The 9th grade biology students recently traveled to London for a week-long field trip to many historical sites. The students spent three hours exploring the Natural History Museum. The following is the second in a series of posts written by the students to discuss what they learned.
by Emily, Gabby, and Nick
As a ninth grade student at Staten Island Academy, it has recently become tradition to visit the aesthetic and renowned city of London during mid-November. Just a short week go, the ninth grade packed up and headed to London and had the privilege to see many famous sites and museums that are located there, one of them being the Natural History Museum. While at this museum, we had the chance to speak to a prominent scientist named Dr. David Ng who showed us around the riveting Darwin Cocoon, we explored our assigned exhibits, and afterward, we were able to tour different areas of the museum we hadn’t already seen. It was extremely interesting and very fascinating to see the Darwin Cocoon because our class had spent a plethora of time studying Darwin and his theory of evolution. Also, our group was assigned the mammal and whale exhibit, which taught us much about the blue whale, the largest animal on the planet, and about different mammals in general. We took copious notes and viewed different models of mammals, like tigers and rhinoceroses. Eventually, we reached the huge life-size model of the blue whale, which was definitely the highlight of our exhibit, and maybe even the highlight of our whole visit to the museum. Overall, our group learned so many astonishing facts about nature and different organisms, and we had a truly amazing experience!
Our first stop at the Natural History Museum was the Darwin Cocoon, a massive egg shaped structure within the museum that housed an incredible number of different organisms and information on the science of nature. We had the privilege of having scientist Dr. David Ng talk to us before we went inside. Ng spoke about all the basic topics we would find in the cocoon and explained to us in a way that made everything from peer review to Biology novels written years ago very easy to understand, and this made us really believe that Ng knew what he was talking about and well understood his work. Once in the cocoon, you will see that the exhibit has brilliant interactive displays such as touch screen panels and films that allow you to learn hands on about DNA, trees of life, peer review, the journeys some scientists have taken, discoveries made, and so much more! In the cocoon you can even see scientists hard at work, and if you’re lucky you will have the chance to interact with them. Being in the Darwin Cocoon truly tied together all that we learned in class about Darwin, his theories, and the connection of all living things, an experience that cannot be forgotten.
The mammal exhibit in the Natural History Museum was fascinating, and our group was particularly interested in the blue whale display. This sparked interest more towards the whale portion of the exhibit. In this exhibit a whole section is dedicated to the mating of whales. Mating is essential for the species to reproduce and pass along its genes. What is particularly interesting about blue whale mating patterns is that we have limited information about such massive animals. So far, we can infer that the songs the blue whales sing are used to attract mates, blue whales are thought to mate for life, they migrate to warmer waters for mating which occurs from late fall to early spring, and female whales reproduce once every two to three years. Whales in general that live in groups tend to have mating rituals. When the blue whale makes a mating call it is generally much louder and deeper then others to reach farther away so a potential mate might hear the call from far away, being that blue whale do not live in groups. The mating rituals of blue whales can largely differ from the mating rituals of another species of whales such as the sperm whales. Sperm whales tend to travel in groups. Once the group finds a female, they will fight to mate with her. Most whales use mating calls to attract a mate, and some fight to mate. Although this is evident with some species of whales, we don’t know all mating patterns of whales, and we will have to wait for more information to come to light to be able to definitely say what the mating patterns are.
The blue whale, a truly enormous animal, is the largest organism to have ever lived on the earth. This vast mammal can weigh up to approximately 150-200 tons and measures up to around 100 feet and is as large as a Boeing jet! In order to fathom just how humongous this creature is, it’s heart is as large as a small car, 50 people can stand on its tongue, and it’s spout shoots up at least 30 feet of water. Being that the whale is a mammal rather than a fish, it is warm-blooded, it has lungs, and provides milk for its offspring. A blue whale cannot actually breathe underwater, but they come up for air every couple of minutes and take in the oxygen and shoot out water from their blowhole. Also, a baby blue whale drinks about 50 gallons of its mother’s milk per day, meaning that the baby whale is gaining approximately 200 pounds a day in its first weeks of life! Starting at 6 months of age, all blue whales eat very diminutive shrimp-like creatures known as krill. Because the krill are less than 1/1000 of the whale’s size, the whale must consume up to 40 million krill in one day. Blue whales are baleen whales, which means that they have large fringed plates, called baleen, fastened to their upper jaw. This baleen is made out of the same material that our fingernails are made up of. In order to eat the krill, the whale expands its stomach and the creased skin on its throat and gulps up a massive amount of water. Then, the whale’s tongue forces the excess water out through the baleen and tons of krill are left behind for the whale to feast on. Although tremendous, the blue whale is actually quite harmless and is truly a magnificent creature!
Blue whales inhabit mostly every ocean in the world and are commonly spotted in the Southern Hemisphere. Since these animals are so large, they must often reside in deep waters. Water temperature also plays a big role on the area in which blue whales choose to live. The blue whale is very frequently found in cold water, and they are seldom seen swimming in warm temperatures. Blue whales are able to live in the cold temperatures because of their blubber, which keeps them warm. A fully grown blue whale has 31 tonnes of blubber, which insulates it and acts as a food reserve. The main areas that these whales live in, with the highest population, is in between Alaska and Costa Rica. In the summer time they migrate to the California waters, and in the winter time they travel to temperate waters, which is where they reproduce. Blue whales migrate all over the world, but the blue whale has a special job in the Pacific Ocean, which is their winter breeding area.
As you can see this London trip was strongly educational, but at the same time fun. At the Natural History Museum, we were able to visit multiple exhibits, and learn about all different parts of life. From the Darwin Cocoon which blended science and technology, for hands on activities to seeing all different specimens, and scientist at work, which was extraordinary! Then going to the Blue Whale exhibit to be up close and personal to a model of an endangered species, the blue whale. We were able to learn about many of the characteristics of this colossal animal. It showed communication, feeding, and much more. Luckily, we had the privilege of going to this breath-taking museum!
Why have blue whales recently become endangered? What steps have been taken to prevent their extinction? What are other examples of baleen whales and how do they differ from the blue whale?
