The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived; the largest specimen verified was at 30 meters (100 feet), and the average blue whale can easily weigh 400,000 pounds (or 24 African elephants). As blue whales live solitary lives in the open ocean, people still know very little about them.

This model of a blue whale is the centerpiece of the Marine Life Hall. The lighting here is very dim - only a long exposure, with the camera steadied on the handrails, could come up with this shot, even though I couldn't do much about the mother and daughter in the foreground.