The tale of the whale

The exhibition ‘the tale of the whale’ shows how we have viewed whales through the centuries. You will learn about whaling and how it has made the whale an endangered species.

What do you know about whales?

In the 16th century people knew very little of whales. They mainly found them scary sea monsters. When the Dutch sailor Willem Barentsz explored the Arctic Ocean, the image of the whale changed. The Arctic Ocean crawled with whales and Willem noticed how easily they were caught. More and more people started whaling, as you could make a lot of money with catching whales. The meat, the oil from the blubber and the whalebones brought in a lot of money on the markets.