The atrium of the Steele Ocean Sciences Buiding, now with more whale. (Cody Turner photos)
Your eyes are not deceiving you.
Glance up in the Steele Ocean Sciences Building and you鈥檒l see something that was definitely not there before. It鈥檚 the 18-metre skeleton of a blue whale mounted to the ceiling 鈥� the centrepiece of the Beaty Centre for Marine Biodiversity, which is projected to open later this year in the space.
(RCI), which specializes in mounting displays for museums and universities around the world, completed the installation over five days in late February. RCI transported the bones to Dal from the company鈥檚 Trenton, Ontario facility, where they had been in storage since 2021.
Dal鈥檚 Cody Turner was on hand to capture RCI鈥檚 鈥渟keleton crew鈥� performing the installation:
If you鈥檙e hoping to see the whale for yourself, it can be observed safely from the 3rd-floor pedway connecting the Life Science Centre鈥檚 Oceanography Tower and the Steele Ocean Sciences Building.
An installation odyssey
The whale from which the skeleton was sourced was originally found beached near Liverpool, N.S. in 2017. A fundraiser called the Blue Whale Project was born shortly thereafter centered around the desire to transform this tragic loss into a powerful educational exhibit on ocean conservation and marine biodiversity.
Following its discovery, Dr. Gordon Price, a professor in the Faculty of Agriculture鈥檚 Department of Engineering, university veterinarian Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark, and a large team of volunteers began the long process of composting the whale鈥檚 bones to remove tissue and establish an environmentally friendly process of degreasing and removing oils embedded in its skeletal structure in preparation for the skeleton to be mounted and displayed. During the preservation process, which included using aerated tanks with Dawn detergent, a member of Dr. Price's Innovative Waste Management Laboratory, Ryan Bell, and Chris Nelson, a senior instructor in the Faculty of Agriculture鈥檚 Department of Engineering, undertook the process of using a 3D hand scanner for a virtual 3D model of each bone for use by researchers.
An $8.2-million gift from entrepreneur and conservationist Ross Beaty and family to support the development of a public-facing marine science space at Dal featuring the whale skeleton was later announced in May 2023.
Opening day awaits
With the whale skeleton in place and casting an impressive shadow over the atrium of the Steele Building, work on transforming the space to house the displays and exhibits showcasing local marine life in the Beaty Centre is ongoing.
Read more: 9 1免费版下鈥檚 Aquatron readies marine species for new on-campus science centre
The Beaty Centre, operated by Discovery Centre International in collaboration with Dal, hopes to start welcoming visitors in fall 2025. The exact opening date won鈥檛 be determined until the construction work is complete and all the marine species collected from nearby waters are comfortable in their new home.
鈥淭he excitement about the whale and the upcoming public space is very palpable,鈥� says Dr. Boris Worm, a professor in the Department of Biology and co-founder and scientific director of , which is developing educational content related to ocean literacy for the Beaty Centre. 鈥淲e look forward to seeing Nova Scotians engaged and inspired about our amazing ocean this fall.鈥�
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Stay tuned for updates in the months to come as the Beaty Centre gets closer to opening its doors. In the meantime:
- Visit the Beaty Centre鈥檚 page on Dal鈥檚 Giving website for more news and features, including a virtual tour and a video on how Dal researchers preserved the blue whale skeleton now on display.
- Follow the Instagram account for a closer look at the species that will be residing in the Beaty Centre. An official website and social channels for the Beaty Centre will be coming this summer.
