Branches and More Branches

Friday

Unfortunately, Friday was pretty boring and uneventful. With the new exhibit opening this Memorial Day Weekend, there were a lot of little things that had to be done. So I was recruited to build more tree branches to hang from the ceiling. I spent all morning making these branches with another senior named Darwin, who is also doing his senior project at the aquarium. We took real oak tree branches and strategically drilled holes lengthwise down the branch so that it was easier to glue clumps of fake birch leaves into. We did this for about 3 hours or so before we ran out of branches. So, to make the tree branches look more realistic, we painted any light areas on the branches with a dark brown paint. This helped the spots blend in more with the rest of the branch. We also glued patches of fake moss to the very end of the branch to cover up the fact that the branch was clearly cut with a power tool. We let the newly constructed branches dry while we took a much deserved lunch break.

After lunch, we transported the tree branches from the 4th floor offices where we were building, down to the 1st floor where the aquarium exhibits are located. The rest of the day was spent cementing fake ferns into place behind rock benches, cleaning the floor of debris, and hanging fake willow tree branches from the ceiling pipes. The project is finally coming together to look like a finished exhibit. I encourage everybody to take some time to come down the the aquarium to take a look at all the work that we've been doing and to visit our other exhibits to learn about the cool fish we have!!