3,000-pound beloved whale statue back in Berkeley after repairs

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Crews worked to move a 3,000-pound whale sculpture that has undergone repairs back to the University of California Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science Tuesday.

The whale statue named Pheena has finally been brought back to UC Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science after a six-week long absence. The man with the distinct honor of giving Pheena a ride said it was a nerve-racking assignment. "Especially through Berkeley up around those tight corners and everything and all the people," Ricky Cook said.

The 50-foot long fiberglass whale had to be hauled to Berkeley from Richmond where the statue underwent some repairs. "People love her so much when she started getting a little worn out, we put out word that we needed help and hundreds of people responded and we raised a lot of money to get her fixed and she's going to be here for another 40 years," said Susan Gregory with the UC Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science .

Children usually crawl all over the statue in the plaza outside of UC Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science. She's so loved by children, the first thing the driver did after delivering her was take a picture for his grandchildren. "I thought it was neat, I love this kind of stuff," Cook said.

"She's been here for 40 years, I've been here a little more than that. My children grew up crawling on that whale, she is a part of the community," Gregory said.

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony that will be open to the public at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, so everyone can welcome the statue back.