American Museum of Natural History Announces Whales: Giants of the Deep Exhibition

In the new exhibition Whales: Giants of the Deep, visitors to the American Museum of Natural History will be transported to the vibrant underwater world of the mightiest animals on Earth. For millennia, whales have captured our imagination and inspired tales of wonder, from the whale-riding traditions of New Zealand's M?ori people to classic novels like Moby Dick.

We have revered them, made them the subject of myth, hunted them to the brink of extinction, and passionately protected them. Whales explores the latest research about these fascinating marine mammals as well as the central role they have played throughout human history. With opportunities to crawl through a life-size replica of the heart of a blue whale, listen to whale croons, meet the land-dwelling cousins of whales, and hear from people whose lives have been inextricably linked with these sea creatures, visitors will learn about the evolution, biology, diversity, and conservation of whales as well as about their interactions with human cultures across the Pacific and around the world.

"Whales intrigue, astound, and inspire us with their gigantic proportions, their incredible adaptations for living in the deep, and their amazing evolutionary journey from land to sea," said Museum President Ellen V. Futter. "The American Museum of Natural History is extremely pleased to present this fantastic exhibition in the same year that we mark the 10th anniversary of the renovation of the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, an immersive permanent exhibition gallery that highlights the drama of the undersea world and its diverse and fragile web of life, and, of course, includes the Museum's iconic blue whale."

On tour from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, which houses one of the largest whale collections in the world,Whales features more than 20 skulls and skeletons from various whale species and showcases many rare specimens, including the real skeleton of a male sperm whale measuring 58 feet long (about the length of one and a half school busses); life-size and scale models of whales common in the South Pacific; and ancient and contemporary objects made from whale bone and other materials, such as weapons, chiefs' adornments, and jewelry. The exhibition also includes rarely viewed specimens and artifacts from the American Museum of Natural History's world-class collections, such as the massive skull of Andrewsarchus mongoliensis-an extinct land-dwelling relative of whales-cultural objects depicting the power and majesty of whales and their importance to humans, and a log book from the famed whaling ship William Rotch, which sailed out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the 1830s.

"Our collections of cultural objects, fossils, and modern mammals are among the finest in the world," said John Flynn, Frick Curator of Fossil Mammals, who is overseeing the exhibition at the Museum. "We have a wonderful opportunity to draw from our remarkable collections to select beautiful and significant specimens that complement the important messages already being conveyed in this exhibit, including some specimens that have never before been on public display."