Discovering Harned Hall's "Science on Display"

Maybe you’ve noticed the mammoth sized gray whale skeleton hung from the ceiling, or the vibrant mosaics wrapping the walls, but have you ever wondered about the stories behind these pieces? The theme of Harned Hall is “Science on Display,” and this entry is going to help you unpack the origins our beloved science department.

These colorful 4-inch square tiles weave together creating a demonstration of the orbits of the planets of our solar system. The piece locates us, as it is centered around our campus and the Puget Sound region. Follow the thick steel cables to track each planet’s orbit around the sun.

Hanging watch all hours of the day is Puget Sound’s immature Gray Whale skeleton. This fellow was only 14 months old, measuring 27 feel long and weighing around 6 tons when he was found dead in 1973. He and 4 others washed up on the beaches in WA in 1973 after attempting to make the longest mammal migration known to man. In October, Gray Whales start their 2-3 month trip south, beginning in Bering and Chukchi Seas (AK). They travel along the coast of Canada, US and Mexico, and end in lagoons of Mexico’s Baja peninsula and Southern Gulf of CA, averaging about 75 miles a day. This whale either died in the northward migration or never actually made it to Baja. So next time you visit Harned, pay some respect to our whale, who made a gallant effort at the greatest mammal migration, of 12,000 miles.