'Getting such enormous exhibits into the Museum last week was probably one of the most challenging load-ins we've had, for any exhibition,' says project manager, Becca Jones. 'Simply because of their sheer size and weight!'
Mighty mammoths, mastodons and ice-age giants make their way into the Waterhouse Gallery for the opening of our BIG summer exhibition on 23 May.
The excitement is mounting as the installation of our summer blockbuster exhibition strides into its final weeks. Mammoths: Ice Age Giants was created by the Field Museum in Chicago and, following its earlier run in Edinburgh, will open here at the Museum on 23 May. Our photographer caught some of the installation on camera, enjoy the pictures.
'Crates containing the exhibits and sets were brought into the building through the Central Hall's front doors. We erected scaffolding and fork lift trucks and pallet trucks helped manoeuvre them inside. We had to lay down plywood pathways to protect the floors because of the weight.
'It's been great having Field Museum staff work alongside us to bring in the exhibits and help us with the installation. Lots of late nights! We have also added some really fantastic specimens from our own collections too.
'Everything is just so massive. The sets too. But we're working fast now and I'm really pleased how well it's taking shape.
'This week we will rig up the lighting designs and we're all looking forward to welcoming and installing Lyuba, the Siberian baby mammoth, who's arriving from Russia. It's incredible to have the real Lyuba in the exhibition and to showcase her UK debut.
The world's longest tusk, just over 5 metres, was recently photographed with our own Museum mammoths expert, Adrian Lister, and the Field Museum's Dan Fisher at the International Conference on Mammoths in Greece. It belongs to the early mastodon, Mammut borsoni, and was discovered in 2007 at the Milia site in northern Greece. Image Matthew Scarborough.
The Museum's mammoths expert Adrian Lister has played an important part in our own interpretation and adaptation of this exhibition. Although we won't have the world's longest tusk in it, pictured above, we can guarantee a show of jaw-dropping proportions. Watch this space for more news.
Mammoths: Ice Age Giants was created by the Field Museum in Chicago.
