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Whale move: conservation commences
Follow our blue whale's continuing journey towards Hintze Hall, as the skeleton is moved into storage and the conservators start their work.
As part of ambitious plans to increase visitors' engagement with the natural world, our 4.5-tonne blue whale skeleton is being moved to the central Hintze Hall, where it will be one of the first things visitors see when they enter the Museum.
In our last video, Curator of Marine Mammals Richard Sabin and Head of Conservation Lorraine Cornish examined the skeleton up-close as the first bones were taken down from the Mammals Hall.
Now, with the skeleton safely removed from its former home, the team transfers the bones to the Museum's stores for cleaning and conservation.
Relocation, conservation, preparation
The Museum's stores are home to hundreds of large specimens, from whale skeletons to taxidermy giraffes.
The stores will serve as a temporary home for the blue whale skeleton while the conservation team complete their preparations for the move to Hintze Hall.
With the skeleton safe in storage, the mandibles and pectoral flippers are transferred to the Museum's pop-up conservation studio so that the public can witness the conservators' work first hand.
Visit the Darwin Centre to see the conservation team in action.
