bi·o·di·ver·si·ty
ˌbīōdiˈvərsədē,ˌbīōˌdīˈvərsədē/noun:the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
UBC is a labyrinth. One turn and you're facing a brick wall, the next you come up against 'under construction' signs. Despite it's 40th place standing in the world ranking of universities, to me, the whole place has a 'trapped-in-the-60s architechural' vibe to it.
Even on an early Saturday morning there were still those in search of higher learning shuffling around the maze of buildings.
Even on an early Saturday morning there were still those in search of higher learning shuffling around the maze of buildings.
This past Saturday, one of my other local-outing-buddies and I entered UBCland hoping we didn't get lost searching for the Beaty, never to return to our every day lives!
The 20,000 square foot Beaty Biodiversity Museum has an above ground entrance where their big ticket attraction - the 26-metre-long skeleton of a blue whale - waits to greet you. But the rest of their amazing collection of over 500 specimens is housed below ground.
The blue whale whose life was cut very short by a fatal head-on collision with a ship off the coast of PEI in 1987 has an amazing story to tell about her journey across Canada to settle here.
http://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/whats-on/exhibitions/permanent-exhibits/blue-whale-display/blue-whale-project/
Truly worth the read.
On to the collections that are all in display cases. Looking down the rows of aisles was reminiscent of Indiana Jones. And due to the sensitivity of some of the specimens, aisle of display cases are extremely dim and flash photography is not allowed.
http://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/whats-on/exhibitions/permanent-exhibits/blue-whale-display/blue-whale-project/
Truly worth the read.
On to the collections that are all in display cases. Looking down the rows of aisles was reminiscent of Indiana Jones. And due to the sensitivity of some of the specimens, aisle of display cases are extremely dim and flash photography is not allowed.
I wish I'd had more time and light to jot down the names of the specimens.
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| Oh, a shot from my 'studio' window over looking the neighbouring roof. A beloved crow! |
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| 26-metre-long blue whale skeleton |
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| aisle after aisle of display cases like these |
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| from below |
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| they seemed to go on to infinity |
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| teeniest tiniest skull! |
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| angriest bald eagle I've ever seen |
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| saddest looking critter I've ever seen |
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| coming back to the surface and natural light |
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| the cherry blossoms are blooming |
A parting note: this was an interesting space to visit. I don't regret going through the displays but I did feel really sad through part of it. Some of the 'heads' were just basically 'mounted hunting trophies' donated when the mighty hunters kicked the bucket. (I have no proof of that, but the trophey backs could have been removed).
So, Where to next....any suggestions?
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