Located in what was the greatest port of America’s whaling industry, the New Bedford Whaling Museum is home to the largest ship model in the world. A greasy whaling ship from the 1840s that operated up through 1890, this half-scale model of the bark Lagoda has let visitors climb aboard and imagine life on ship since it was constructed in 1916. Through an interactive installation next to her side, visitors can now explore inaccessible areas of the ship, identify every major feature of her construction, and connect with hundreds of images and objects from the collection that illuminates the whaling process and life aboard the Lagoda.

This faithful 3-D reconstruction renders every notable detail of a whaling ship from bow to stern, from high aloft to below decks in the hold. Visitors can navigate to any part of the craft, looking up, down, and in every direction. Every feature they select is identified and linked to a chapter in The Story of Whaling, where they can connect with the people, art, artifacts, photographs, movies, and songs that bear witness to an important industry, era, and way of life from our nation’s past.