The blue whale is as popular as ever, and looks set to continue to amaze and inspire visitors for generations to come. I think the popularity of the specimen has endured because of the physical size the impact, the awe that's inspired in people. You know, people come back to us. They've gone to university. They become marine biologists now for cite and often cite the Whale Hall and the blue whale model as some of their main influences. So to have a life-size model, I think, is something that we should be incredibly proud of. Although most items on display in the Natural History Museum are the genuine article, there are one or two like the whale and the great diplodocus, that are models. Some are modelled because the original would be too difficult to display, while others are modelled because the original has long since gone extinct. The first species we actually recorded disappearing was this the dodo. It was last seen in the 17th century. It's now an icon that represents everything that's, well, dead as a dodo.


蓝鲸的魅力未曾减退似乎也将继续给未来的参观者带来惊奇和启发。 我认为这个标本持续备受欢迎，是因为它的体型所带来的冲击，激发人们无限敬畏之情。当人们上了大学，成了海洋生物学家，他们总会回到这里，也经常说 鲸鱼馆和蓝鲸模型影响了他们的人生。所以， 能有一个实体模型很值得我们骄傲和自豪。 虽然自然历史博物馆里，大多陈列品都是实物。但依然有一两件模型展品，比如蓝鲸和梁龙骨架，一些被制成模型，是因为原物难以陈列，而另一些被制成模型是因为原型早已灭绝。 有记录记载的第一个灭绝的物种是渡渡鸟，最后一次发现渡渡鸟是在17世纪。如今渡渡鸟象征着一切和它一样已经消失的物种。