Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
out at first. There are lessons to be learned from first mistakes that point
you in the direction of getting it right.
We held many discussions about how to get all the ambitious plans
for the new aquarium from the idea stage to reality. In line with his
do-it-yourself attitude, Packard said we would set up our own fabri-
cation facility to create components of the exhibits. To head up this
venture he hired Derek Baylis, an ingenious Australian-bred engineer
who had considerable first-hand experience fabricating a wide range
of products using a variety of materials. Among other accomplishments,
he'd built his own sailboat and sailed it from Australia to Tahiti.
David Packard and Derek Baylis rented a large warehouse in nearby
Sand City for the shop where this creative work would be done. To as-
sist him with this challenging project, Derek then hired Andy Ander-
son and a number of skilled craftsmen who had been building sail-
boats across the Bay in Santa Cruz.
Derek's responsibility was to create one-of-a-kind exhibit elements.
His “to do” list included the fiberglass aquarium tanks and the artificial
rockwork habitats inside the tanks—for although the rockwork for the
three largest exhibits, the Kelp Forest, Monterey Bay Habitats, and sea
otter exhibit, was to be made by the Larson Company of Tucson, Ari-
zona, we would be fashioning the natural rock environments for the
smaller, focus exhibits ourselves. Derek's crew would also manufacture
an array of marine mammal models, ranging from six-foot dolphins to
a forty-two-foot gray whale mother and her calf; build wave-generating
machines; and fabricate the wall panels in which the aquarium tanks
were to be set.
There was considerable discussion about what material would be best
for these panels. They had to be fireproof, seawater proof, sound absor-
bent, and also movable so we could make exhibit changes in the future.
After much research, Derek settled on the relatively new fiberglass-
reinforced cement for both the wall panels and the artificial rockwork.
Unlike conventional cement, FRC is reinforced with glass fibers and
can be made relatively thin and light without sacrificing strength. It
has been used extensively in Europe for building wall facades. The
process of making FRC involves a special machine that chops and blows
alkali-resistant glass fibers at the same time that it forcefully sprays
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