Countdown to display of colossal squid

The only colossal squid exhibit in the world (www.tepapa.govt.nz/squid ) will open to the public on Saturday 13 December, proudly supported by the New Zealand Seafood Industry and telecommunications service provider, Alcatel Lucent. The 495 kilogramme, 4.2 metre female colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), the most massive invertebrate ever examined, will be on display at Te Papa for three years. Admission to the exhibit is free.

The exhibit will include the colossal squid, dramatically lit in its custom-built tank, displays of various body parts including the orange-sized lens of the eye, models of its beak and tentacle swivel hooks that can be touched and rotated, as well as a thrilling theatre featurette immersing visitors in the world of the colossal squid in stereoscopic 3D animation!

Preparations for the colossal squid exhibit have begun with a section of the popular Level 2 exhibition, Mountains to Sea, now closed to the public. The tank with the specimen inside weighs a staggering 3 tonnes and will be transported from its current location in Te Papa’s Tory St research facility to the museum on Monday 1 December.

There will be a series of squid events over summer starting during the opening weekend with lectures by squid scientists, kids’ workshops and storytelling and even a squid dissection in the NatureSpace Discovery Centre to introduce visitors to squid anatomy.