Children’s Play Garden - Rotary Club San Jose - Concrete Sand Table, Water Feature, Scientific Sculptures, Water Feature, Ceramic Tile

The Arcturus Adventure

Acclaimed Artist Mark Dion and Creative Director of Scientific Art Studio, Ron Holthuysen teamed up to create a 21-foot sculpture of the Arcturus. The Arcturus was a cargo steamship that was converted into a research laboratory for marine exploration in 1925. It was fully equipped for deep-sea scientific research and headed by celebrity explorer William Beebe.

The detailed sculpture, installed in 2020, was designed and built by the team at Scientific Art Studio (SAS). Combining cutting edge 3D modeling, old world craftsmanship, and deep historical research, the team at SAS meticulously and lovingly recreated the ship.

CLIENT: Miami-Dade County

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: A collaboration with Mark Dion, Wildlife Conservation Society

LOCATION: Norwegian Cruise Line Terminal B. Miami, Florida

 
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We started this project with careful study of historical photos, ship plans and blue prints. We then created the armature structure with digitally designed CNC ribs which were supported by an in-house welded steel frame.

 
 
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This landmark project merges marine biological science and art. The sculpture was constructed in such a way as to have numerous cut-away sections to reveal the inner workings of the ship, crew activities, and laboratory. These vignettes were meticulously crafted using a combination of state-of-the-art 3D printing and sculpting.

 
 
 
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In the midst of full-swing construction of the Arcturus in 2020 the world was hit with the COVID pandemic. Once the studio was able to reopen it was important to our team to be as safe as possible. The fact that we were able to work together to create such a magnificent sculpture of this magnitude under these conditions is a testament of our commitment to the quality of our work and to each other.