Explore the Whale Museum and the whales around the San Juan Islands
A discussion of whales around the San Juan Islands of Washington, from the documentary Science at Sea: The Whale Museum.
Great Museums Television (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
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Transcript
[Music in]
NARRATOR: The evening ferry has arrived at Friday Harbor, bringing residents and summer visitors alike.
The alluring waters of the San Juan Islands, in the northwest corner of Washington state, are peaceful and popular. The harbor is filled with yachts, a few fishing boats, even a resident bald eagle. And on a quiet street, a creaky old wooden building is the unlikely heart of this place: The Whale Museum celebrates the majesty and the science of the world's largest mammal. The surrounding Salish Sea, where the wild whales live, is the museum's extended exhibit floor.
ALBERT SHEPARD: When we're looking out over the water, we're kind of looking at the top of their sky, and there's this whole other—other life that they have down beneath the surface.
SALLY HODSON: Some of the gray whales, that the skeleton we have in there—people can see how immense and how the body structure of that whale is needed to make those 10,000-mile trips each season.
RICHARD OSBORNE: Killer whales, they're a size that they're like grizzily bears out there in terms of being a major predator. They can actually eat other marine mammals because of their size.
ROBIN JACOBSON: It's a lot more than a dusty old collection of bones. We talk about the—the culture of not only the—the whales but the culture of—of the people, of the planet over time. We talk about the different ways that the environment and of the people and all the other living creatures in the environment are intertwined.
RICHARD OSBORNE: We're intepreting the living whales that are off the shores of the island where our museum is located. And a lot of what we try to do at the museum is to take the people that are in the museum back outside.
KARI KOSKI: I have to say that every single time we see a whale out here, it is still fantastic. It's still that wonder and mystery and the awe every time.
[Music out]
NARRATOR: The evening ferry has arrived at Friday Harbor, bringing residents and summer visitors alike.
The alluring waters of the San Juan Islands, in the northwest corner of Washington state, are peaceful and popular. The harbor is filled with yachts, a few fishing boats, even a resident bald eagle. And on a quiet street, a creaky old wooden building is the unlikely heart of this place: The Whale Museum celebrates the majesty and the science of the world's largest mammal. The surrounding Salish Sea, where the wild whales live, is the museum's extended exhibit floor.
ALBERT SHEPARD: When we're looking out over the water, we're kind of looking at the top of their sky, and there's this whole other—other life that they have down beneath the surface.
SALLY HODSON: Some of the gray whales, that the skeleton we have in there—people can see how immense and how the body structure of that whale is needed to make those 10,000-mile trips each season.
RICHARD OSBORNE: Killer whales, they're a size that they're like grizzily bears out there in terms of being a major predator. They can actually eat other marine mammals because of their size.
ROBIN JACOBSON: It's a lot more than a dusty old collection of bones. We talk about the—the culture of not only the—the whales but the culture of—of the people, of the planet over time. We talk about the different ways that the environment and of the people and all the other living creatures in the environment are intertwined.
RICHARD OSBORNE: We're intepreting the living whales that are off the shores of the island where our museum is located. And a lot of what we try to do at the museum is to take the people that are in the museum back outside.
KARI KOSKI: I have to say that every single time we see a whale out here, it is still fantastic. It's still that wonder and mystery and the awe every time.
[Music out]
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