It is always a hit - no matter what age group we bring it to (adults included) - they are always amazed and have lots of questions. One of the most common is of course "What is the whale's name?"
The whale's name is Calvin. It was named for a North Atlantic right whale who had several struggles as a young calf, including the loss of its mother before it was a year old and entanglement. It was named Calvin after the cartoon Calvin and Hobbes, for its resilience and spunkiness.
Calvin surprised scientists a third time by having a baby whale of her own; finally revealing her gender to be female (and yes, the resulting baby whale was named Hobbes.)
We tell age appropriate modified versions of this story during our program with the whale. One of our staff in particular was leading the introduction for a group of first graders. He very enthusiastically and dramatically led up to the following statement:
"And in just a few moments, we will blow up my friend Calvin!"
The reaction? General happiness.
Except for one little boy. Who got up, turned, and RAN to his teacher across the room in fear.
Why?
His name was Calvin.
He thought our staff was going to blow him up.
From then on, he makes sure to say "inflate" instead of "blow up".
That kid didn't come near us for the rest of the program....
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