A Whale of a Weekend

Be sure to stop by Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium to celebrate the annual migration of the Pacific gray whale during “Whale of a Weekend” this Saturday and Sunday.

A host of whale-related activities will be ongoing both days from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Aquarium, located beach level at the Santa Monica Pier.

Aquarium naturalists, along with the American Cetacean Society, will staff a whale watching station at the west end of the Santa Monica Pier. Children can make their own binoculars and whale watching guide at the Aquarium’s arts and crafts station.

Live demonstrations of plankton tows will also be on-going at the west end of the Pier, and visitors can observe the collected plankton in the Aquarium’s science lab. Try on a layer of blubber to feel the warmth it provides at the blubber experiment station in the Aquarium. Story times, film screenings and a public lecture on whales will round out the two-day celebration.

Gray whales complete an annual, round trip migration of 10,000 to 14,000 miles, one of the longest migrations of any animal. The whales travel from their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic’s Chukchi and Bering seas to their winter home in the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico, where they spend several months mating and calving. Around January, the whales begin the return journey to the Arctic.

According to the Cetacean Society, the mothers and calves travel close to shore as they make the two- to three-month trek north. Adult gray whales are approximately 45 feet in length and weigh 30 to 40 tons. After being hunted to the brink of extinction, the gray whale has been a protected species since 1947, and the population has rebounded to between 19,000 and 23,000 animals.

Learn more interesting facts about these gentle giants and about their annual migration at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. Admission is free for children 12 and under when accompanied by an adult. For those 13 and older, a $5 donation is suggested, with a minimum $2 admission per person required. For groups of 10 or more, the fee is $2 per person. Call 310-393-6149 for more information or visit our website at www.healthebay.org/smpa.

About Heal the Bay:

Heal the Bay, celebrating its 22nd year, is dedicated to making Santa Monica Bay and Southern California coastal waters safe and healthy again for people and marine life. It is one of the largest nonprofit environmental organizations in Los Angeles County, with more than 10,000 members. The organization focuses on education, outreach, research and advocacy. Beach Report Card weekly and annual updates are available at: www.healthebay.org.