Whale skeleton display

After putting together a giant puzzle made out of 264 pieces…. Florida Museum of Natural History's Exhibit Fabricator, Mike Adams Finally got to put that finished puzzle on display for their 100th anniversary.

The final outcome? The skeleton of a juvenile male humpback whale.

"It was Mike's first time mounting a skeleton and he did an amazing job visiting other museums with whales and talking to scientists all over the country to figure out how to put it all together,” said Darcie MacMahon, Director of Exhbits and Public Programs.

"It's been one of the most challenging things in my life, definitely a fun project we got to do. For the museum, it's the heart and soul of what we do around here,” said Mike Adams, Exhibit Fabricator.

Adams says his favorite part to put together was the spine, and the most challenging...

“Would have been the flippers. Those all have special arbiters so they can all stay together and make it look like a flipper,” said Adams.

The humpback whale's skeleton weighs more than a thousand pounds and took Adams one year to put together.

"I hope it's not my last, we have a bunch of bones that can be put together,” said Adams.

Adams says his next project will be putting together the skeleton of a baby mammoth.

You can see the humpback whale for yourself at the museum's 100th Anniversary Exhibit opening on September 23rd.