Blue Whale Skeleton Exhibit in Vancouver, BC - Live Webcast May 22

I am very excited to learn that the blue whale skeleton exhibit is now complete and on display in the atrium of the UBC's (University of British Columbia) new Beaty Biodiversity Museum.  I have been waiting with anticipation for probably two years now, since I first read about the plans for the new museum and blue whale exhibit.  Here is the latest on the whale exhibit:

http://www.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/projblue01.html

The museum is offering 5 free summer previews of the museum, starting tomorrow, before the grand opening in the Fall.  I hope I will have a chance to join in the fun.  For those of you who read this post in time, there is a live webcast of the event tomorrow (Sat, May 22) for the International Day of Biodiversity, starting at 11:30am Pacific time.

If I've been waiting in ancipation for some while now, the folks at UBC have been waiting far longer.  This 26 meter (85 feet) long mature blue whale died and was washed ashore in PEI in 1987.  In order to preserve the skeleton, the whale was buried in PEI, and in 2007, UBC was granted permission to retrieve the remains, transport it some 6000 km (4000 miles), and clean and prepare the skeleton for display.  Read more details here and in the accompanying web pages.

Along with the blue whale skeleton, which is the first of its kind in Canada, and one of only 20 such exhibits in the world, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum will hold "more than 2 million specimens of birds, reptiles, fish, plants, shells, fossils, and insects for research and public display. Digital exhibits will showcase the cutting-edge research of the Biodiversity Research Centre's award-winning scientists. Through lecture series, guided tours, and public events, the Museum will aim to make biodiversity accessible and exciting."