Who we are
Fourteen years ago, a small group of 7th and 8th grade Adams School Students and their teacher, Bill McWeeny, formed The CALVIN Project for the purpose of educating people about the world's most endangered large whale, the North Atlantic right whale. Known as the Calvineers, these students continue their efforts today.
What we do
Our story

In 2004, a group of seventh and eighth grade students at the Adams School in Castine, Maine, were raising money and supplies in an effort to support animal shelters. Their science teacher, Bill McWeeny, asked the students if they would like to try to help a really big animal that needed a lot of help. Bill explained to the students that the North Atlantic Right Whales were an endangered species and with only over 400 or so left, and that the right whales could go extinct within their lifetimes. The students started studying right whales and the research being done on their behalf. They attended the 2004 Right Whale Consortium in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and met many scientists. Eventually, the Calvineers made a PowerPoint presentation to educate people and they began giving presentations. Now the Calvineers do a number of presentations a year, visit scientists in the field at the New England Aquarium's Right Whale Research station in Lubec, Maine, attend the Right Whale Consortium meeting in New Bedford, go on at least two whale watches a year, and run the New England Right Whale Festival at the Aquarium the first weekend in May.
Principal Investigator Bill McWeeny
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Why "Calvin"?

Calvin was with her mother, Delilah, when Delilah was hit by a ship and killed. Calvin, the calf, was left to fend for herself when she was at a dependent age. Sure enough, she was seen a year later in the Bay of Fundy, healthy and happy. She was named Calvin from "Calvin and Hobbes", and later they found that she was a female. The calvineers loved her story and adopted her as their mascot. Hence, "the Calvin Project" and the "Calvineers".
Calvin
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Barcelona Bound
The Calvineers will attend the 2nd World Conference on Marine Mammal Science in Barcelona, Spain, on December 9th through 12th, 2019. At the World Conference the Calvineers will help kick off The Year of the Right Whale, 2020. This event is being run by the Blue Ocean Society and has asked the Calvineers to be part of the celebratory events of 2020 for right whales.
CONTACT The calvineers
The Adams School - A.K.A. Calvineers Headquarters
27 School Street, Castine, ME 04421, USA
(207) 326-8608
27 School Street, Castine, ME 04421, USA
(207) 326-8608
leArn More How to help
Welcome to the official website of the Calvineers! We are a school group of 7th and 8th graders who study the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, specifically Calvin the Right Whale.