Whale of a day planned for the family Saturday at Point Vicente Center.

Youngsters costumed as a lobster and a sea turtle, a mermaid and a sea king, will lend a little ocean atmosphere to a celebration Saturday at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes.

But the stars of the day--and everyone hopes a lot of them will show up--will be the large Pacific gray whales swimming along the coastline.

“This weekend we’ll see grays. I can guarantee it,” said Alisa Schulman, a marine biologist and one of the speakers taking part in “Whale of a Day!”, a family-oriented festival that will combine whale watching with a day of fun in the park.

Schulman, who heads the annual whale census conducted at Point Vicente by the American Cetacean Society’s Los Angeles chapter, said a variety of dolphins are very likely to make appearances. Killer whales and humpback whales may also be sighted.

A good omen for Saturday was the sighting of some 40 whales off the point Wednesday, according to Diana McIntyre, a whale expert and coordinator of the center’s volunteer docents.

Even though thousands of people take to boats to catch glimpses of the passing grays during the migration season, the bluffs along Point Vicente are actually one of the best places to see them in Southern California, say whale experts and interpretive center representatives. The animals sometimes venture as close as the kelp beds 50 yards from shore.

“The whales use Point Vicente as a navigation aid,” said Nancy Rosenthal, director of the center, a city-owned cultural and natural history museum on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. “They come down from Point Dume and head right toward Point Vicente. Whales tend to stay closer to the shore where the water is warmer.”

“The point is accessible to the public. It does jut out and we traditionally see a lot of whales real close,” Schulman said.

Since it opened six years ago, the center has featured whale displays--including a model of a baby whale--and conducted educational programs on the annual migration. Between November and April, thousands of whales swim along the coast on their 12,000-mile round trip from the Bering Sea in Alaska to the lagoons of Baja California, where they mate and bear their young.

The whale festival has been an annual event ever since the center opened, but had been held in January. It was moved to early March this year because that’s an optimum time to see the whales. Schulman said that visitors can expect to see the whales heading northward to Alaska at a relatively slow pace--”just trucking along.”

Even though a whale rolling, spouting or propelling itself out of the water is pretty spectacular to the naked eye, Schulman suggests using binoculars. “Many may be out there a mile, and if you have binoculars you look like you’re very, very close,” she said.

About 80 docents will be on hand to answer questions about whales and conduct tours of the museum. Several conservation organizations will also take part, talking about such things as the problem of whales becoming entangled in large nets used by commercial fishermen. The educational team from Sea World in San Diego will display an inflatable, life-sized, 50-foot-long gray whale.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jerry Green, who lives at the Point Vicente Lighthouse station next to the interpretive center, will discuss the lighthouse--including tales of its supposed female ghost. “People who come to see the whales always have an awful lot of questions regarding the lighthouse,” he said.

In addition to whale and lighthouse lore, the day’s events will include sales of baked goods and T-shirts, food booths and arts and crafts displays, some featuring marine photography.

“It’s a family event,” said Rosenthal, noting that more than 1,500 people usually attend. “We are in a very beautiful park. . . . It’s just a very nice, relaxing day for people to learn more about marine life.”

Schulman said people are fascinated by whales because, like humans, they’re mammals. “It’s a warm-blooded animal, gives live births, forms long-term attachments and protects its young fiercely,” she said. Observing a huge whale is not like pinning something on a wall, she said. “Here we are out there with a wild animal.”

-- Gerald Faris

What: Whale of a Day!

When: Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Point Vicente Interpretive Center, 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes.

Admission: Outside, free; museum, $1 adults, 50 cents seniors over 55 and children 4 to 13.

Information: 377-5370; 541-4566.