Hurricanes and Exhibits
Hurricanes and Exhibits
October 30, 2012 by Taylor Studios
I am sure thoughts of hurricanes are on a lot of people’s minds right now. It’s amazing how they impact so many people’s lives. Living in the Midwest we don’t see the damage, disruption and destruction hurricanes cause first hand. Tornadoes are another story.
In 1997, we installed at Dauphin Island Sea Lab. is about three miles south of the mouth of Mobile Bay off the coast of Alabama.
We were about three-quarters finished with our installation of 16 small aquarium tanks (about 5’ tanks)and three very large aquatic environments. One was a Delta Pool which included a mural, simulated mud bank, trees and plants. The second was a Gulf Habitat Pool which simulated an oyster reef. The third was a Mobile Bay Habitat Pool which had two simulated pilings covered with fabricated life forms of algae and a large mound of jetty rock. Then hurricane Danny, I believe it was, hit.
We were given warning and told our crew they could leave or ride it out. I choose to go to New Orleans, a couple crew members went to a hotel north of Mobile, Alabama and a few of the crew wanted to see a hurricane and stayed on the island. This choice had to be made before the storm as the only way off the island was via a three mile long high rise bridge. It, of course, would be closed during the storm.
The crew that stayed on the island thought it was very exciting for the first day. Wow! To experience a hurricane seemed pretty amazing for a Midwestern bunch. However, after several days of no electricity or ice cream, the fun wore off. Maybe it was a poor decision given what these storms can do?
We were proud to say once the storm passed our exhibits survived well intact. They were meant to get wet and, of course, were very durable. We all eventually got back to the island and finished our installation. All in all, the sea lab fared very well. They had generators that helped. Unfortunately, some of their fish died during the storm.
We were supposed to install exhibits at in a few weeks and our client was going to visit us for a walk-through of completed fabrication this week. Hurricane Sandy has changed our schedule. We wish our East Coast clients and friends all the best as you go through another hurricane.