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The Whale Museum

699 Reviews

#8 of 28 things to do in Friday Harbor

Features Animals

Museums, Specialty Museums

Open Now: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

62 1st St N, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA 98250-8337

Open today: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Review Highlights

“Very Informational”

It's a small museum, but is packed with things for all to explore. Good for kids and adults of all... read more

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

bethanyanziano

SeaTac, Washington

“Excellent Museum with Interesting and Informative Displays”

The museum has many excellent exhibits for adults and children. Be sure to watch the movie about... read more

Reviewed November 27, 2018

ScubaEagle

Seattle, Washington

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Certificate of Excellence

Traveler Overview

4.5 699 reviews

Excellent54%
Very good33%
Average11%
Poor1%
Terrible1%

Travelers talk about

“interactive exhibits”(12 reviews)

“whale bones”(8 reviews)

“gift shop”(41 reviews)

About

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...more

Open Now

Hours Today: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

See all hours

Suggested duration: 2-3 hours

Contact

62 1st St N, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA 98250-8337

Website

+1 360-378-4710

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1 - 10 of 686 reviews

bethanyanziano

SeaTac, Washington

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Very Informational

It's a small museum, but is packed with things for all to explore. Good for kids and adults of all ages.

Date of experience: December 2018

Thank bethanyanziano

ScubaEagle

Seattle, Washington

10227

Reviewed November 27, 2018

Excellent Museum with Interesting and Informative Displays

The museum has many excellent exhibits for adults and children. Be sure to watch the movie about noise in the ocean and how it harms whales and other marine life. The museum has interesting information about local whales as well as whales in other areas.This...More

Date of experience: November 2018

Thank ScubaEagle

Ruleena

Falls Church, Virginia

3914

Reviewed November 24, 2018

Very moving and informative

A moving experience; the Whale Museum does a great job of presenting the cold hard facts of human influence and impact on whale populations. There is also a ton of information to learn; I did not know that Orcas can live to be 100, for...More

Date of experience: November 2018

Thank Ruleena

kevbutnobacon

Hoek van Holland, The Netherlands

189152

Reviewed November 4, 2018

Whaling is in my blood baby !

We Dutch guys were the best whaling folk in the world ! My grandpappy was a harpooner on a whaling ship and remarkably survived after being swallowed by a blue whale. Grandpappy incurred no lasting psychological or physical problems but for the rest of his...More

Date of experience: November 2018

Thank kevbutnobacon

pinkarcher

Tri-Cities, Washington

6812

Reviewed October 29, 2018

very nice little museum!

Well put together displays, lots of information is shared. a school group was there during our visit- hardly noticed them. It was fun and informative. a great way to spend the afternoon. The staff is amazing and happy to answer any questions you have.Great job!

Date of experience: October 2018

Thank pinkarcher

heatherlouise2018

Chicago, Illinois

Reviewed October 26, 2018

Such a unique museum!

I'm so happy we chose to visit this museum on our trip to SJI. There are so many interesting artifacts and interactive exhibits. We had a lot of fun exploring this little gem in the islands!

Date of experience: September 2018

Thank heatherlouise2018

tyndalljm

Everett, Washington

266

Reviewed October 13, 2018 via mobile

Educational and Interesting

If you are interested in whales this is a worthwhile stop. You can learn about the history of orcas in the Salish Sea. There are skeletons of whales, dolphins, and seals. There is also some information about native history and native artifacts.

Date of experience: October 2018

Thank tyndalljm

Simone M

Aromas, California, United States

4410

Reviewed October 12, 2018

Some interesting artifacts

This is an old school type museum. If you are the kind of person who likes to read exhibit labels there is much to be learned here.

Date of experience: September 2018

Thank Simone M

Marprinc

San Jose, California

183

Reviewed October 2, 2018 via mobile

Wealth of knowledge

We stopped at Lime Kiln Park on our trip around the island and spoke to a woman in the lighthouse who gave us so much information about the resident whale pods. When we arrived at Friday Harbor we immediately went to the whale Museum. Highly...More

Date of experience: October 2018

Thank Marprinc

firewalkerranch

Grass Valley, California, USA

18225

Reviewed September 28, 2018

Very nice small museum

We enjoyed visiting this museum. There were some really nice exhibits regarding the local area. We actually spent more time that we planned here as it was easy to get lost in the local history and exhibits.

Date of experience: August 2018

Thank firewalkerranch

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