Whale of a School
Naperville, Illinois
In 1983, a student won a contest to coin a new slogan for Highlands Elementary School, calling it "A Whale of a School." The slogan became so popular that in 1997 sculptor Joe LaMantia carved a big wooden whale that sat outside the school -- but it eventually succumbed to rot and termites.
Unwilling to sink the whale, the school raised $20,000 and used resident artist Victoria Fuller to create a new, long-lasting concrete whale. It was unveiled on Oct. 20, 2011. Ten feet high, the smiling, bright blue whale is breaching out of a far-too-small puddle of water, and is covered by colorful sea plants and creatures suggested by the school's fifth graders.