June is Orca Awareness Month!

In 2005, Governor Christine Gregoire officially made the orca the marine mammal of Washington State. This year, for the third year in a row, she has made June Orca Awareness Month! (Click here to see the signed declaration as a PDF and here to see Orca Network's calendar for Orca Month events.)

Here are the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, we are celebrating by presenting four orca-themed programs throughout the month of June. These programs cover two main topics, All About Orcas, and Listening for Orcas. See below for the schedule and descriptions.

Sunday, June 7, 2:30 pm: All About Orcas
Saturday, June 13, 2:30 pm: Listening for Orcas
Sunday, June 21, 2:30 pm: All About Orcas
Saturday, June 27, 2:30 pm: Listening for Orcas

All About Orcas: Do orcas have family structures? What do they eat, and how do they find food in the vast ocean? Where do they travel throughout the year? Dive into this topic and discover the differences between transients and residents, and how scientists can tell based on diet, social interaction, and even dialect. This program is in the Natural History Exhibit, which is our building on land.

Listening for Orcas: What do orcas sound like and how do their vocalizations travel underwater? Is the ocean a loud environment? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this Orca Month program. Get a chance to learn about how scientists study orcas by listening to our active hydrophone research station and get more information on how you can listen for orcas from your home computer. This program is in the Marine Exhibit, which is our building on the pier.

Also, have you seen our new events calendar? You can plan your trip in advance by seeing what programs or other events may be happening while you are visiting us this summer. Interested in tsunamis, low tides, or bugs? We've got a program for you! Go to the events calendar to see what's in store for you this summer at PTMSC.