The whole room gasped with joy as soon as they saw the hedgehog.

This hedgehog was just one of the four animals brought to the Christian Petersen Art Museum by the Blank Park Zoo to give Gwynn Murrill’s “Menagerie of Maquettes” exhibit a proper send off, as the display will come to an end this week.

The Blank Park Zoo also brought along an alligator, a rooster and a ball python to the museum’s “Art and Animals” event Feb. 19. Everyone in attendance had the opportunity to not only learn about the animals, but to touch them as well.

The room was filled with people of all ages excited to check out both the real animals and their metallic counterparts.

“[The event] was cool because I kinda felt like a little kid,” said Stephanie Burkhart, sophomore in biology. “I’m really afraid of birds though, so I was not a big fan of the rooster, but it’s OK because I really liked the hedgehog.”

Murrill’s “Menagerie of Maquettes” has called the Campbell Gallery in Morrill Hall home since last August. The exhibition features more than 60 small bronze maquettes of various animals, ranging from birds to foxes.

“I think it was really cool that they were able to bring [the animals] in to end this exhibit,” said Emma Johnson, junior in biology. “I feel like they put a lot of work into bringing in different artists and showing them off, so this is a nice way to show all the hard work that was put in.”

Seven larger sculptures of the animals can also be seen outside Morrill Hall, including the crouching tiger and the grazing deer. These sculptures are part of Murrill’s “A Walk on the Wild Side” exhibition.

“Currently, the exhibition we have now is a companion exhibition with the Anderson Sculpture Garden,” said David Faux, program assistant for University Museums. “So the maquettes that we have are what we would consider ‘rough drafts’ of larger sculptures. Often times when an artist is commission to do something, they will make a maquette to show what it’s going to look like.”

Faux said that although the exhibition in the Campbell Gallery will soon be on its way out, the animal sculptures outside Morrill Hall will still be around for another year and a half.

Faux said the museum likes to showcase its Christian Petersen works alongside a modern artist for contrast in the Anderson Sculpture Garden.

“We have several sculptures by [Murrill] out on the Vet Med campus,” Faux said. “We organized this exhibition to showcase her work in a broader scope, especially because of where Vet Med is, many students don’t often go to unless you use their services. This is a way for students and everyone to engage in her work.”

In two weeks, the Campbell Gallery will be transformed as laser artwork by Dan Corson will take over the space.

“This space is going to look completely different in two weeks. Everything will be black and there will be lights and lasers bouncing off the walls, so it’s going to be really neat,” Faux said.

To kick off the new exhibition, University Museums will be hosting an event called “Blurring the Boundaries.” Attendees will have the opportunity to not only check out the new artwork, but also meet with the artist as well.