Moai Exhibit Opens at Mounts Garden

MOAI AT MOUNTS (Photo Credit: Dennis P. León)

(PRESS RELEASE)_(West Palm Beach, FL – October 25, 2021) Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden invites people of all ages to the grand opening of its amazing new exhibition MOAI AT MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN which brings the awe and wonder of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to West Palm Beach. The new exhibitions will open this Thursday, October 28, at 9 am.
 
Thanks to the vision and gift of Margaret Blume, the garden’s Tropical Forest Garden will re-open with the permanent installation of three imposing moai statues, replicas of the iconic monolithic, human figures located on Rapa Nui, Chile.
 
Designed by artist Dennis MacDonald with great attention to authenticity and detail, each of the statues is made of solid, reinforced, poured concrete and has been stained to create a weathered appearance. The larger moai stands 20 feet tall and wears a “hat” known as pukao, two additional pukao rest on the ground.
 
MacDonald will be at Mounts on opening day along with moai expert Terry L. Hunt, Ph.D., Dean of the Honors College at the University of Arizona, and author of The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island. Dr. Hunt will give a guest lecture in the Mounts Exhibition Hall from 9:30 to 10:15 am, followed by a Q&A with the audience. (Note: This lecture is already sold out.)

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