Whale Shark Mobile Exhibition Begins Tour at Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Warehouse

A pair of 20-foot shipping containers has been transformed into a traveling window on the world’s largest fish. Taiwan’s Ocean Conservation Administration launched the whale shark exhibition “Giant Stars by the Sea” at Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Warehouse.

The exhibition combines a juvenile whale shark specimen with scientific research, interactive experiences and picture-book stories. Its tour will continue to Tainan, Taichung, Hualien and Taipei, ending on October 3 next year. The Kaohsiung stop runs through October 28 at the Pier-2 seaside plaza.

The containers use changing ocean scenes, moving from daylight to starlit waters. Inside, visitors pass through four sections: “Sea Prelude,” “Decoding,” “Journey” and “Protection.” Light, sound and wave effects create an immersive opening area, while models, specimens and text explain the whale shark’s body structure, filter-feeding method and ecological traits.

The “Journey” section shows how researchers use each whale shark’s distinctive white spots to identify individuals and track migration. The final section presents Taiwan’s whale shark research and conservation work.

The administration describes whale sharks as gentle animals that mainly eat plankton and small fish. Their star-like white spots differ from one individual to another, functioning as a kind of identification card for scientists studying their movements.