Research Casting International (RCI), an expert in the preservation, restoration, and fabrication of museum specimens, is celebrating the newest occupant of the Steele Ocean Sciences Building on the Dalhousie University campus in Halifax, Nova Scotia: the 18-metre skeleton of a blue whale.
The skeleton has been installed as the centrepiece of the Beaty Centre for Marine Biodiversity, a new interactive ocean and science discovery centre.
RCI completed the installation over five days in late February, transporting the bones from the company’s facility in Trenton, Ontario, where they had been in storage since 2021.
“From initial start to finish, mounting all the way to installation in March of this year, our #SkeletonCrew is very proud of this project,” says RCI.
The company's work and international travel enable it to support various institutions with their collections. The team is experienced in handling a diverse range of specimens and delivering large-scale projects such as this.
A collaborative project
The whale was initially found beached near Liverpool, Nova Scotia, in 2017, and underwent a lengthy composting and degreasing process led by the university’s researchers and staff, until it was handed over to RCI to prepare its skeleton for mounting and display.
Operated by Discovery Centre International in partnership with Dalhousie University, the Beaty Centre will feature local marine life and welcome visitors of all ages to better understand the significance of our oceans.
“It takes a village to build a whale,” says the university’s Dr Harvey-Clark. “There’s been strength in the project’s interdisciplinarity, in its collaboration. The outpouring of support has been tremendous.”
Dalhousie alumnus Chris Hogarth is now marketing manager with RCI. He shares that blue whale displays are becoming more common in recent years. “In a big way, it’s unfortunate, because more and more [blue whales] are washing up on shores,” he says. “But the ultimate outcome is heartwarming.
“It’s a chance for awareness and education about ocean conservation, research, and so much more.”
RCI's skeleton crew was also recently brought in to refurbish, remount and repose several of the historic skeletons at Yale Peabody Museum, as the building underwent a transformative renovation.
