An inflatable blue whale the size of a 737 lies in the Student Union Ballroom. Students in an oceanography class created the whale and accompanying lesson plans that elementary- and middle-school teachers can use in classrooms.
GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE students enrolled in an oceanography class created a life-size replica of a blue whale for use in elementary- and middle-school science classes. They debuted their model April 2 in the Student Union.
"I've been inside the belly of a whale," says Joy Ramos, library cataloging specialist at the University, who stopped to see the whale model during its campus appearance.
The inflatable baleen whale is about 105 feet long, 30 feet in circumference and the size of a 737 aircraft.
The structure is made from 6 mil plastic sheeting with one side transparent, enabling instructors to teach anatomy, such as bone structure, to elementary and middle school students.
The project also provided opportunities for University students to learn through service to the community. They prepared for elementary and middle school teachers an accompanying unit of language arts, science, mathematics and social studies lessons, and a lesson booklet and multimedia materials, including a recording of blue whale sounds.
Guinness World Records is reviewing an application for consideration of the model as the world’s largest of its kind.
Blue whales are the largest animal on Earth and an endangered species.
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Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.