The Exhibit
Our Mastodon
Giant Ground Sloth & Saber Tooth Cat
Grace and Albert Taylor Wing
The exhibit also features hands-on fossils, pottery shards and a varied selection of additional fossils.
|
|
Mastodon:
The mastodon was found in the Aucilla River in Tallahassee, Florida by Don Serbousek. It took 3 years to bring up all pieces of Priscilla, believed at first to be a female mastodon due to the complications to retrieving the skeleton. The skull was found last, completely intact except for one tusk which was found nearby. Later, the mastodon was discovered to be male. The mastodon was believed to be pursued into the river by early Floridians, thousands of needles were found in the vicinity of the skeleton although no butcher marks were found on the bones.
Our Mastodon
Our mastodon is a cast of the original skeleton, Priscilla. The cast was made by a collaboration of Don Serbousek and Cliff Jeremiah, a physician in Jacksonville, Florida. Using different methods separately, Don and Cliff combined their efforts to create the most exact duplicate cast of the mastodon bones that could be made. Our mastodon is a precise replica of the original Priscilla found in the Aucilla River. Dr. Cliff Jeremiah and his son, John Jeremiah, donated the mastodon to the Museum in 2009. Both Jeremiahs wanted the mastodon to be on display for the community to enjoy.
Our mastodon, while just as complete as the original, has been staged in separate pieces since 2009. It has been the vision of the Museum Executive Director, Nancy Rader, to see the mastodon articulated, assembled on its feet. Due to the continued community involvement in this project, and hard work by the Museum Guild and staff, the mastodon was at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida, being articulated. The bones were sanded, painted, and assembled by artists and specialists at the Florida Museum, overseen by Kurt Auffenberg. The mastodon was fully articulated and returned to the Brevard Museum in July of 2013.
Sponsored in part by the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners through the Brevard Cultural Alliance, Inc.
As well as the United Space Alliance, the Brevard Museum Guild, Jon's Fine Jewelry, Buena Vida, Mims Homemakers and other members of the Museum and community.
|
|
Assembling
|