Make a Whale of a Difference with The Whale Museum

This fundraiser is organized by The Whale Museum.

Tax deductible

You can make a whale of a difference by donating today to The Whale Museum.

The Whale Museum promotes stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea Ecosystem through education and research programs. Our main focus is on the endangered population known as the Southern Resident Community of Orcas. The Whale Museum's Exhibit Hall is open year-round with additional resources available 24/7 on the website. Programs include, Soundwatch, SeaSound, Sightings, Stranding Network, Education Tours & Programs. We have a lot of fund raising to do to support our research & education efforts. As we come to the close of 2023, we hope you can help us Fund a Need!

Fund a Need:

The Whale Museum's Exhibit Hall is open nearly year-round. It takes a lot of general operations support and maintenance to function fully.
Soundwatch, our on-the water boater education program, operates throughout the summer months to help protect our Southern Resident orcas and other marine mammals. This year, we expanded operations to Puget Sound in the fall. In the off-season, the Soundwatch team crunches data to provide guidance on boating guidelines & regulations. Be Whale Wise!
Our San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network operates year-round, responding to live and deceased stranded marine mammals. Those in need of care are picked up and taken to the appropriate care partner. Sadly, many of the animals have died but we can still learn a lot from them through our necropsy program.
SeaSound is our acoustic research program that operates 24/7 out of the Lime Kiln Point State Park lighthouse. The hydrophone (underwater microphone) streams live and is linked to our webcam which streams on our YouTube channel. The research coming out of this program informs strategies to reduce noise impacts to orcas and other wildlife.
The Whale Hotline gathers your sightings and puts them into our database. The biggest section is called OrcaMaster which documents the Southern Resident orcas' presence in the Salish Sea. We have been collecting and compiling data since 1976 but have archival data that dates back 40 years earlier. This research helps inform whale movements and patterns, helping managers understand and protect areas that are critical to the orcas.
All of our research programs are robust and provide critical partnership in helping recover and protect the Southern Resident orcas, other marine mammals, and their ecosystem. They also provide content for our exhibit hall and education programs.
Our Education Programs are innovative and engaging for learners of all ages. We offer a variety of programs throughout the year, both formal and informal, virtual and in-person. Currently, we are building a new program, a Steller Sea Lion Articulation Project which will be available in 2024!

The Whale Museum was the first museum dedicated to a species living in the wild. We are honored to still be working daily for the endangered Southern Resident orcas and the Salish Sea ecosystem. By supporting The Whale Museum's work, YOU make a whale of a difference.

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