How a Museum Cleans a Whale

At the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City yesterday (Sept. 7), the well-known blue-whale model that seemingly floats overhead in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life received its annual two-day "spa" treatment to remove a year's accumulation of dust and grime. Dappled lights play over its back, simulating the sun's rays on the ocean surface, while the vast space around the model recalls the open ocean — the blue whales' habitat. Thousands of people watched AMNH's live st