Science on a Sphere portrays actual moving images of the Earth from space projected on a 1.7-metre (5.6-foot) globe. (Courtesy ROM/D. Finnin/AMNH)

Up, up and stay!

In under 15 minutes the Royal Ontario Museum raised a four-metre-long model of a beluga whale more than three metres to hang from the ceiling of its new exhibit — Water.

The exhibit is set to open March 5, and according to Mary Burridge, the assistant curator of the show, the beluga is an iconic symbol for Canadian marine life.

“The beluga whale is here to represent animals that are suffering because of the consequences of industry,” she said.

The St. Lawrence beluga whales have been classified as at-risk since 1979 and their population has remained under 1,000.

About 40% die from bacterial disease and 15% from cancer.

“This could be partly their immune system being harmed from the accumulated toxicity in their flesh,” she said.

The exhibit will feature more than 19 interactive learning sections and a variety of living creatures, including the bird-poop frog, native to Vietnam.

“It’s very hands on, it’s really geared to families with activities they can do together,” said Julian Kingston, the project director.

“(Visitors) are going to see before them an entire life cycle develop,” said Amy Lathrop, a technician who works with the museum’s amphibians.

victoria.gray@sunmedia.ca