The newest exhibit at the Telus World of Science explores the world’s largest animal ever to exist, the blue whale. Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story dives deep into the story of nine blue whales who tragically died in the gulf of St.Lawrence in 2014. As a result, the scientists from the Royal Ontario Museum used this tragedy as an opportunity for research. Out of the nine whales that died, two of them washed ashore, and their remains are now on display in this exhibit.
At this exhibition, you can gain insight into the decline of blue whales, the conservation efforts made for them, and how scientists at the Royal Ontario Museum used DNA to discover new things about these mysterious creatures.
“They’ve got stories in here that are from researchers that were actually on the ground, working with these whales after they washed up on shore… There’s opportunities for you to be a researcher. You can look at some different tail flukes, which is a great way to identify different whales,” said Jen Bawden, senior manager of new galleries and research.
On display in the centre of the exhibit, you can meet “Blue.” Blue is a whole blue whale skeleton that is 24 metres long, the length of three school buses. Scientists of ROM were able to extract her bones when she washed up on shore. Which is a rare phenomenon since blue whales, when they die, usually sink.
Visitors can see the only preserved blue whale heart in the world and compare its size to a human heart. Along with ancestor casts of blue whales, where you can also learn about the evolution of whales.
“They came out on land, life evolved from the ocean, but then whales came and went back into the ocean. So I think there’s a really cool story there, too,” said Bawden.
Out of the Depths: A Blue Whale Story gives visitors the opportunity to explore the life of a whale scientist. With a wide variety of interactive experiences, the whole family can see what life is like being a blue whale.
You can check out Out of the Depths: A Blue Whale Story until April 2023.
