Animal skeletons in bones display at Great Yarmouth museum

From Saturday the Time and Tide Museum is hosting a Bare Bones exhibition that features more than 20 skeletons of various creatures.

A frog leaps through the air in skeletal form Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

Among the eye-catching displays is the skull of a bottlenose whale that washed up in Brancaster in 1955, a Burmese python, an Asian elephant skull, a meerkat and an osprey in the middle of catching its prey.

The display also reflects Great Yarmouth's position by the sea by having some aquatic animal skeletons on display, such as a bull shark, a stingray and sea bass.

Curator Philip Miles with the skull of the Brancaster whale Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

Philip Miles, museum curator, said: "It is all about animals' anatomy and how they work and move.

"It also shows the similarities and differences between species.

"And as we are based by the sea we asked for some skeletons with a fishy theme."  

As well as skeletons, there are interactive displays and an app to use as people explore the exhibition.

The skeleton of a lemur Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

All of the specimens on display have been sourced ethically, either from UK-based wildlife parks and zoos or from pre-deceased animals in the wild.

The touring exhibition was curated by Blue Tokay.

Nicola Newton, curator from Blue Tokay, said: “It is a pleasure to bring our Bare Bones exhibition to Great Yarmouth.

Skulls are on display at the museum Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

"Our touring exhibitions provide high quality and popular themed displays that have a wide appeal to audiences, especially families and schools.

"This is the first exhibition we have brought to Norfolk.

The skeleton of a Burmese python Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

"We hope the museum visitors will enjoy learning about the anatomy of animals and learning about everything from how a frog jumps to how a cat climbs trees.”

There is something fishy about this exhibit Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

Bare Bones runs until October 7 at the museum, which is housed in a preserved Victorian herring curing works.

A stingray skeleton Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Newsquest)