Research Casting International, an expert in the preservation, restoration, and fabrication of museum specimens, is reflecting on a recent large project for its skeleton crew, who were brought in to refurbish, remount and repose several of the Peabody’s historic skeletons as the museum’s building underwent a transformative renovation.
In March 2020, the Yale Peabody Museum closed to the public, allowing for the construction of new conservation, classrooms, and collection areas, as well as the addition of 50% more gallery space. After the four-year-long renovation project, the museum reopened in March 2024.
The expansion provided additional space for the Peabody’s collection of 14 million objects, fossils, meteorites, and anthropological artefacts. Many of the fossils are now positioned in more dynamic and scientifically accurate poses.
Remounted and reposed dinosaurs
RCI’s skeleton crew had to remount and re-pose a lot of different specimens, including the first Brontosaurs (meaning “thunder lizard”) ever discovered at the Yale Peabody Museum.
The steel frame for Brontosaurus has now been reinstalled in the Burke Hall of Dinosaurs and adorned with the sauropod’s massive pelvis, leg bones, and dorsal vertebrae. Each individual fossil is supported by its own, independent armature.
The look of Brontosaurus has changed dramatically since it was last on display in 2019. Its pose and posture have been updated to reflect the latest paleontological research, and its tail is significantly longer.
The Archelon ischyros skeleton was also in need of refurbishing and remounting. It is considered the largest turtle to have ever existed. This colossal sea creature bore gear-shaped bones, functioning as stomach bone plates that defended against threats from below. The skeleton displays a missing right lower flipper, with evidence suggesting this was due to an incident in its early life.
The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) was reinstalled in a pose that brings its massive antlers, spanning nearly ten feet across, down to eye level. This charging posture will allow visitors to appreciate both the scale of its most recognisable feature and the robust neck vertebrae that supported it.
The Otisville Mastodon, which is roughly 11,000 years old and over ten feet tall, has returned to the Peabody after being in Canada for more than three years, where it was cleaned, prepared, and remounted.
This was a significant project for the firm, and the final timeline of the job took over three full years.
An inspiring collection
“I am delighted to see the Yale Peabody Museum open after undergoing a comprehensive renovation that makes it better able to serve members of the Yale community, K-12 students from our home city, and visitors from the region and beyond,” said Yale president Peter Salovey at the end of the project.
“Whether you have been coming to the Peabody for decades or have just discovered us for the first time, we want you to feel welcome, excited, and inspired from the moment you walk through the doors,” added Peabody director David Skelly, the Frank R. Oastler Professor of Ecology at Yale School of the Environment and Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
“This renovation has transformed every exhibit in the museum, but I think its biggest impact will be the ways it helps us engage with audiences and communities in much more meaningful ways.”
Brian Ross, head of fossil mounting at RCI, says: “It’s definitely one of the larger and most historically significant projects that our organization has taken on. The Peabody’s fossil mounts are treasures.”
“The companies that do what we do probably can be counted on one hand,” says Peter May, RCI’s president and founder. “This is a treat for us dinosaur nerds. These were the specimens that started paleontology.”
Earlier this year, RCI revealed more details about a project with the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, where it has been working to scan, 3D print and recreate a unique mastodon specimen.
