Photo: WBZ NewsRadio \ James Rojas
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Dozens of families gathered at Boston's waterfront to watch cubes of ice transform into African penguins on Wednesday.
Don Chapelle of Brilliant Ice Sculpture of Lawrence, and his team worked to create penguin ice sculptures for this year's Boston Waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll on New Year's Eve. The sculptures were created out of 36 blocks of ice, each block weighing about 300 pounds, making the sculptures weigh a total of 10,800 pounds.
Chapelle and his team are partnering with the New England Aquarium to raise awareness of conservation efforts and to celebrate the New Year.
Photo: WBZ NewsRadio \ James Rojas
"We're here looking at the ice sculpture being made right in front of us at the New England Aquarium and these ice sculptures represent a lot of different animals that we're very passionate about and they help us educate guests about our mission and also join in the fun festivities for New Year's Eve in Boston," said Kristen McMahon-Van Oss, curator of Pinnipeds and Penguins.
The display will be featured at the New England Aquarium's Central Wharf. This year's African penguin sculpture will be 10 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and 4 feet deep, with each penguin standing about 35 to 40 inches tall.
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Chapelle has been creating ice sculptures for the aquarium for the past 16 years. Some of his past creations include a North American right whale, sharks, penguins, fur seals, sea lion pups, and octopuses.
Aquarium staff are hoping the weather will continue to cooperate so the ice sculptures can make it to the new year.
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