The Story Behind the Porcupinefish

This strange looking creature is a porcupinefish. It gets its name from the many sharp barbs that cover its body. When this fish feels threatened, it gulps in water and inflates in size, causing all those barbs to stick straight out. That makes it a very unappetizing meal for the bigger, hungrier fish. 

 

This little fish was the very first item in The Children's Museum of Indianapolis' collection! It was donated to the museum back in 1925 by an Indianapolis Public School student.  It is very special to us that IPS students helped to build our wonderful collection.  When the call went out to IPS students in 1925 for artifact donations, we received hundreds of unique and fascinating objects! 

 

Even though the porcupinefish’s accession number is 28, we know that it was first the object donated to the museum and it was given the number 28 when the objects were cataloged at a later date.

 

In the Mini Masterpieces exhibit, there is a miniature representation of the Museum’s first home, the Propylaeum Carriage House, which is still located at 14th and Delaware streets. You'llll notice that the porcupinefish is featured on the display case!

 

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You can also try to spot the miniature replica porcupinefish in This Week's WOW: Mini Masterpieces. (But it's pretty hidden!)

 

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