The long-anticipated addition of a 16-foot replica of a blue whale marks the completion of the Santa Maria Children’s Discovery Museum’s ocean-themed exhibit, Discovery Cove.

Funded through a $75,000 grant from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, the replica will give visitors a real “insiders view” of the form and bodily functions of blue whales.

“The reason we chose the blue whale is because it’s the largest creature to ever inhabit the earth, even larger than the dinosaurs,” museum Executive Director Cindy Ransick said. “It gives kids a kind of perspective on how really, really, really big (blue whales) can be.”

A blue whale can grow to as long as 80 feet.

As children climb up the steps to a slide tucked inside the replica, they will view the anatomy of a blue whale and hear an audio tape of its legendary song.

Next year, Ransick said, the museum hopes to receive more funding to add a video component.

The museum has received several large and small grants for various expansion and renovation projects — including Discovery Cove — beginning in 2005, when the facility moved from its former digs into a 13,000-square-foot former Coca-Cola bottling facility on the corner of McClelland and Jones streets.

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Ransick said the projects and exhibits will “never be complete,” and the museum will continue to add new exhibits on a regular basis.

September 4, 2008