Whale watching for landlubbers

We can’t guarantee you’ll see dozens of whales at “Whale of a Weekend,” but you can definitely strap on some blubber for a marine mammal’s-eye-view of what it feels like to be a Pacific gray whale.

The gray whales are on the last leg of a 10,000 mile voyage from Alaskan waters to their breeding grounds off the coast of Baja California.  Binoculars and field guides will be available for spotting whales and other wildlife from the Santa Monica Pier’s observation deck, and experts from the American Cetacean Society, the oldest whale conservation group in the country, will be on hand to guide you through the whale-watching experience.

Get to know the whales and other marine life with Aquarium naturalists who teach using films, presentations, and games.  Feel samples of the whale’s baleen (the filtering structure they use to feed.) You can also try on a simulated coat of blubber to understand how whales stay warm in icy seas.

In addition to educational activities, there will be face painting, whale-themed crafts, and a life-size chalk drawing of a whale that the public will help color in (the whales grow to more to 50 feet in length, so many hands are needed.)

Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium will host the event from 12:30 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19 and Sunday, Feb. 20.  The Aquarium is located at the beach level of the Santa Monica Pier, 1600 Ocean Front Walk.  The event is free for children under 12 and $3 for everyone else, with a $5 suggested donation. (Added bonus: If you’re there on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., you can catch the popular weekly feeding at the shark tank.)

Heal the Bay is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring coastal areas of Southern California are safe, healthy and clean.  A 2:30 p.m. presentation on Saturday and Sunday will focus on how changing ocean temperatures are affecting whale migration by changing their feeding patterns.  Heal The Bay’s Tara Crow, who helped organize this event, described a recent feeding phenomenon that she observed:

“This year there were about 50 blue whales seen in the Santa Monica Bay. These kinds of numbers have not been recorded before in our Bay, at least in recent history.  It was amazing to be on a boat five minutes out of Redondo Harbor and see blue whales all around, feeding on krill. We’re not sure what brought the krill and the blues into the Bay this year—but all in all we have had a very unusual year as ocean temperatures go. And as a result we are seeing a lot of things we don’t usually get to see here.  Much more research and data will need to be collected before we can determine if this is simply a weird weather year or if this is a result of an overall change in climate.”

Whether you’re a conservationist, whale geek or just an ocean-lover, come down to the pier this weekend and enjoy the majesty of these massive mammals with a dedicated group that works to protect them and their habitat.

Posted 2/17/11