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Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence

In a dark room a child uses a touchscreen monitor while looking up at a fluorescent glowing model of a coral reef and sea turtle
Creatures of Light: Nature's Bioluminescence introduces the extraordinary diversity of organisms that produce light, from flickering fireflies to mysterious deep-sea fishes.

Scientists are just beginning to uncover the secrets of bioluminescence—the generation of light by living things. Travel through summer meadows and the deep sea to explore this incredible natural phenomenon. 

Highlights

Visitors will encounter other-worldly environments complete with customized soundscapes, including a digitally interactive dinoflagellate “blue lagoon” and an extraordinary fluorescent coral reef where visitors can navigate the habitat through touchscreens.

Throughout the exhibition, visitors can delve deeper into the science of bioluminescence at interactive iPad stations.

A boy smiling and touching an iPad screen
Throughout the exhibition, visitors can learn more at interactive iPad stations offering engaging videos, animations, and additional content about bioluminescence and related phenomena.
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A darkened room is filled with glowing graphics and label decks and oversized models of fireflies
This section evokes an evening lit by fireflies, all signaling to one another in their species-specific “language of light.”
D. Finnin/© AMNH
Four models of jellyfish hanging from the ceiling glow blue-purple against a dark backdrop
When this jellyfish is poked or jostled, spots on its rim light up like an emerald necklace. Its mysterious glow is both bioluminescent and fluorescent. 
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A realistic model of a firefly hangs from the dark ceiling
This male firefly model is 65 times actual size. 
D. Finnin/© AMNH
In a darkened blue room, two adults look at a glowing model of an anglerfish
This model of an anglerfish shows the modified dorsal fin spine topped with a lure that pulses with bacterial light.
D. Finnin/© AMNH

Key Questions

  • What is bioluminescence?
  • How does bioluminescence work?
  • What organisms are bioluminescent?
  • Where are bioluminescent organisms found?
  • How do organisms use bioluminescence to survive in their environment?

Reviews

“I felt as if I was in a dream and was curious to touch, see, learn and explore the many interactive stations, cool displays, and dimly lit spaces glowing with bioluminescence.”
– National Geographic

“A thoroughly engrossing exhibition…teaches us quite a bit about the phenomenon. Yet it still manages to preserve that otherworldly mystery, even cherishing it.”
– The New York Times

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Creatures of Light: Nature's Bioluminescence is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org) in collaboration with The Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada, and The Field Museum, Chicago.