Unseen Oceans

Two female children sit inside a recreated deep-sea Triton submersible

Exhibition Information

Venue gallery size:

8,000 ft²
(750 m²)

Venue ceiling height:

12 ft recommended
(3.6 m)

Standard Rental Length:

14-16 weeks

Unseen Oceans takes visitors on a journey to encounter our blue planet as never before.

More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans, yet surprisingly little of these vast realms has been explored.

Explore the world’s oceans through the lens of 21st century technology.

Highlights

From the oceans' sunlit surfaces to their inky depths, a series of media-rich galleries highlight the latest advances in ocean exploration, the researchers and technologies behind them, and the mysteries that remain.

A room is filled with a tornado shaped display of dozens of green glowing marine fishes and animals

Examine to-scale models of biofluorescent marine species.
R. Mickens/© AMNH

Silhouettes of two people are shown against an enormous 180 degree screen displaying images of marine species

Visitors can stand side-by-side with some of the largest animals that inhabit our planet in this section featuring an 180-degree, high-resolution screen where animations of blue whales, giant squid, and manta rays swim by at true-to-life scales.
R. Mickens/© AMNH

A girl examines a model of a recreated map of the seafloor topography

Examine a model of the Hudson Canyon and other spectacular underwater features to discover how scientists are beginning to construct extraordinarily detailed images of the seafloor with the use of sound waves, radar, and lasers.
D. Finnin/© AMNH

Two children lay on the floor on top of a projection of ocean waves on a beach, a wall behind displays the exhibition title Unseen Oceans

Visitors are welcomed by a familiar sight: a projection of waves lapping at their feet and a vista of the water’s surface, inviting visitors to consider the oceans' vast unknown depths.
D. Finnin/© AMNH

A family look up at a mirrored wall with oversized plankton images, several are circled in bright neon lights

Visitors can try to match adults from a variety of marine species to their planktonic forms in a “Find My Baby Picture” game.
R. Mickens/© AMNH

A family looks at a cased display of two larger-than-life models of plankton in a blue room dotted with tiny glow in the dark plankton models

Oceans are inhabited by plankton, organisms that sustain nearly all marine life. Visitors can inspect larger-than-life models of unusual and beautiful planktonic species.
R. Mickens/© AMNH

A family of four looks down at their feet where projected fish school in circles around them

An interactive digital media installation features schooling fish that react to visitors' movements in a simulation of marine protected areas.
D. Finnin/© AMNH

A group sits in front of mock porthole windows and a large monitor displaying an underwater image of fish and plankton

A girl wearing a pink backpack looks through an underwater camera fixed to a wall

Visitors can discover some potential functions of fluorescence in the ocean and find out how a biofluorescent fish looks under different lighting through the lens of specialized underwater cameras like the ones used by scientists.
R. Mickens/© AMNH