Exhibition travels from Paris to the Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem. Open through August, 31, 2010.
A journey to the unknown world at the great depths of the ocean floor, home to creatures unlike any you’ve ever encountered. These are animal species that survive extreme conditions of total darkness, crushing water pressure, and freezing temperatures–creatures that can thrive at depths of over 10,000 meters below sea level!
How do they live and thrive? What enables them to survive under such extreme conditions?
Did you know there are deep-sea creatures that light up their surroundings with biological illumination when they are in danger? (Atolla jellyfish) And others that use the same mechanism to capture their prey? Or octopi whose bodies have developed a Velcro-like pad that helps them adhere to the ocean floor? What about fish with “legs”? Or huge worms with lustrous red fringe?
Image: Jelly Benthocodon sp. © 2002 MBARI This jelly is generally found swimming very near the bottom. Most likely its myriad tentacles (between 1000 and 2000) are used to capture small benthic crustaceans
The Deep is the most extensive and comprehensive collection of deep-sea life forms ever exhibited. It is an unprecedented opportunity to become acquainted with rare and marvelous creatures that were discovered only in recent years.
Contained in the exhibition are dozens of aquariums and hundreds of photographs of rare fish. The darkened hall intensifies the radiant colors of the deep-sea creatures. The sense of entering the ocean depths is enhanced by a sound track composed especially for this exhibition and film footage shot by leading oceanic researchers.
Accompanying the exhibition are graphic panels and explanatory texts in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
Following its premiere at the Natural History Museum in Paris, the exhibition began a world tour. In each location, it attracted wide media attention and millions of visitors.
On May 28, the day of The Deep’s inauguration in Jerusalem, a parallel exhibition will open at London’s Natural History Museum.
The Deep’s curator is Claire Nouvian, a journalist and photographer who has received many awards for her efforts to protect deep-sea life.
Production: The Bloom Association and the Natural History Museum of Paris
The Deep will be exhibited at the Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem to commemorate the International Year of Biodiversity.