Gluing Part 2

We got together later that weekend to get the project finished. It was time to get some bigger things done, so we attached the pelvis to the spine and let it dry. Then we measured out the angles we would need the limbs to be and glued these together. These things all took much more glue to keep it sturdy than the toes did.

While these dried we got back to work on the feet, attaching the toes together and the ankles. The front toes were much smaller and simpler than the back ones. Then we were able to combine the rear legs and the pelvis and spine. We had to be really careful in letting it dry for long enough.

Then we were able to start mounting things onto the wooden board. We used pencils as dowels with little pieces on sponge on the end to support the important parts. We measured out based on the angles on the back legs were the feet should be placed. The legs fit nicely onto the ankles. The two pieces of spine we also reattached. It had been easier to work with them in two smaller pieces until this point. We did not glue down the front legs or feet yet, just placed them down for a visual.

From this point we needed to attach the ribs. We were glad we kept them in order so we knew exactly where they needed to go. It was time for more teamwork with the delicate nature of all the tiny ribs that needed to be held in place.

After all the ribs were in place, we just needed to attach the arms and front feet to the base, the shoulder blades, last bit of tail, and the head. It was about an additional 6 hours of work that day. We were very happy once the entire project was transported safely to school!

Here are some additional angles of the complete rabbit skeleton. I would estimate that the project took over 20 hours to complete. It required lots of patience and pushing the limits of what we thought we could do, especially in the early stages. Although I would not like to ever skin a rabbit again, I do think this project was worth it in the end. It was the kind of learning experience you do not get in a classroom, and will probably never have the chance to do again. We were both perfectionists when it came to the cleanliness of our bones and the accuracy of the skeleton. We were also proud of all the hard work we put into it.