GCC unveils skull of whale on display in main entrance

The skull of a juvenile humpback whale, preserved from a carcass found floating off Massachusetts is now on display in the front lobby of the Greenfield Community College.

Photo Credit/Paul Franz

GREENFIELD — Amy St. Germain will never forget the day she spent teasing the flesh from a rotting humpback whale carcass.

Armed with rubber gloves, 29year-old St. Germain and seven other Greenfield Community College students spent 12 hours cleaning the carcass in September under the direction of professor of Environmental Science Brian Adams.

"It was something else," recalled St. Germain. "The smell wafted all the way to the parking lot."

On Wednesday, the bones returned to GCC, where the 9-foottall skull is now on display in the college's main entrance, making it the only display of its kind in Franklin County, said Adams.

The whale's story dates back to 2010, when the then 30-foot-long 2year-old juvenile whale was struck by a boat off the Massachusetts coast. Eventually washing up on shore near Chatham, the carcass was discovered by the state Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, where the department set to work cleaning the carcass and eventually buried the whale in Belchertown. Six months later, it was donated to GCC, and St. Germain volunteered to finish cleaning the skeleton on a sunny, fall day in September.

"When we showed up it was still covered in a tarp," said St. Germain. "After decomposing in the woods for six months, there was still a layer of flesh on the bones that we needed to tease off."

However, after the careful cleaning by students and the design work of Steelhead Studios in Holyoke, the whale skull was in pristine, flesh-free condition and mounted on a metal base. More than 50 people crowded around the stairwell of the main core, and looked on from the balcony, when the skull was unveiled on Wednesday.

"The death of this whale will provide a unique opportunity for everyone confronted with this spectacular display," Adams told the crowd. "Our hope is that every day someone will pause and think ‘wow.' The wheels will begin to turn, lights will begin to flash, and maybe people will begin to think that the world is not just about us."

Adams said that the skeleton was used in a variety of classes, where the students studied the animal.

"They learned about our connection to other mammals, even marine mammals, and the diversity of life on earth," said Adams.

This was not lost on St. Germain, who could not help but notice that the bones making up the whale's flipper were remarkably similar to those in her own hand.

"I really hope this sparks an interest in science," said St. Germain.

The public is welcome to view the skull in the main entrance of the building. While most of the skeleton is in storage, portions of the vertebrae are also on display on the third floor with a collection of mammal skulls, which is also open to the public.

"We want to inspire a sense of wonder," said Adams. "A sense of reconnecting to the natural world, reigniting the awe of nature, and the appreciation we have for the ‘other.'"

You can reach John Tilton at: or 413-772-0261 ext. 264  

By JOHN TILTON, Recorder Staff, 2012

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