After decaying underground for four years, the whale skeleton is ready to serve its next purpose in life ? as an educational symbol. So far more than 70 volunteers and a number of partner agencies have participated in the excavation process. Sunday, August 15, began with a ceremony to honor the whale and ask blessings for the project. Excavation started Monday morning and by mid-afternoon the skeleton was largely uncovered. The last bone, the massive skull, was removed Wednesday. This whale, called "Gordie" after Studebaker's 92-year old father, was found to have eight more bones than expected based on available literature. Volunteers will clean the bones while local experts will re-articulate them. A local artist will prepare a classic scientific illustration of the skeleton to be made available on the web and in poster form. No such illustration presently exists.

All funding for the project is from "in-kind" donations from partners and volunteer labor. Studebaker is writing grant proposals to obtain funding for the assembly and scientific illustration phases of the project.

Photos available.