Once the home of Grytviken’s whaling station manager, this small museum is packed with artifacts—from harpoons and compasses to scrimshaw carvings and a homemade still—that chronicle the history of sealing and whaling on this isolated and long-abandoned settlement in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Exhibits also include a replica of the James Caird, the lifeboat Sir Ernest Shackleton and five of his crew used to navigate against all odds from Elephant Island to Grytviken and subsequently rescue the remaining crew of his doomed ship Endurance. And don’t miss the rusted-out ruins of the whaling station—known to be frequented by king penguins.

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