Saint Louis Science Center, 5050 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110, United States: The Blue Whale Story

Come Face-to-Fin with Earth’s Largest Creature through The Blue Whale Story at the Saint Louis Science Center! The life story of the largest creatures on Earth will come alive at the Saint Louis Science Center as part of a new special exhibition: The Blue Whale Story.

The Blue Whale Story, produced and circulated by the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, Canada, is more than just a special exhibition; it’s rooted in real science and the tragic loss of nine endangered North Atlantic blue whales that became trapped in sea ice off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in 2014. Although their passing represented a significant loss for an already vulnerable population, two of these whales were recovered and studied — giving ROM scientists the rare opportunity to examine the blue whale like never before.

The exhibition invites families to discover the wonder of the blue whale while highlighting why protecting these gentle giants is essential to keeping our oceans healthy for future generations. Through the exhibition guests will have the chance to: • Learn about “Blue” — a female blue whale recovered from the sea-ice tragedy — and view a life-sized replica of her skeleton that measures 80-feet long (about the size of a full tennis court or a standard semi-truck). • View the world’s only full-scale blue whale heart model. • Take a photo inside a full-scale model of a blue whale jaw, while learning about their remarkable feeding behavior. • Explore the Whale Sound Chamber to hear surround-sound whale calls, compare different whale songs, and learn what they may be communicating. • Play “License to Krill,” an exciting game of survival, where participants dodge dangerous obstacles and “dive deep” to capture and eat krill (the predominant part of the blue whale diet). • Observe the visual progression of how whales evolved from a 4-legged, wolf-sized and deer-like mammal (Pakicetus) that lived on land 50 million years ago to the modern-day ocean giant. • Discover how blue whales faced a devastating decline through commercial whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries but are recovering slowly through science and preservation efforts.