On Wednesday, May 1, at 6:30 pm, followers of @AMNH and Scientific American (@SciAm) on Twitter are invited to explore Whales: Giants of the Deep after hours, meet curators and scientists, and enjoy free drinks and snacks in our historic Hall of Northwest Coast Indians.

In 1908, as an eager young assistant at the Museum, Roy Chapman Andrews got an opportunity that would transform his career as a field naturalist: a chance to travel the world studying whales. 

Fifty-five million years ago, a group of hoofed mammals began a slow move from shore to sea, in time evolving a set of extraordinary features to thrive in their new environment. Today’s whales share many anatomical traits with other mammals, but the unique adaptations of species such as sperm whales illustrate how organisms can transform over time as they carve out their place on the planet.

A story from the Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast—roughly 20 diverse communities united by a common language—inspired this exquisite carved feast dish, which is featured in the special exhibition Whales: Giants of the Deep, now open at the American Museum of Natural History.

Opening tomorrow, the special exhibition Whales: Giants of the Deep is co-curated by John J. Flynn, Frick Curator of Fossil Mammals, Division of Paleontology, and Dean of the Richard Gilder Graduate School. We recently spoke with Dr. Flynn about the exhibition’s many highlights, his fieldwork in South America, and his sightings of whales in the wild.