The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is opening a new exhibit this weekend on blue whales, which are the planet's largest animals ever.
The special exhibition on blue whales highlights information about their anatomy, physiology, and genetics. Blue whales can weigh up to 400,000 pounds and grow up to 110 feet long.
Mike Cove, the research curator of mammalogy with the museum, said the Blue whales exhibit is on loan from the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.
“So, this exhibit was founded in tragedy actually,” he said. “Nine blue whales got stuck under the ice in northern Canada, and two of them ended up washing ashore. The Royal Ontario Museum was able to take them, take them out, and use them for research.”
The blue whale exhibit will include an entire skeleton of the animal and a large jaw bone on display, where people can step inside. Cove said the exhibit is an opportunity for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to showcase the anatomy of the blue whale.
“The exhibit has a whole bunch of pieces of their anatomy on display, (like) their hearts,” said Cove. “Their hearts are massive and their brains are huge.”
Cove said the exhibit is aimed at teaching the public about conservation efforts for blue whales as well as marine biodiversity. And, they have many interactive ways that the public can learn, like a scale.
“You know, I personally enjoyed stepping on the scale and learning that it took about 800 of me to make a blue whale,” said Cove. “That seemed like it should have been more than that. It's about 15 elephants to make a blue whale, or two sauropod dinosaurs. You know — the largest dinosaurs ever — it takes two of those.”
The blue whales exhibit officially opens to the public on Saturday at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. It’s expected to run until mid-January.
