Giants of the Deep: Whales Exhibit to Open in Manhattan

Karriem Bey, 10, a fifth-grader at PS 87 on the Upper West Side, crawls out of a replica of a whale's heart, part of a new exhibit Whales: Giants of the Deep at the American Museum of Natural History, on March 20. (Zachary Stieber/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Crawl inside a whale’s heart, ponder the magnificence of a 58 feet long whale skeleton, and accompany a whale on a dive deep into the ocean. Welcome to the new exhibit Whales: Giants of the Deep, opening at the American Museum of Natural History on March 23.

The exhibit, originally created by staff at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, has been enhanced by staff at the Museum of Natural History, who added pieces such as cultural objects from the New England area that show the significance whales once had to the region.

John Flynn, dean of the Richard Filder Graduate School and co-curator of the exhibit, said visitors can expect to connect with the whales.

“I think when you go in, you’re going to be struck,” he said. “The whales will speak to you, both figuratively and literally.”

More than 20 skulls and skeletons from a range of whale species are one of the highlights, including a skeleton of a male sperm whale that measures 58 feet long (about 18 feet longer than a school bus). Another part of the exhibit shows the close connection different groups of people have shared with whales, such as the Maori people of New Zealand.

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“For many generations whales have captured our emotions and imaginations, inspired our mythologies, shaped out histories, and brought out the best and the most challenging aspect of our human nature,” said Rhonda Paku, acting biocultural leader and senior curator Maori at the Museum of New Zealand. 

The exhibit blends science with the indigenous knowledge and values of the Maori, she said, calling whales “beautiful creatures.”

 

A fifth-grade class from PS 87 on the Upper West Side visited the soon-to-be-opened exhibit on March 20, enjoying the interactive elements, especially crawling in and out of a life-sized replica of a blue whale heart. Blue whales are the biggest animal on earth, weighing up to or even over 165 tons; their hearts can weigh up to 1,410 pounds.

“It’s really cool because you can hear how whales breathe, and you can go inside and see how long whales are,” said Dylan Neil, 11, one of about two dozen students who had begun clustering around and inside of the heart. 

“They’re actually like as long as airplanes,” he said.