Nantucket Whaling Museum
A 46-foot-long, bull Sperm whale (Physter macrocephalus) died on the beach of Nantucket Island on January 1, 1998. In 2004 it was articulated and installed in the Nantucket Whaling Museum by Whales and Nails. Degreasing the skull required giving it a hot detergent bath in a custom tank 17 feet long. The dramatic posture of the skeleton curves with the undulating ceiling, plunging 20 feet in height to confront the viewer eye-level with the gape of its mouth and formidable teeth.
A 52-foot-long Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) named ‘Stumpy’ and her fully-developed fetus were cleaned, articulated, and installed in the Nature Research Center, a wing of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh, North Carolina. ‘Stumpy’ and her near term fetus were killed by a collision with a ship. The fetus was nearly 17 feet in length. The skeleton is central to large exhibit focusing on how scientist study right whales.
A 49-foot-long, female Right whale with her fetus (Eubalaena glacialis), killed in a collision with a ship, was hung overhead in the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The 12 ft. long fetus was estimated at 10 months gestation; many of it’s bones were only partially ossified. The fetus skeleton was articulated and mounted with its mother to create a emotionally provocative display.