There’s something magical about turning a corner in a museum or aquarium and coming face to face or rather, face to ribs with a creature that has swam the oceans for thousands of years.
More Than a Display—A Portal to the Deep
This breathtaking installation has been months in the making. The creature, a humpback whale arrived in carefully packed sections. Its bones, replicas based on discovered remains, are true to scale and awe-inspiring in person. From the tail vertebrae to the skull, each piece was carefully transported and laid out before being assembled, bone by bone, mid-air. Positioned in one of the aquarium’s main escalators, the skeleton was destined to float, as if swimming eternally above guests’ heads. But getting it there? No small feat.
Designed to Inspire
From below, visitors will walk beneath this giant swimmer and feel a sense of scale that textbooks can’t provide. From above, they’ll get a rare overhead view of its expansive rib cage and paddle-like flippers. This installation combines art, science, and storytelling.
Our expert installation team used a precise rigging systems to suspend the skeleton safely from the ceiling. Each bone was individually mounted using industrial-grade hangers, checked for balance and flow, and aligned to give the illusion of movement—as if the creature were curving through water. The long, tapering tail and spine were the first to be secured, gently swinging into place over the escalators. Technicians wrapped in bubble wrap and harnesses worked with incredible care and precision to assemble the rib cage and flippers.
