ON EXHIBIT
WHALES: WONDERS OF THE OCEAN
May 17, 2008 through September 21, 2008Castle Memorial Building
Download the schedule for our summer Whales Lecture Series.
Learn all about the gentle giants of the sea in this robotic traveling exhibition from WonderWorks. This exhibit tells their 54-million-year-old story, from early life on land to their journey back to the sea. Life-size robotic whales illustrate the major categories of whale origins, adaptions 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, a Humpback whale and an Orca, and animated heads of a Northern Right whale and a Sperm whale.
Whales are the descendants of land living mammals of the Artiodactyl order. Whales are the closest living relatives of hippos! They both evolved from a common ancestor at around 54 million years ago. Whales entered the water roughly 50 million years ago. These cetaceans are divided into two suborders: Baleen whales which have a sieve-like structure in the upper jaw made of keratin that is used to filter plankton; and toothed whales which have teeth and prey on fish and squid.
Like all mammals, whales breathe air into lungs,
are warm-blooded, and feed their young milk from
mammary glands, and have some hair. Whales breathe
through blowholes located on the top of the head
so the animal can remain submerged. Baleen whales
have two blowholes, while toothed whales only have
one. Whales have a unique respiratory system that
lets them stay underwater for long periods of time
without taking in oxygen. Sperm whales are known
to stay underwater for up to two hours holding a
single breath!
Whales live from 40 to 200 years, depending on their species, but it is rare to find one that lives over a century. Whale flukes are often used to identify whales and they communicate with each other using lyrical sounds. Being so large and powerful, whales sounds are extremely loud and can be heard for many miles.
The exhibit features several participatory stations where visitors can learn to identify whales the way scientists do; by their songs, their markings, their fins and tails, and their behavior. The six large motorized creatures on exhibit operate on air pressure and were constructed in Los Angeles. Andrewsarchus will be the first motorized creature to greet visitors as they enter the show.
This hairy, ugly, land-dwelling
mammal with a snout is included in the exhibit
because it belongs to a group of primitive carnivorous
land mammals dating back 50 million years, which
scientists believe may have been the predecessors
of whales. The subsequent displays feature a tail-waving
orca, a lanky basilosaurus, and the gray whale with
a calf, among others. Inside each creature is an
aluminum and steel robotic skeleton.
The movements of the robotic whales are controlled by a computer mounted in the creature’s base. The computer regulates the flow of compressed air through a series of air lines and valves to various cylinders. As air is forced through the system, it causes the piston inside each cylinder to move in and out. Large cylinders are used for tail and flipper movements, while small cylinders are used for the eye and mouth movements. A sound system, controlled by the same computer, is mounted in the base and is used to create life-like whale sounds. The skin is made from thick foam with a flexible elastimer coating that shows all the bumps and folds of the full-size clay sculpture. The whales’ creators have gone to great lengths to make the exhibit as authentic as possible, including putting lice and barnacles on some of the whales and even the sounds of the thumping whale heartbeat.
Mahalo to our sponsors:
And the Wodehouse Trust
Created and Produced by WonderWorks
MAMo AWARDS 2008: CELEBRATING OUR MASTERS
April 19 through July TBA, 2008Joseph M. Long Gallery
Bishop Museum will begin the third annual Maoli Arts Month (MAMo) by honoring a select number of Native Hawaiian master artists with the exhibition, MAMo Awards 2008: Celebrating our Masters in the Joseph M. Long Gallery.
Coordinated by Bishop Museum’s Noelle Kahanu, MAMo Awards 2008: Celebrating our Masters honors six Hawaiian master artists who have tirelessly championed the cause of Native Hawaiian arts. The exhibition celebrates these artists through the presentation of artworks that attest to their lifetime achievements.
The art exhibition is part of MAMo, a month-long community-based event in May celebrating Native Hawaiian art, artists, and cultural practitioners with a host of activities and events at a variety of venues throughout Honolulu, including the Hawai‘i State Art Museum, Chinatown Arts District, The Arts and Marks Garage, as well as Bishop Museum.
MAMo organizers include Bishop Museum, PA‘I Foundation, Keomailanai Hanapi Foundation, Hale Naua III, Maoli Arts Alliance, as well as other Native Hawaiian artists and organizations, and the City and County of Honolulu, Mayor’s Office for Culture and the Arts.
Bernice Pauahi Bishop, A Legacy for Hawai‘i
Castle Memorial Building, Second Floor
Bishop Museum celebrates the wisdom and foresight of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and Charles Reed Bishop with Bernice Pauahi Bishop, A Legacy for Hawaii, a new exhibition that opened on February 3, 2007.
This exhibit features items from many of the early collections received at Bishop Museum, valued treasures associated with Hawaiian ali‘i, and striking examples of Hawaiian mastery.
This exhibition pays tribute to the vision of Princess Bernice Pauahi and Charles Reed Bishop.
