Inflatable whale used to educate students about sea life

MILLERSBURG, Ind. (AP) - It is not often kids in the landlocked state of Indiana have the chance to see a humpback whale in person.

While students at Millersburg Elementary didn't travel to the coast to go whale watching, they got the next best thing: A visit from Nile, a life-size inflatable model of a humpback whale.

Cynde McInnis, who grew up in Fort Wayne but has worked as a naturalist with Cape Ann Whale Watch for more than 20 years, visited Millersburg last week with the 43-foot Whalemobile that is modeled after an actual female whale that lives in the North Atlantic.

Although McInnis has spent her career leading whale watches and collecting data about oceans and whales, she said she has a passion for education.

One of her favorite quotes is by Baba Dioum and goes like this:

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught."

"I hope to teach kids about whales so they understand them," McInnis said. "If they understand them, they'll start to care about them and then hopefully they will choose to protect and preserve those things they care about and love."

That is why she has been traveling the country with Nile. She is in the middle of a cross-country tour with the inflatable whale, making a stop in Millersburg between Massachusetts and Chicago.

During the visit Friday, which was sponsored by ETHOS Science Academy, McInnis told students about the real Nile as they sat inside of the inflatable one. The students learned about Nile's migratory path, how many calves she's had and how her heart beats twice as slow as a human heart.

McInnis brought along artifacts such as baleen, teeth and bones that Millersburg Elementary students had a chance to see and feel.

"Really, the goal is to get kids to care about the world around them and have a desire to protect it," McInnis said.

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Source: The Elkhart Truth, http://bit.ly/1Ovmj9l

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Information from: The Elkhart Truth, http://www.elkharttruth.com