two island businessmen put their mind and money together in keeping the candle factory running until the end of the island’s whaling era in the 1860s. The building remained a warehouse before it became the New England Steamship Company’s offices and then finally converted into the NHA’s Whaling Museum in 1929. Since then, it has been dedicated to the history of whaling and restored for prime exhibition space, a fully accessible rooftop observation deck overlooking Nantucket harbor, and the sperm whale skeleton. In 2008, the whaling museum received accreditation from the American Association of Museums, which only 22 other museums have been awarded across the nation. Inside the museum you’ll find a vast array of whaling artifacts and memorabilia, including longboats, harpoons, and scrimshaw, but the centerpiece is the complete skeleton of a 46-foot bull Sperm whale suspended from the ceiling. They’re only open for a short period of time: September 7-October 31 from 10am to 5pm for $15 a person and an extra $3 to see the other historic sites around the area (Hadwen House, Oldest House, Old Mill, and Quaker Meeting House).

A 46-foot skeleton of a sperm whale that washed ashore on New Year's Day in 1998

Guinness Record Maker for World’s largest 3-D Earth museum exhibit – Eartha in Yarmouth, Maine

EARTHA EXHIBIT IN THE DELORME HEADQUARTERS

YARMOUTH, ME

Always wondered what the world looked like from the outside? Take a trip to Yarmouth, Maine and you’ll be able to do just that at the Eartha exhibit in the DeLorme headquarters. This 3-dimensional, 42-foot scale model of our earth with mountains and landforms all in 3-D set the Guinness record for the “World’s Largest Revolving/Rotating Globe” in 1999. How did they make such a masterpiece? It took David DeLorme, the CEO of DeLorme, one full year to compile satellite imagery, shaded relief, colored ocean depth data, and information from actual earth grounds to create 140 gigabytes of mapping data. The Eartha’s lightweight aluminum surface is perfectly shaped to replicate the earth and then actually revolves on a specially designed cantilever arm while rotating on an axis. Every continent is meticulously detailed with vivid colors illustrating all levels of vegetation, major roadways and cities, and ocean depths. And best of all, it’s all free! The DeLorme headquarters are open Monday-Saturday from 9:30am to 6:30pm and re-opening on Sundays starting April 19, 2009. For more details call toll free at 1-800-642-097 or locally at 207-846-7100.

“Eartha is the largest image of earth ever created,” says DeLorme. “Eartha will instill a sense of wonder in people when they first see it and we hope they walk away from it with a better appreciation and knowledge of the world around them.”

With the few extra bucks you save visiting this New England attraction, put it towards a State of Mainer one-night getaway package at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, ME. You’ll receive the best room available in the entire inn for the lowest prices around including dinner and breakfast. Enjoy your Maine stay and your visit to our earth right before your eyes.