Cold_Spring_Harbor_Whaling_Museum
The Whaling Museum & Education Center
Maritime museum in Cold Spring Harbor, New York
The Whaling Museum & Education Center, formerly known as The Whaling Museum, is a maritime museum located in Cold Spring Harbor, New York dedicated to the local history, the maritime heritage of Long Island and its impact on the whaling industry.[1]
The Museum, which welcomes about 20,000 visitors annually, is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Whaling Museum Society was founded in 1936, with the Museum opening in 1942. Its exhibit space is 2,500 square feet including an educational workshop.
The museum holds about 6,000 documents and artifacts from Cold Spring Harbor and other Long Island whaling towns. Its collection includes a 19th-century whaleboat with original gear and a large collection of scrimshaw.
Additional displays include whaling implements, ship’s gear, navigational aids, ship models and maritime art. The library and archival collection contains 2,800 primary and secondary volumes and manuscript material from the Cold Spring whaling fleet, ship’s logs, journals and business correspondence of the Cold Spring Whaling Company, family documents dealing with maritime commerce on Long Island, records of the Long Island coastwise trade under sail and records from the Cold Spring Harbor Customs House (1798 until 1908).
The museum hosts educational events and exhibitions year-round, including films, lectures, performances, and special events, connecting the subject of whaling to other subjects in art, science, and culture.