Yuka Mammoth Exhibit

In early September, after all the kiddies had headed back to school, I took in an exhibition visiting Yokohama from Russia. The focus was on the mammoth, the giant pre-historic beast that roamed many areas, including Japan.

The exhibit proved to be much more than just a showcase of mammoths; displays also focused on the African and Asian elephants, and their relationship to the pre-historic mammoth. I quite enjoyed it!

After asking, I was allowed to take photos inside, but not of the main piece -- a frozen, complete baby mammoth, with its hair still attached, called "Yuka". In any case, enjoy the photos...

Displays of elephant skeletons:

A mammoth skeleton, featuring large tusks:

Close up of an African elephant's skull:

More elephant and mammoth skulls:

Mammoth skull is in the foreground:

There were several interactive exhibits here, allowing patrons to touch tusks, teeth and even hair from mammoths. I enjoyed touching -- of course!

My hand on a mammoth tooth. 

The feeling was similar to a cheese grater:

The sign read: "Touch it gently."

A giant tusk. I also touched it. Yay! ^_^

What I thought would take only an hour, turned into 2.5 hours of interesting facts and exhibits about the mammoth and elephants. It was really informative. For example, mammoths only have two teeth, which are like the soles of a sneaker. Instead of growing new teeth from the bottom of the mouth upwards, they are grown in the back, sliding forward.

Near the end of the exhibit, I took some funny photos to remember the day.
Here's me, running for my life!

Outside the exhibition hall, where I could "pet" a baby mammoth:

The Mammoth Yuka exhibit ran from July 13th ~ September 16, 2013 at Pacifico Yokohama. Tickets were ¥2,200, but I got mine at a ticket shop for ¥1,500. (Ticket shops in Shinjuku are highly recommended for buying tickets to art/ exhibitions. Shinjuku prices are cheaper than ticket shops in Yokohama, I found.)