MUSKEGON, MI – Something big is coming.
Moxie the mastodon and 20 mini-mastodons soon will be on the loose in downtown Muskegon.
Moxie is a life-size, bronze mastodon sculpture that will be installed outside the Lakeshore Museum Center, 430 W. Clay Ave., to look like she’s emerging from the basement in search of the 20 miniatures that set off on their own adventures.
The mastodon has been Michigan’s official state fossil since 2002 in honor of the many mastodon fossil discoveries in the state.
Michigan’s state stone, the Petoskey stone, is also a fossil - it is fossilized coral. It was designated in 1965.
“Mastodons on the Loose,” featuring Moxie and the minis, will be unveiled during a ceremony at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22, at the museum. It is a project of the Muskegon City Public Art Initiative.
The public is invited to walk the downtown to find the mini mastodons using a scavenger hunt pocket guide filled with clues to find the little ones. The museum will provide prizes to those who complete the hunt.
“Moxie definitely has a whimsical nature,” said Annoesjka Soler, museum president. “This is a work of art that both kids and adults can engage with. They can sit on Moxie to have their pictures taken and together they can all look for all the little ones, learning more about their town at the same time.”
The word “moxie” is defined as by Merriam Webster Dictionary as “energy, pep, courage, determination,” which “perfectly represents the essential character of both Muskegon and the Lakeshore Museum Center,” according to a news release.
The project “enhances our goal of being a playful place where our whole community is welcome,” Soler said.
This isn’t the museum’s first foray into the world of megafauna. In 1987, the fossilized remains of a female mastodon found in Rothbury many years earlier were donated to the museum. The donation inspired the creation of a permanent exhibit, Coming to the Lakes, that features a life-sized, furry, fabricated mastodon.
Mastodon remains have been discovered throughout the state. One of the most complete mastodon skeletons ever found was discovered near Owosso and the longest and most intact trail of mastodon footprints ever uncovered was found near Ann Arbor. During summer 2017, a construction crew accidentally unearthed five large fossilized mastodon bones near Byron Center.
The mastodon is a distant relative of the modern elephant. Along with woolly mammoths, giant beavers and other massive animals, mastodons roamed Michigan about 14,000-10,000 years ago.
Mastodons sported tusks up to 16 feet long, stood 7-9 feet tall and weighed about 12,000 pounds. Moxie is 7.5 feet by 14 feet. The mini-mastodons are small enough to carry in one hand and all have bright blue tusks.
As the last ice age dissipated, the megafauna began to disappear from Michigan and much of the world. The thaw is thought to be responsible for the extinction of giant animals, including sloths, beavers, oxen, deer, moose and others that now exist in smaller variations.
Mastodons on the Loose is the first project from the Muskegon City Public Art Initiative launched in July 2018 by philanthropist Patrick O’Leary and led by Judith Hayner. The initiative aims to add up to 10 works of art to the city of Muskegon with a focus on works that link to the city’s history and complement the more than 40 pieces of public art already in the downtown area. It operates under the Community Foundation for Muskegon County in collaboration with the Downtown Arts Committee.
The mastodon installation was funded by more than 50 donors.