Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
OPEN SEA EXHIBIT
We knew that if we could pull it o¤, the open sea exhibit would be
unique, literally one of a kind in the world. Of course, collecting and
keeping pelagic animals was unexplored territory for us, but we already
had a good start on that critical part of the project and felt confident
about getting a representative group of fishes to display.
However, one important challenge remained to be tackled if this ex-
hibit was going to give our visitors the true feel of the open ocean. Un-
like the other habitats we'd done in the aquarium, the open sea is noth-
ing but water, with no visible objects other than the living inhabitants.
Obviously, we had to have walls to contain the water of the tanks, yet
we wanted people to have the impression they were looking into noth-
ing but endless ocean. As much as possible, we wanted them to feel as
if they were part of that environment. Somehow, therefore, the tank
walls would have to be out of sight, or at least as inconspicuous as
possible.
We had solved that problem in “Planet of the Jellies” with tanks that
had translucent blue backs, creating the illusion of limitless water. We
knew we could do the same with the new jelly displays, but the giant
pelagic-fish exhibit we had in mind had to be made of concrete, and
there's no such thing as translucent blue concrete. Someone suggested
that an acrylic tunnel going through the tank would give visitors a sense
of immersion. Yes, but the drawback of such a tunnel is that it's im-
possible to hide the surrounding walls of the tank.
I wrestled with the problem of how to create the impression of vast-
ness in a limited space, and as an idea popped into my head I would
jot down a sketch on an envelope, cocktail napkin, or whatever hap-
pened to be handy. The problem was not just to make the walls of the
tank disappear, but to do it without making the tank so huge that we
couldn't a¤ord to build, operate, or provide space for it. Eventually I
narrowed the possibilities down to one design. The tank would have
to be quite large, but not unreasonably so. Its end walls would be to-
tally out of sight thanks to the physics of light refraction. The back
and the bottom of the tank would be curved like the inside of an egg,
with no sharp angles that would catch the eye. And the whole thing
Search WWH ::
Custom Search