In the 2006 fantasy film Night at the Museum, Hollywood brings the giant Rexy, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, and other museum exhibits and artifacts to life. In what is an example of life imitating art, Seymour Marine Discovery Center’s skeletal display, this one of a giant blue whale, likewise has been brought back to life using some of the same Hollywood magic, this time more for educational, rather than pure entertainment, purposes.
For two and a half decades, the skeletal structure, named Ms. Blue, has graced the outside of the marine research facility and museum, operated by the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Many consider Ms. Blue a cultural landmark. The 50-year-old blue whale washed up on shore at Pescadero Beach, near Seymour Marine Discovery Center, in 1979. Students and faculty from UC Santa Cruz transported the colossal creature piece by piece to the center, where the specimen underwent marine research and study. The remaining bones were then preserved and mounted for display in front of Seymour Center.
Many consider Ms. Blue a cultural landmark. The 50-year-old blue whale washed up on shore at Pescadero Beach, near Seymour Marine Discovery Center, in 1979. Students and faculty from UC Santa Cruz transported the colossal creature piece by piece to the center, where the specimen underwent marine research and study. The remaining bones were then preserved and mounted for display in front of Seymour Center.
According to Jonathan Hicken, executive director of the center, a number of preservationists and fossil specialists they consulted with suggested using a plastic-like covering to protect the bones, which “sent the wrong message regarding conservation,” Hicken said, that was contrary to Seymour Center’s ideology.
Halon Entertainment, a well-known visual effects studio, came up with an alternative that reflected the values of Seymour Center.
