Kobo, Quasimodo and ?

Meet Kobo:














Kobo is a 60 foot adolescent blue whale who puts the "scent" into adolescent. His bones weren't cleaned properly, and are still full of oil...so the gallery sort of smells like whale oil. And...cleaning staff has to wipe up when he drips. Every day. It's best to keep your mouth closed when you're looking up at him in awe.

The museum held a contest to name the new skeleton when he was first hung, and the winner, a fifth grader, came up with Kobo: King of the Blue Ocean.
















This is our sperm whale skeleton. He doesn't have a name, but he's still cool. We also have a small humpback whale skeleton hanging beside Kobo, acquired in 1935. He was the museum's first whale, inspiring William Tripp (then curator) to say:

We are no longer a whaling museum without a whale, as some in the past have chosen to call us.

Just a couple weeks ago, the NBWM put up their fourth skeleton. She started like this.














She required a bit of dental work.














I directed the construction.














Adjusting the ribs.




















This is how I know she was a she.














Raising the whale fetus. (Quasimodo can be seen in the background).




















Mother and child reunion, back view.















Bottom view.















Mother and child have no name yet--but there is another contest! That's right, you could name the whale (I think there may be a 12-year-old age limit).

Ask me in person, and I'll tell you some funny stories about these skeletons. A band camp story? Maybe.

And one time, and the whaling museum...