WHALE TALKS OFFERED DURING EXHIBITION
USING SUCTION CUP TAGS TO LEARN TO SPEAK “WHALE” is the subject of the first in a series of lectures offered about whales during the exhibit WHALES: WONDERS OF THE OCEAN on view at Bishop Museum May 17 through September 21, 2008. The first lecture will be presented by Alison Stimpert, Zoology Ph.D. Candidate, University of Hawaii,on May 17 from 11 a.m. to Noon in the Castle Memorial Building, 2nd Floor at Bishop Museum. Subsequent Whale Talks will be offered on June 22, July 19, August 16, and September 20 from 11 a.m. until Noon on the second floor of Castle Memorial Building. All lectures are free with admission. Seating is limited and offered on first-come, first-served basis.
Ever wonder what whales are doing (and saying) during all the time they spend under water? Are you curious about how scientists study this behavior? Come learn about high-tech suction cup tags that record sound and body orientation of humpback whales under water during Stimpert’s presentation, Learning to Speak “Whale” with Suction Cup Tags. This lecture will include videos of tagging whales. Lecture participants will have the chance to hear sounds that the whales make while they’re feeding, and to try using one of the tagging poles.
Speaker Alison Stimpert is a Ph.D. Candidate in Zoology at the University of Hawaii, working at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Her current project is to study the acoustic behavior of humpback whales here in the breeding grounds of Hawaii during the winters, and during feeding in the North Atlantic and Southeast Alaska in the summers.
The Whale Talks are being presented in conjunction with the Museum’s presentation of WHALES: WONDERS OF THE OCEAN, a traveling exhibit by WonderWorks, on view May 17 through September 21, 2008. The exhibit tells the 54-million-year-old story of whales, from their early life on land to their journey back to the sea. Visitors will see an ample share of toothsome prehistoric beasties, including six robotic whales and dolphins.
The Whales exhibit is sponsored in part by Wyland Waikiki, NOAA’s Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Wodehouse Trust, Horizon Lines, and Bank of Hawaii. Normal museum admission applies, except on Family Sunday, June 22, when Hawaii residents and Military with ID are offered reduced admissions of $3 per person.
Life-size robotic whales in the exhibit illustrate the major categories of whale origins, adaptations and behavior from feeding and reproduction to swimming, vocalization, respiration and diving. The exhibit will feature full-sized robotic versions of a Baby Gray whale, Humpback whale, and an Orca, and static heads of a Northern Right whale and a Sperm whale. This exhibit offers an educational encounter that can’t be duplicated.
For more information about WHALES: WONDERS OF THE OCEAN, or Whale Talks and other educational programming, call 808.847.3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.
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