Life-size robotic whales in the exhibit illustrate the major categories of whale origins, adaptions and behavior from feeding and reproduction to swimming, vocalization, respiration and diving. The exhibit will feature full-sized robotic versions of a Baby Gray whale, Humpback whale, and an Orca, and static heads of a Northern Right whale and a Sperm whale.

Like all mammals, whales breathe air into lungs, are warm-blooded, and feed their young milk from mammary glands, and have some hair. Whales breathe through blowholes located on the top of the head so the animal can remain submerged. Baleen whales have two blowholes, while toothed whales only have one. Whales have a unique respiratory system that lets them stay underwater for long periods of time without taking in oxygen. Sperm whales are known to stay underwater for up to two hours holding a single breath!

Whales live from 40 to 200 years, depending on their species, but it is rare to find one that lives over a century. They communicate with each other using lyrical sounds. Being so large and powerful, whales sounds are extremely loud and can be heard for many miles.

The exhibit features several participatory stations where visitors can learn to identify whales the way scientists do; by their songs, their markings, their fins and tails, and their behavior. The six large motorized creatures on exhibit operate on air pressure and were constructed in Los Angeles.

Andrewsarchus will be one of the motorized creature to greet visitors. This hairy, ugly, land-dwelling mammal with a snout is included in the exhibit because it belongs to a group of primitive carnivorous land mammals dating back 50 million years, which scientists believe may have been the predecessors of whales. The subsequent displays feature a tail-waving orca, a lanky basilosaurus, and the Atlantic White-sided dolphin with a calf among others. Inside each creature is an aluminum and steel robotic skeleton.

The movements of the robotic whales are controlled by a computer mounted in the creature's base. The computer regulates the flow of compressed ai through a series of air lines and valves to various cylinders. As air is forced through the system, it causes the piston inside each cylinder to move in and out. Large cylinders are used for tail and flipper movements, while small cylinders are used for the eye and mouth movements. A sound system controlled by the same computer, is mounted in the base and is used to create life-like whale sounds. The skin is made from thick foam with flexible elastimer coating that shows all the bumps and folds of the full-size clay sculpture. The whales' creators have gone to great lengths to make the exhibit as authentic as possible, including putting lice and barnacles on some of the whales and even the sounds of the thumping whale heartbeat.