Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced that a new exhibition entitled Whales: Giants of the Deep will open on Saturday, October 22, 2016. Interactive, immersive and featuring the latest in international cetacean research, this exhibit is an experience that brings adults and children eye to eye with some of the world’s most elusive creatures.
Featuring two fully-articulated sperm whale skeletons, including an impressive 58-foot male, Whales: Giants of the Deep showcases amazing and rare specimens from New Zealand’s Te Papa’s whale collection, one of the largest in the world. Visitors will see life-size and scale models of whales common to the South Pacific, including a beaked whale skull created by Weta Workshop and ancient and contemporary whalebone treasures such as weapons and chiefly adornments.
The Whale Lab portion of the exhibition is full of interactive science. Children can crawl through a life-size replica of the largest living creature’s heart – the blue whale. The extraordinary evolutionary journey of whales from land to the sea is shown by casts of fossil whale ancestors. Animated renderings of these early forebears show how the transition of leaving the land and completely adapting to a life in the sea. Visitors can tune in to a range of whale sounds and discover how scientists and amateur trackers identify individual whales on their migration through the Pacific Ocean. The Whale Lab also features ‘Search & Destroy’, an experience that takes visitors to the ocean depths with a sperm whale on a hunt in search of giant squid, recreated from real data and sounds collected directly from a real sperm whale!
The intricacies of whale biology and the bloody history of whaling in New Zealand are examined, and visitors also have a unique opportunity to encounter whales through video portholes and be transported into their underwater world via a large immersive projection.
“We are excited to be bringing the international exhibit Whales: Giants of the Deep to Grand Rapids,” said Dale Robertson, President and CEO of the GRPM. “The unique blend of science, storytelling and innovative interactivity allows both adults and children the opportunity to discover more about the world of whales.”
Whales: Giants of the Deep was previously exhibited at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Field Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History.
Tickets for Whales: Giants of the Deep will go on sale later this summer. There will be a minimal additional change to visit this exhibit. Plans for an opening event for Whales: Giants of the Deep are currently in the works for Saturday, October 22. Details will be announced in July 2016. Additional programming can be found online at grpm.org.
This exhibition was made possible through the support of the New Zealand Government and the Smithsonian Institution.
Whales: Giants of the Deep is sponsored by Williams Kitchen & Bath and AppleTree & Gilden Woods Early Care and Preschool.
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), one of the largest national museums in the world, has attracted over 14.4 million visitors since it opened in 1998. Te Papa is recognised as a world leader in the new wave of innovative and interactive museum experiences and has quickly achieved an international reputation for excellence.
Te Papa, the largest cultural project in New Zealand’s history, tells the stories of this young Pacific nation; its history, art and natural environment. It also regularly features a range of international touring exhibitions.
Te Papa is a bi-cultural museum operated in partnership between Mäori and Pakeha (non-Mäori, mainly of European descent). It includes a range of magnificent exhibitions featuring a number of New Zealand’s most significant Mäori treasures as well as a unique 21st century carved marae (gathering place), and a stunning historical wharenui (meeting house).
Visit www.tepapa.govt.nz for more information.
