1. Twenty-five years ago, Museum curators, including John Flynn, Frick Curator of Fossil Mammals, found fossil whale bones 6,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains of southern Chile.

    Flynn is an authority on the evolution of mammals, including many now-extinct land mammals in South America, and the Museum curator of Whales: Giants of the Deep. We recently spoke with Dr. Flynn about the exhibition, his fieldwork in South America, and his sightings of whales in the wild. Check out the Q&A here.

  2. Whales are on the way…Just two more days until Whales: Giants of the Deep! 

    Whales are on the way…Just two more days until Whales: Giants of the Deep! 

  3. Update: Watch the full Asimov Debate video here. Have plans tonight? We’re live streaming the 2013 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: The Existence of Nothing, hosted by Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson.  Tune in at amnh.org/live. The fun begins at 7:30 pm EST. Image (c) AMNH/R. Mickens

    Update: Watch the full Asimov Debate video here.

    Have plans tonight? We’re live streaming the 2013 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: The Existence of Nothing, hosted by Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson. 

    Tune in at amnh.org/live. The fun begins at 7:30 pm EST.

    Image (c) AMNH/R. Mickens

  4. Getting a sneak preview of Whales: Giants of the Deep! This sperm whale skeleton is nearly 60 ft long

    Getting a sneak preview of Whales: Giants of the Deep! This sperm whale skeleton is nearly 60 ft long

  5. Today’s peek into the archives is all about whales: A common finback whale skeleton from Provincetown, MA on display in 1906.For more photos from the archives, explore the Picturing the Museum collection.(c) AMNH Library/31615

    Today’s peek into the archives is all about whales: A common finback whale skeleton from Provincetown, MA on display in 1906.

    For more photos from the archives, explore the Picturing the Museum collection.

    (c) AMNH Library/31615

  6. Whales: Giants of the Deep opens in just one week! Get a look at the work going on behind the scenes. © AMNH/R. Mickens

    Whales: Giants of the Deep opens in just one week! Get a look at the work going on behind the scenes.

    © AMNH/R. Mickens

  7. The results are in and we’re one step closer to naming our furry little ancestor. Did your pick make it to Round 2?? Get your votes in now! March Mammal Madness continues here.

    The results are in and we’re one step closer to naming our furry little ancestor. Did your pick make it to Round 2??

    Get your votes in now! March Mammal Madness continues here.

  8. 110 years ago today, President Theodore Roosevelt created the first national wildlife refuge: Pelican Island. Today, it remains an essential breeding ground for migratory waterfowl.Find out how Pelican Island has changed over the last century in this Q&A. Photo: John and Karen Hollingsworth

    110 years ago today, President Theodore Roosevelt created the first national wildlife refuge: Pelican Island. Today, it remains an essential breeding ground for migratory waterfowl.

    Find out how Pelican Island has changed over the last century in this Q&A.

    Photo: John and Karen Hollingsworth

  9. Most of us know about blue whales, sperm whales, and dolphins (a type of specialized whale). But what about beaked whales, an elusive group that includes nearly a quarter of all living whale species?  Favoring deepwater habitat, beaked whales are rarely seen by humans. But in the upcoming exhibition Whales: Giants of the Deep, opening March 23, you can see skulls from 12 different species.  (via The Most Uncommon Whales?) Image: Courtesy of Dr. Brandon Southall, NMFS/OPR 

    Most of us know about blue whales, sperm whales, and dolphins (a type of specialized whale). But what about beaked whales, an elusive group that includes nearly a quarter of all living whale species? 

    Favoring deepwater habitat, beaked whales are rarely seen by humans. But in the upcoming exhibition Whales: Giants of the Deep, opening March 23, you can see skulls from 12 different species. 

    (via The Most Uncommon Whales?)

    Image: Courtesy of Dr. Brandon Southall, NMFS/OPR 

  10. From the archives: A Macrauchenia skeleton on display in 1959See more photos from the Picturing the Museum collection here.(c) AMNH Library/326412

    From the archives: A Macrauchenia skeleton on display in 1959

    See more photos from the Picturing the Museum collection here.

    (c) AMNH Library/326412