"Wings Of Witness," a sculpture composed of the pull tabs of 11 million aluminum cans, was assembled this summer by counselors-in-training at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute.
Holocaust survivor Sidonia Lax was one of several adults and campers at the institute who hiked up Friday to see it.
"It's overwhelming," said Lax, a member of the Brandeis-Bardin board. "If one could only imagine that each of those tabs represents a person. Sixty of those tabs represent members of my family."
In its only West Coast exhibit, "Wings of Witness" will be on display from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. Then it will be boxed up and shipped to the Holocaust Museum in Houston where 3,600 youth will participate.
"It's the most incredible thing I've ever done in my life," said 16-year-old Ben Hierschfeld, one of the counselors who helped with assembly. "Millions of people will see this and the amazing thing is knowing that we were part of it."
The sculpture, which currently measures 85 by 40 feet, was the creation of sculptor Jeffrey Schrier and artist Wilfredo Morel. The concept came from, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly", a book of poems and art created by children of the Terezin concentration camp.
An estimated 18,000 children from 14 states created feathers, small sections of the wings, which then were shipped to Bardeis-Bardin for assembly.