Swimming prehistoric elasmosaurus skeleton, Pacific Museum of the Earth, UBC
In 1988, an elasmosaurus fossil skeleton was found near the Puntledge River in Courtenay, B.C. This was a significant local discovery and led the Pacific Museum of the Earth to commission Cetacea to lead the installation of a replica elasmosaur for its main gallery in Fall, 2018.
This famous Cope elasmosaur, a prehistoric fish-eating marine reptile, was discovered in Kansas in the late 1800s. The 42' fossil was molded and has been cast by Triebold Palaeontology, Inc. Cetacea collaborated with Triebold Palaeontology Inc. to commission this replica and designed and installed the exhibit to portray the elasmosaur as though on the hunt. Imagine this creature in life, gliding through the water getting into position to lunge upward with its long neck and ambush its prey from below.
This exhibit is installed in the glass atrium of the Pacific Museum of the Earth within the Earth Sciences Building at UBC. Note how the motion and curve of the elasmosaur's dive complements the atrium's stunning adjacent 5-story wooden spiralling staircase.
