The Whale Museum Vision: Our vision is that the Salish Sea is a healthy and diverse ecosystem that supports the continued survival of whales and other marine species.
The Whale Museum Mission: The Whale Museum’s mission is to promote stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research.
Through research, we generate critically needed scientific information about whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem that can be used in efforts to restore whale species and preserve ecosystem diversity. Through education, we increase public knowledge about whales, other marine species and the Salish Sea ecosystem to promote more responsible environmental stewardship practices.
In 1976, Orca Survey was founded by Ken Balcomb and the Moclips Cetological Society1, and funded by NOAA to study the Southern Resident orcas using photographic identification. In the third year of the study an opportunity was presented to rent the second floor of the historic Odd Fellows Hall (built in 1892) in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island for a mere $75 a month from building owner Lee Bave and her family. Having a museum space in town to run the Whale hotline and provide a public space to display available skeletons and findings on the whales had always been a dream of Ken Balcomb’s. In the Fall of 1978, Ken tapped island resident and colleague from the research vessel Regina Maris, Mark Anderson, to lead an effort to get the museum started while Ken was out a sea for the winter and spring. Under Mark’s leadership a growing army of enthusiastic volunteers began working miracles to refurbish the building and create exhibits for an ambitious grand opening in July of 1979. Impassioned museum volunteers kept busy after the opening, and the early days of The Whale Museum fostered a series of projects and studies who’s seeds can still be traced to programs today, including:
• A Minke whale study in collaboration with the UW Friday Harbor Labs by the late Eleanor Dorsey of the New York Zoological Society, who’s database remains continuous to this day.
• Acoustics studies of whale sounds that evolved into SeaSound and the various listening stations currently in the region.
• A college-accredited course on Cetology called Whale School that evolved into Naturalist Training.
• A partnership with the Orca Survey archiving sighting data and operating the stranding network.
In 1981 the Orca Survey decided to separate from The Whale Museum and formed the Center for Whale Research to support focused field studies of the orcas and explore new research techniques building on the Orca Survey photo-identification catalog. The Whale Museum Board of Directors decided its broader focus on all marine mammal species, the stranding network. and citizen science research through the sighting network could still be complimentary with the Orca Survey’s.
In 1982 the Center for Whale Research was separately formed, where the important work of the Orca Survey continues to this day.
In 1983, Lime Kiln State Park, also known as "whale watch park", was created on the west side of San Juan Island. The Whale Museum had acquired the lease from the Coast Guard for the Lime Kiln Point lighthouse, which was set up as a shore-based research lab for acoustic and behavioral studies on Orca, Minke and Dall's Porpoise. It is still used by The Whale Museum researchers today.
The acquisition of the lighthouse led to efforts by The Whale Museum and the State of Washington to create the first park in the United States dedicated to whale watching. Today, Lime Kiln State Park hosts more than 200,000 visitors each year.
In a 1984 press conference with the Washington Secretary of State, The Whale Museum announced the beginning of the Orca Adoption Program. They also announced a then-pending congressional bill banning the capture of Orcas for display. The bill eventually passed! And the Orca Adoption Program remains popular today, continuing to connect people with the individual members of the Southern Resident Community of orcas both living and past.
National fame was soon to follow in 1986 when The Whale Museum led an effort to free 130 marine mammals that had been trapped by a fast-moving glacier in Southeast Alaska. Also that summer, The Whale Museum received federal approval to become an official stranding response center in the San Juan Islands, after five years of operating the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. We continue to enjoy this role today.
In 1989, The Whale Museum board purchased, instead of leasing, the Odd Fellows Hall (an historic building in the Town of Friday Harbor, constructed in 1892). The purchase allowed the exhibit space to double in size! In 1992 with the added space we introduced traveling exhibits and supervised, educational "pajama parties" for children called Pod Nods, adding to our mission of education. The Pod Nods program still exists today.
During the summer of 1993, the on-the-water Soundwatch Boater Education Program was launched with the purpose of scientifically monitoring the booming whale watch industry, helping it voluntarily adopt management solutions, and teaching pleasure boaters on the water the least intrusive way to watch whales from a boat. The program continues today and has become one of our most noted endeavors.
The first Marine Naturalist Training course was taught in 1994, an accreditation program where students learned about the marine ecosystem in a series of classes and field trips. The program continues today, typically offered twice each year.
Late in 1996, the ongoing Gray Whale Project began for students. After a dead gray whale stranded, The Whale Museum staff cleaned and prepared the bones after several months of decomposition. Now, through the Gray Whale Project, students articulate the skeleton while learning more about gray whales and marine ecology.
In 2000, the SeaSound Remote Sensing Network was established to begin underwater acoustic studies of Orca vocalizations, thanks to our largest grant ever. The program continues to further researchers' understanding of underwater acoustics.
In 2006, continuing education workshops (Gear Up and Gear Down) were implemented for professional naturalists.
In 2009, SSAMN (the Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists) was formed.
In 2012, Sooke (L-112) washed ashore near Long Beach, Washington. The Whale Museum requested and was honored to receive her skeleton. After completing its role in the necropsy investigation, the museum cleaned & articulated her skeleton for display in an new accessible exhibit area. A full-scale model which is an exact replica of Sooke is displayed above the skeleton. The exhibit opened to the public in February of 2013.
In 2020, a livestreaming webcam was added to the Research Station in the lighthouse at Lime Kiln Point State Park along with the live hydrophone. It streams on the museum's YouTube channel.
One of The Whale Museum's most important efforts has been to better understand and get more protection for the Southern Resident Orcas. Data that is collected, compiled and archived by The Whale Museum has been and continues to be used in multiple studies critical their management and protection by multiple government agencies (The Southern Resident orcas are listed as an endangered species in the United States and a species at-risk in Canada).
Greater awareness of the threats facing the Orcas has contributed to funding for Soundwatch and our Orca Master data archive from the federal government, as well as increased international cooperation on whale watching. In partnership with the Canadian Straitwatch Project, and both U.S. and Canadian federal governments, the "Be Whale Wise" campaign was launched. There are now vessel regulations (federal and state of Washington) in the inland waters of the United States. The Kayakers Code of Conduct was developed in partnership with the San Juan Island Kayak Association and San Juan County Parks.
The museum is fortunate to have a wonderful building within walking distance of the mainland (just park your car and ride the ferry!). This is a historic building that needs love and attention. A goal at the top of our list for the immediate future is to renovate the exhibits and increase accessibility by installing an elevator.
The Whale Museum is much more than a museum, it’s a non-profit organization that implements programs wherever there is interest or need for the benefit of whales in the wild and the ecosystems of the Salish Sea.