Being Flexible: Bending to the needs of Victoria the T. rex

Posted by Ravenswood Studio on Sep 26, 2019 in

Ravenswood Studio is currently fabricating the exhibit and interactives to accompany the new traveling exhibition: Victoria the T. rex. Victoria is the second most complete T. rex fossil to tour.

For her new environment, Ravenswood needed to create eight curved walls with a modern twist on foliage. Each wall piece was curved at exactly 11 feet 6 inches long, with a 10 foot radius, and with three distinct layers. That can be a difficult task! Carpenter Ed Donzal, came up with a solution to create a wood press mold.

A team of three tradesmen, led by Ed, first added the CNC’d piece of wood, then applied glue with a paint roller, and quickly added another layer. This process was repeated until all three layers were assembled. After the layers were properly set, the top of the mold was slowly lowered down onto the wall piece. Each of the eight wall pieces then sit in the mold for 24 hours so the glue fully dries and the wood sets.

Victoria the T. rex opens November 17, 2019 at Arizona Science Center. To learn more about Victoria and her exhibit tour, please visit https://victoriathetrex.com/