National Aquarium in
Baltimore, MD
Opened September 1990

In 1990, a Marine Mammal Pavilion was added at the National Aquarium in Baltimore to house a main attraction, a whale and dolphin show.

The National Aquarium attracts very large crowds and many visitors arrive at the pavilion in advance of show time. Interactive exhibits conveying awe-inspiring aspects of whale behavior were designed to entertain and inform visitors while they wait for the next show.

The basic design concept places a life-size (45-foot) realistic model of a humpback whale in the building’s high, glass-roofed atrium space. The whale is posed in a dramatic breaching gesture. Surrounding it are interactive exhibits which interpret the behavior of humpbacks and other whale species.

<click on images to see them larger>

Interactive exhibit components include:

Bubble Net: Humpback whales sometimes feed by encircling a school of fish and releasing a stream of bubbles. The fish tend to remain within the boundary of the “bubble net,” allowing a whale to swim open-mouthed through the captive school and gather a great catch. Visitors control the speed of revolving air jets inside an eight-foot high, clear cylinder filled with water to observe how a bubble net is formed.

Blowhole: By pressing on a hand-operated air pump, users send a puff of warm moist air into a large chamber of refrigerated, cold air. The rush of warm air becomes visible in the cold environment, creating the appearance of a whale blow. The point is made that a whale is an air-breathing mammal and the blowhole, like a nose, is used for inhaling and exhaling.

Tail Fluke Identification: Visitors control a still-frame video camera directed toward a small tank where humpback whales (models) unexpectedly breach the surface and dive, exposing their tail flukes. Visitors can play the role of researchers by trying to match their photos with those taken by volunteers in other parts of the world.