Ticket Information

Ticket Information

FREE ADMISSION FOR MUSEUM MEMBERS

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Ticket Details

  • Museum Members Free
  • Adult $18
  • Senior (65+), Student (13+),
    Military, with ID
    $16
  • Child ages 3-12 $14
  • Child 2 & Younger Free

Add a 3D movie ticket to any regularly priced "Blue Whales" special exhibition purchase for just $3.

Group rate of $12/person available for pre-registered parties of 10 or more. Please call the Museum Box Office at 919.707.9950 for details.

Gift vouchers available for sale at the Box Office.


About the Exhibition

About the Exhibition

Blue whales are BIG! How big are they? They can grow up to 110 feet long, weigh up to 400,000 pounds, and have a heart the size of a small car. Even their appetites are big: they can eat 16 tons of tiny krill every day. And their voices? Blue whale songs can travel 1,000 miles underwater.

Dive into the details behind their mind-blowing biology and discover how these mammals became and remain our planet’s largest animals ever.


Member Perks

Member Perks

Museum Members receive unlimited free admission to "Blue Whales" — visit as often as you like! Save 10% in Museum Stores and Cafés, including the new "Blue Whales" Store.

VIP Reception
Friday, June 20, 6-9pm

Discover how innovative technology captures the wonder of blue whales with guest speaker Dr. David Johnston of Duke University. Complimentary admission for Curator, Naturalist, Explorers and Brimley Society Members. Individual Plus and Family Members, $25. Adults 21+

Member Night
Thursday, June 26, 6-9pm

Uncover the amazing secrets of the world’s largest animals with activities for the whole family. Free for all Members.

Not a Member yet? Join Today!


Special Events

Special Events

Blue Whales Lecture Series

Dive into the world of research with our four-part lecture series, featuring the nation’s top whale scientists. Explore the latest findings on whale science, conservation and pre-historic origins with national experts who will share their recent findings and stories their research around the world.

Each month, we will feature a presentation from a renowned scientist (7–8pm) and an evening viewing of the special exhibition (open 5–7pm). Tickets: Series $45, $15 Members; Lecture $15, $5 Members.

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July 10: Dr. Jeremy Goldbogen, Stanford University

Smart Whales, Smarter Tech: Studying the Giants of the Ocean

The end-Permian mass extinction was the largest in the entire fossil record. Discover the tremendous changes of biodiversity that took place and learn how ecosystems collapsed and developed anew.


August 14: Dr. Ari Friedlaender, University of California–Santa Cruz

Gigantic Beasts & How to Find Them

Join us for an exciting research expedition to the bottom of the word in Antarctica. Discover how the team tags whales, what happens when you wake a sleeping whale and the creative ways they keep morale high during months spent in the icy wilderness of one of Earth’s most extreme environments.


September 4: Dr. Andy Read, Duke University

Tales of Whales: Why Conservation Matters

How do we save the whales? Drawing from a lifetime of work with some of the world’s most critically endangered whale species, Read will share stories of both the triumphs and challenges of whale conservation.


October 9: Dr. Mark Uhen, George Mason University

Where Did Whales Come From?

How do we save the whales? Drawing from a lifetime of work with some of the world’s most critically endangered whale species, Read will share stories of both the triumphs and challenges of whale conservation.


November 8: 10am–2pm

Marine Mammal Research Day

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PRODUCED BY

ROM logo

Blue Whales is produced and circulated by ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), Toronto, Canada. Sponsored by Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences with additional support from the Exhibition Leadership Circle:

Brimley & Corporate Sponsors

  • Duke Energy
  • FM Kirby Foundation
  • Martin Marietta Materials
  • Julia McMillan & Jed Dietz
  • Ann C. & C. Hamilton Sloan Family Foundation
  • TESTPFAST

Brimley & Corporate Patrons

  • CharterUP
  • Angela Dillard
  • Labcorp
  • Vivian & Robert Lamb
  • Tara Jane Mann & John Shell
  • Catherine C. Morris & John J. Calhoun
  • Temple Sloan Family Foundation

Brimley & Corporate Associates

  • Sarah Ash
  • Laura Barry
  • Ann-Cabell Baum
  • Bulldog Express
  • Gail & Dean Bunce
  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund
  • Carol DeVita & Christopher McClure
  • Mary-Owens Fitzgerald
  • Andrea & Neil Fox
  • Barbara & Jim Goodmon
  • Eve & Roddy Jones
  • Ada & Andres Lopez
  • Erin & Mark McIntire
  • Lisa & Lou Muglia
  • Jennifer & Karl Mundt
  • Andrea Nixon & Brent Friedenberg
  • PBS North Carolina
  • MaryCraven & Dennis Poteat
  • Katherine Shipman Schoellhorn
  • Sea and Shoreline
  • The Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation
  • Stuart Law Firm, PLLC
  • Janice Swab
  • York Properties
  • Fran & Lee Youngblood