Curriculum links
Learning area
• Science
Which strands will it fit with?
• Science – Living World
Key Competencies
Thinking, Relating to others
Levels of achievement
Levels 1–8
Year group
Years 1–10
Which topics of study can it support?
- Earth Science
- New Zealand Environment
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How long might this take?
• Allow 5–10 minutes.
Where do I find it?
- At the far end of Mountains to Sea, Level 2
- Lost? Ask a Te Papa Host.
Why should I take my class to visit this?
• This is a chance for you to look inside some sea creatures! Through the window you can see the skeletons of whales, dolphins, and seals.
What is there to do there?
• Look at the list of names outside the X-ray Room and match them with the numbers beside the skeletons.
• Identify which skeletons are whales, which are dolphins, and which are seals.
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What should I know about this?
• Te Papa’s collection of cetacean and seal skeletons is one of the largest in the world.
• Whales, dolphins, and porpoises all belong to the same taxonomic order called cetaceans. They are mammals, which means they are warm-blooded, have at least a few hairs on their bodies, and nourish their young with milk.
• This collection is particularly famous for its beaked whales. Some species of beaked whale have never been seen alive, and have only been identified by their bones. Beaked whales prefer deep water. Scientists think that, after sperm whales (which can dive 2000 metres deep and stay underwater for 80 minutes), beaked whales can dive the deepest and stay under the longest of all cetaceans.
• The world’s whales are divided into two types: those with teeth and those without – called baleen whales. Characteristics of baleen whales include paired blowholes and baleen plates. Baleen plates strain and filter the whale’s food from the sea.
• Toothed cetaceans range in size from 1.2 to 20 metres long.
• Seals belong to the pinniped (fin-footed) group of mammals. They are typically sleek-bodied and spend most of their lives in water. Their front limbs are large flippers instead of hands and their bodies narrow out into a short tail.
• There are three families of pinnipeds:
Odobenidae – walruses
Otariidae – sea lions and fur seals
Phocidae – true earless seals.
• The smallest seal is the Galapagos fur seal. It weighs about 30 kilograms and measures 1.2 metres long when fully grown. The largest seal is the southern elephant seal. The male is over 5 metres long when fully grown and weighs up to 5000 kilograms!
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Possible topics for discussion
• What is inside the X-ray Room?
• What do we already know about whales, dolphins, and seals?
• Which skeleton in the X-ray Room do you think is the largest? Find its number.
• If you could research one of these skeletons, which one would you choose? Why?
• Would you like to have teeth like skeleton number 20? What is it?
• All whales eat meat; they are carnivores. Discuss the difference between baleen and toothed whales and the food they eat.
• What is baleen, what does it do? Can you find an example of baleen in the X-ray Room?
• Can you find the jaw bone of number 7? This is one side of a blue whale’s mandible. Imagine how much you could eat with a jaw this big!
• Are whales, dolphins, and seals fish?
• Can you find any toothed marine mammals in the X-ray Room? What are their names?
• Beaked whales are rare species of whale. Look for some skeletal parts of the beaked whale.
• How many skeletons in the X-ray Room have teeth? What about those that don’t – what do they use to eat their food instead?
• Choose a skeleton with teeth. How many teeth can you count? Toothed whales tend to be smaller than baleen whales, but they still have one to 65 teeth depending on their species.
• The largest seal is the southern elephant, which can weigh up to 5000 kilograms. Imagine weighing that much! Can you find the skeleton of a southern elephant seal in the X-ray Room?
• Find a seal skeleton. Where are its flippers? What about its tail?
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Further information
• Martin, A R, and others.1990.Whales and Dolphins. London: Salamander.
• Orbell, M. 1985. The Natural World of the Māori. Auckland: Collins and David Bateman.
• Tai Awatea | Knowledge Net (Te Papa’s online resource).
Related objects
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