Newswise — First there were fish. Then there were crabs. Now, 20 University of Maryland terrapins are taking up residence in Baltimore and other venues around the state plus the District of Columbia for the next six months.
The Fear the Turtle Sculpture Project features 50 nifty statues in a public art exhibit that's taking Maryland's 150th Anniversary celebration to communities across the state and the nation's capital. A total of 20 sites outside campus will host these colorful, symbolic creatures that are destined to be auctioned off next fall to help raise scholarship funds for deserving students. Artists from across the mid-Atlantic region transformed a plain gray fiberglass form into beautiful works of art that capture the University of Maryland's spirit of achievement and its connections to the state.
Baltimore was one of the first sites to welcome the turtle sculptures as the university works to have them all in place in time for its big Maryland Day anniversary celebration on April 29. More than 70,000 people are expected to visit the College Park campus that day for the annual open house, punctuated this year by 30 of the turtle sculptures and the largest strawberry shortcake ever made.
Other community displays of the turtle sculptures include Annapolis, Arundel Mills Mall, and the I-95 rest stops at the Maryland House and Chesapeake House, as well as downtown Silver Spring and Ocean City. Several will also be scattered around the City of College Park and Prince George's County, with one in Washington, DC at Union Station.
"This is an interactive project," says Terry Flannery, assistant vice president for Marketing and Communications. "We hope people will look for them as they travel around the state this spring and summer and send us pictures of themselves taken with their favorite sculpture. We'll post lots of them on our Web site where there's also a contest to win an anniversary iPod."
Visit the University of Maryland 150th Anniversary web site at http://www.150years.umd.edu to see sculpture pictures and register for the free 150th Anniversary Apple iPod Nano.
Hi-Resolution photos of the sculptures - both individually and at various locations on campus or in the area are available. You can see many of the photos online:
http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/uniini/release.cfm?ArticleID=1255http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/uniini/release.cfm?ArticleID=1254
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