Whale skeleton install#

RCI worked with a local rental company to ship a spider lift from Boston.ДЄ structural engineer designed the lifting points and cables and produced the detail drawings and specifications. вЂњAnother challenge was securing a mechanical lift that could fit through the main double-doors and reach up to the atrium ceiling,вЂќ Mr. The skeleton was fitted with a number of hinged joints in the backbone to relieve stress to the internal structure while being raised into place. вЂњThere are so many different joints, angles and positions to be aware of,вЂќ Mr. He says raising the skeleton into place was complicated. Kirk Saunders is the CSF project lead with MemorialвЂ™s Facilities Management.

Whale skeleton install#

вЂњWhen we install a monumental mount like this one, they are extra special.вЂќ - Matt Fair Fair says, as was lifting it at six different points sometimes in sync and, other times, individually. The installation of the rest of the skeleton took two years of planning, concluded by two weeks of careful and precise assembly.ДЄccess to the lifting points above the skeleton was an ordeal, Mr. On July 27, university leaders, along with members of the provincial and federal governments and members of the Dobbin family, were on hand to unveil the whaleвЂ™s skull.ДЄt 5.5 metres long, the skull is so large it had to be brought into the building during construction in order to fit. The installationДЄt 30 metres high, the CSF atrium was designed specifically to display the 356 bones.ДЄ generous donation from Mark and Sandra Dobbin, and Craig and Lisa Dobbin, in honour of their late mother, Eleanor вЂњPenneyвЂќ Dobbin, allowed Memorial to acquire one of the Rocky Harbour whales for display. Memorial worked with the ROM to obtain as much information as possible about the whale, including genetic samples to reconstruct its entire genome and analyzing its ear wax to learn more about the chemistry of the marine environment.

Preparation, conservation and articulation were also completed at RCI.вЂќ вЂњThe two skeletons we collected were sent to our facility for further cleaning. вЂњWe attempted to collect a third skeleton but it was taken back out to sea by the tail end of a hurricane the night before we started to de-flesh it,вЂќ Mr. He and his team worked with a crew from Rocky Harbour and Trout River. You canвЂ™t have too many eyes.вЂќ - Kirk Saunders вЂњThere are so many different joints, angles and positions to be aware of. The skeleton was then degreased and shipped back to Newfoundland and Labrador.

This involved removing the skin, blubber, internal organs and muscles, taking it apart bone-by-bone and placing the skeleton in containers of soil and compost to remove remaining flesh. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), which houses the second skeleton, helped to clean and prepare MemorialвЂ™s skeleton for display along with Research Casting Inc.

The whale is one of two that washed ashore on the west coast of Newfoundland in 2014 and is believed to be one of nine crushed by heavy sea ice that year. Watch a time-lapse video of installers Research Casting hoisting the whale into position below. The entire 6,500-pound skeleton measures 25 metres long - about two school buses - and is the centerpiece of MemorialвЂ™s newest facility its pose reflecting MemorialвЂ™s motto Provehito in Altum,В Latin for вЂњlaunch forth into the deep.вЂќ The majestic blue whale skeleton hangs from the double-height atrium of the Core Science Facility (CSF) as if it were swimming, making visitors feel as if they are watching it from underwater.