The Whale Museum

The Whale Museum, located in beautiful Friday Harbor, Washington, opened to the public in 1979 as the first museum in the country devoted to a species living in the wild. Today, our museum continues to promote stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research.

One of The Whale Museum's most important efforts has been to better understand and get more protection for the Southern Resident Orcas. Data that is collected, compiled and archived by The Whale Museum has been and continues to be used in multiple studies critical their management and protection by multiple government agencies (The Southern Resident orcas are listed as an endangered species in the United States and a species at-risk in Canada).

The Whale Museum is much more than a museum, it’s a non-profit organization that implements programs wherever there is interest or need for the benefit of whales in the wild and the ecosystems of the Salish Sea.