Giant creatures from the deepest of the Manx waters will be brought vividly to life next month, with a display held by a local marine conservation charity.

Life-size representations of the many types of whales and dolphins found in the sea around the island, and the enormous Minke whale, will be shown by the team behind the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch.

There will also be education panels on the many different types of megafauna included in the show, hints and tips on how to spot them from the shore, children’s crafts and activities, and find out more about the conservation work the charity carries out.

Jen Adams, the Outreach and Education Manager of the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch, said that the show will grab people’s attention about the big species in our waters.

’We normally find harbour porpoises, dolphins and also minke whales in our waters,’ she said.

’Every now and then we get sightings of blue whales, but these are few and far between, although one was spotted off-island last August.

’Essentially, it’s going to be a really big awareness-raising event for Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch itself, and also to raise awareness of the animals we can see here,’ said Jen.

’There will be display boards, and lots of interesting and detailed information on the species that you can find in Manx waters.

’We always get people asking about basking sharks, which is great. But even though we love basking sharks, we say to people that you can see dolphins and whales here too.

’But people don’t know enough about them. They are harder to spot, but they are here all year round and I thought what better way to do than getting life-size inflatable models in to show everyone how big they are, and how amazing they are.’

The charity is also involved in trying to educate and raise awareness of the damage we can inflict on Marine life, especially through plastics.

’Our plastics have devastating effects on our whales and dolphins,’ she said. They see the plastics in the sea and they think it is food, so they eat it. There have been strandings in England over the past year, and after opening them up they have found so many plastic bags inside them.

’The worst thing about plastics is that when they go into the sea, they never completely disappear. They break down into smaller particles, and that ends up getting eaten by fish, and going back into the system. The biggest irony is that we are now eating fish that have plastics in them.

’It is something that we have been working on over the past couple of years, and we are now going to start going into small and local businesses on the island, and letting them know about the alternatives on offer.

’We do want to get across the serious message about litter pollution, and to get people to think more about the plastics they use and how they dispose of them after.

’For example, MannVend have started to use ’vegware’ products, which are cups and food cartons made using plant oils, as opposed to plastics.

’We want to make as many people aware of these alternatives as we can, as well as the effects they can have on the environment.’

One highlight of the show will be a scale model of a minke whale, made entirely out of recycled and found plastics. The creation is the brainchild of art student Callum Davies, from the Isle of Man University College, and was made with help from the charity.

’He has been making this huge replica out of recycled bottled and bits of found waste plastic, all collected on the Isle of Man. I think it measures about three meters long.

’He worked really closely with the team here at Manx Whale and Dolphin watch, to find out all about the Minke Whale and their habits.

’He has prepared an information panel and has also filmed an interview with me about them, which will be shown during the exhibition.’

The Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch show takes place at the Villa Marina on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 February, and is free to enter.

The event is sponsored by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and Culture Vannin.