Bowhead Articulation: Replica Bones

In order of appearance, Marissa Breslin (UAMN Technician for the Mammals Collection), Mareca Guthrie (UAMN Curator of Fine Arts), and Gail Priday (UAMN Educator and Schools Liaison) prepare 3D printed bone replicas for the articulation of the whale's flippers. Narrated by Gail Priday.
The bowhead whale is an iconic Arctic species
inextricably tied to Native cultures in western
and northern Alaska and a rare success story
in marine mammal conservation. This skeleton
is from a young male harvested by Alaska
Native hunters in 1963 near Utqiaġvik
(formerly Barrow), the northernmost point
in the United States.
This specimen has been in
UAMN’s mammal collection
since 1965. The skeleton will be articulated and suspended
from the lobby ceiling in
Spring 2021. Project funded by the Bill Stroecker Foundation.