Big Whale Consignment Gallery opens at Boston Museum of Science

Boston, MA (AP) Big whale consignments, including two from the Great Barrier Reef, will be displayed in the newly opened consignment center at the Boston Museum for Science.

The consignment shop, at 815 Commonwealth Ave., is operated by a private organization called the Friends of the Great Antarctic Whale.

The center, which will open in June, has been in the works for years and was the brainchild of former Great Barrier Island Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Phelan, who served as chief executive for three years before being appointed president of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Our aim is to showcase our collection to the public in a way that is as accessible as possible,” said Anne Stiles, director of the Boston Center for Conservation and Restoration.

“We have been able to use the Great Oceanic Garbage Patch, the great white sharks, seals, whales, and dolphins to create this unique exhibit space.”

Conservationists and whale watchers are thrilled to see the center open.

It’s the first in the nation to showcase a big whale collection, and they’re excited to see it become a hub for science and research.

“There are a lot of scientists that have been looking for the right place to bring the whale consigning, and this is a great way to do that,” said David G. Miller, executive director of Great Barrier Whale Conservancy.

The collection is in a huge, two-story, glass-walled room with a big, flat-screen television and a big desk that can seat up to 70 people.

The whale consigned are in various stages of preservation, but they have to be kept in a cage.

A large white whale that’s about 5 feet long and weighing more than 600 pounds was caught off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The museum will host a panel discussion on whale consquences from Oct. 9 to Oct. 17.

The public can see the consignment at its whale conscription exhibit, which opens Nov. 4.

Conservationist and whale watching hobbyist Paul Smith says the exhibition highlights the role of the museum.

“It’s not just a museum, it’s an educational center, and I think that’s the most important thing,” he said.

“They’re really bringing this to the people in the public eye, to the world.”