EXTREME DEEP: Mission to the Abyss

SUBMERGES VISITORS IN DEEP UNDERSEA WORLD

It's a world that, until a few years ago, no one knew existed. EXTREME DEEP: Mission to the Abyss, sponsored by John Hancock Financial Services and Discovery Channel, offers opportunities for hands-on exploration of life at the bottom of the sea. Presented by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, EXTREME DEEP is a blockbuster interactive exhibit that highlights the adventure of deep-sea exploration and discovery.

Presented by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), EXTREME DEEP is a blockbuster interactive exhibit that highlights the adventure of deep-sea exploration and discovery.

EXTREME DEEP depicts the mysteries of the ocean's greatest depths. Newly discovered life forms, thermal vents, close-up views of deep-sea research submersibles, and shipwrecks, including the Titanic, are among the attractions in this deep-sea adventure. Museum visitors will observe firsthand the technology that has only recently allowed men and women to travel to the ocean floor.

EXTREME DEEP puts the technology necessary for deep-sea exploration in the hands of museum guests. From the Command Center, visitors can simulate the launching protocol of the submersible Alvin to begin another exciting trip to the abyss. Visitors join fellow explorers in a replica of Alvin 's personnel sphere, which they can operate to simulate a dive to depths of up to three miles.

They can fly a remotely operated vehicle over a model of the Titanic 's deck. They can also test their skill at manipulating Alvin's robotic arm by picking up lava rocks and clams from the sea floor while peering through a recreation of Alvin's four-inch viewport window. It's not as easy at it looks!

Geologic forces deep within the earth drive the great crustal plates of our planet, building seafloor features that create hydrothermal vents. Researchers study the process firsthand in WHOI's submersible Alvin, or using other tools like the remotely operated vehicle JASON and autonomous underwater vehicles ABE and REMUS.

EXTREME DEEP brings the sea floor to the surface in an amazing display that illustrates the magnificent engineering feats of Mother Nature, such as the building of enormous "black smokers" that spew mineral-rich fluid into the ocean supporting life vastly different from that flourishing on land or shallow water.

The exhibit allows museum visitors the opportunity to walk along a dramatically recreated ocean environment, something that is impossible to do in the real ocean because of the crushing pressure of the water. This enthralling space features many of the creatures, each depicted in full, lifelike detail, living thousands of feet below the surface around the deep-sea vents.

Based on the findings of WHOI researchers and their colleagues, some scientists theorize that similar life may await discovery in outer space. The discovery of the earth's vent site creatures, which do not need sunlight to survive, suggests that life can exist wherever there is water, heat and nutrients. A likely celestial body is one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, which appears to be covered by ice which some believe may harbor a deep, underground ocean of water. EXTREME DEEP highlights the Mission to Europa in video and murals.

EXTREME DEEP, designed for ages 6 and older, introduces biology, chemistry, geology, history, exploration and the critical role that technology plays in understanding our world and its future.

National Corporate Sponsors:
John Hancock Financial Services
Discovery Channel

Content Collaborator:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Now Showing:
El Paso, Texas
Lynx Exhibits
January 30, 2010 - May 30, 2010

Upcoming Venue:
Watch for venue announcements

Past Venues:
The Science Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
The Children's Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana
OMSI, Portland, Oregon
Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, New Jersey
North Carolina State Museum of Natural Science, Raleigh, North Carolina
Omniplex, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Philadelphia Academy of Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
US Rocket and Space Center, Huntsville, Alabama
St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Nauticus National Maritime Aquarium, Norfolk, Virginia
Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Science City, Kansas City, Missouri
The Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk, Connecticut
Rocky Mount Children’s Museum , Rocky Mount, NC
Nauticus National Maritime Aquarium, Norfolk, VA
Museon, Den Haag, NL
Natural Science Center, Greensboro, NC

Lease Information
Call Christi Klingelhefer at 210-599-0045.