How Do Whales See?
Whales' eyes are on the sides of their heads. Each eye sees a separate view. This type of vision is called monocular vision. In this activity, you will find out what it's like to have monocular vision.
ACTIVITY
Materials
- 2 hand held mirrors
Objective
- See the world through the eyes of a whale and understand why they can easily get entangled in fishing gear and other ocean debris.
Guiding Questions
- What advantage does a whale have by seeing out both sides?
- What disadvantage does a whale have by not being able to see straight in front?
Procedure
- Hold the two mirrors back to back.
- Rest the two back-to-back mirrors on your nose
- Slowly separate the far edges of the mirrors slightly, keeping the edges closest to the face together, to create a peripheral view.
- Observe what you see! Is it different or the same as what you can see in front of you? Can you see anything in front of you?
- Think About It
