The Delaware Museum of Natural History is doing more than plunging into the deep end of the pool this summer. It’s diving into the depths of the ocean with the exhibit Deep Sea Treasures, running June 6 through Oct. 4.
“It gives an idea of the biology, the technology and the challenges associated with deep sea exploration,” said Sharon Silverman of the museum’s public relations department.
Deep Sea Treasures also explores the variety of animal and plant life found at various layers of the ocean as well as the technology and the necessary adaptations and compensations man uses to explore the least known realm of planet Earth.
According to Director of Development Dawn Swartout, “We don’t know as much about the ocean as we don’t know about space. Space we believe is infinite. The ocean, we think, has a floor, but we can never get down there.”
She said that science can only explore to the extent that technology allows, and that is what makes the exhibit so exciting.
“It’s showing us what equipment, what technology what you have to withstand,” Swartout said. “And amazingly, what creatures have to develop in order to live there.”
Swartout said the exhibit has something for every age group from elementary school kids to teenagers to adults.
As part of the exhibit, visitors can examine deep-sea technology including remote-operated vehicles, practice recovering treasure with a robotic arm and feel the chill of water from the ocean depths without getting in over their heads.
Also featured are sea creatures that live at depths where sunlight never reaches. Some of those creatures generate their own bioluminescence to hunt for food and attract a mate.
Some of the displays are based on explorations by the museum’s Curator of Mollusks Liz Shea, while others were created at the Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa, Florida, the exhibit's home base.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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