In an exhibition created by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, you can size up to the skeleton of an 18-metre bull sperm whale, walk through the heart of a blue whale and familiarise yourself with the whale-riding stories of Māori culture.
The exhibition combines science, storytelling and technology to help us learn more about our relationship to these marvellous mammals. You can touch the vertebra and rib of a fin whale, listen to a symphony of whale noises in the sound chamber, and get your head around skeleton casts of ancient whale ancestors.
You can take a self-guided tour with the museum’s app to learn about the relationships of South Pacific whale riders with these oceanic giants, or book into one of the events run by the museum, such as Maori Basket Weaving, where you can use harakeke (flax) to make a kono.
In response to the threats these creatures face thanks to whaling, overfishing and pollution, the Australian Museum has partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature – Australia (WWF) to help with their whale conservation program. Visitors are invited to take part in the #ReduceYourUse campaign by pledging to reduce their use of plastics.
