Suspended from the gallery ceiling for over 50 years, the life-size model of a blue whale now forms a dramatic centrepiece to this modern exhibition that invites you to explore the world of mammals.
This exhibition has two sections, one on the ground floor and the other on the balcony. The ground floor exhibits give you an opportunity to view modern mammals alongside their fossil ancestors, and to learn about mammalian evolution.
A good starting point is Arsinoitherium, a strange, extinct mammal which lived 35 million years ago and is thought to be related to all the other mammals in the exhibition.
Present-day African and Asian elephants are one group whose evolution can be traced back through many stages. One of their most primitive ancestors was a small swamp-dwelling animal called Moeritherium.
The largest group of hoofed mammals is the artiodactyls. All have an even number of toes on each foot. Hippopotamusi, camels, deer and goats are just a few of the animals featured in the gallery.
Artiodactyls are adapted to a wide range of habitats. Those living in the Arctic tundra - musk oxen for example - must keep warm, so they have thick fur coats. Camels survive the heat of the desert by possessing a remarkable system that allows their body temperature to drop during the cool desert night so they begin each day with a lower than normal body temperature. To live mainly in water, hippos have small eyes set high on their skull and nostrils that can be closed. They can hold their breath for as long as four minutes.
On the balcony you will be able to discover more about the mammals which spend all their lives in water. Most of this area is devoted to cetaceans, which include whales, porpoises and dolphins.
Here you can listen to songs of different whales, follow their migrations and uncover some of the possible reasons why whales lose their way and become stranded.
Dolphins hunt for food by sending out clicking sounds and picking up the echoes. A computer exhibit shows how they do this. Other displays contain information about how these fascinating animals breed and the importance of their colours.
Also on the balcony is a video of sirenians, or sea cows. Their strange shape led many early sailors to mistake them for mermaids.
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