What lies beneath – Sea Creatures

Sea Creatures has swam into London this August and will be here until 30 September 2018.

It is an interactive and immersive exhibition that will take guests on a journey deep into some of the ocean’s most iconic marine species.

Sea Creatures the exhibition

Firstly though before I tell you about my deep sea discoveries let me tell you a bit more about how they have brought this exhibition to life.

Naz Kabir of Culture Event Creative, brings this mind blowing exhibition to the UK in partnership with the Scottish Association for Maritime Science (SAMS) to give visitors an insight of what lies within our oceans and how we can become more involved in conserving marine life to help preserve ocean life.

In order to display the marine life which lives in our oceans a plastination process is used which keeps the ethically-sourced specimens perfectly preserved.  The preserved displays uses the same plastination process developed by Dr. Gunther von Hagens and made famous by artist Damien Hirst, replacing fluids and soluble fats with resins and allowing us to view incredibly accurate ‘cross-sections’ of the creatures.

Displayed are over 50 full body specimens and 150 body parts and organs guests will be able to gaze and learn more about Leafy Seadragons through to Minke Whales.

The exhibition also features unique digital experiences, including an interactive touch table, augmented reality installations, a mini cinema and even a giant ball pit with interactive games that allow children to learn about marine conservation while they play.

Adventuring into the deep with Sea Creatures

Entering through the doors of RHH Lawrence Hall in London it was time for a quick snap with some others from the Love Pop Ups London community who joined me that day.

Then it was time to dive deep into the exhibition via walking through a holographic walkway which smelt like the ocean.

I then came face to face immediately with a 3.6-metre long Great White and many other sea creatures and mammals who live in our oceans.

Great White Shark

Did you know:

• that Great White Sharks can dive to depths of up to 1200 metres
• that they have an excellent sense of smell detecting one drop of blood in 100 litres of water

I even discovered nearby some other sharks such as this Lemon Shark and a selection of their organs.

Lemon Shark

Sharks Intestine

After learning and being amazed by the different varied sharks I then carried on and explored the secrets of the life of every other sea creatures and mammals that lie beneath the ocean’s waves from Penguins to Whales.

Here is a selection of some of my favourite encounters:

The Finless Porpoise

Did you know:

• that the Finless Porpoise get it’s name from their lack of dorsal fin, instead they have a ridge of bumps along their back
• that they tend to usually travel in groups of 3-6
• they are very active swimmers but not showy like dolphins
• their young are born over Spring, Summer and Winter depending on exact location
• their calves feed on their mother’s milk until the age of 6-15 months

Crab Eating Frog

Did you know:

• that this frog is the only frog to be able to tolerate a marine environment

Leafy Sea Dragon

Rays

Did you know:

• that Manta rays can reach up to 1,350kg in weight
• they have distinct spots and blotches on their underside
• that their brain is the largest in proportion to its body than any other fish
• Rays has the most intelligent behaviour such as coordinated and cooperative feeding

Sailfish

You might of thought this was a Swordfish but it is not.  It is a Sailfish.

Did you know:

• their average lifespan in the wild is 4 years
• they can range from 5.7 to 11 foot in length
• the Sailfish is the fastest fish in the ocean and has been clocked leaping out of the water at more than 68 miles (110 km) per hour

But what the is difference you might be asking between a Sailfish and a Swordfish? well there are six differences from their size, speed, habitat, lifespan, fins and colour.

Minke Whale

Did you know:

• • that the Minke Whale measures less than 25 ft long

• that they are the second smallest whale within the baleen whale family.
• they can hold their breath for up to 25 minutes during long dives and can reach speeds of up to 24 mph.

Plus this is an intestine of a Minke Whale.

Sun Fish

Did you know:

• that the female sunfish can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate in the world of up to 300 million at a time
• they got their name due to their habit which is basking in sunlight at the water surface but in actual fact they spend more time hunting at depth.

However this exhibition was not all about fish they even had some sea birds such as the penguin.

King Penguin

Did you know:

• King Penguins are the second largest species of penguins
• that they can dive up to depths of 300m
• they have an average swimming speed of 4-6 mph
• they can weigh upto 18kg

I won’t say much more about this exhibition for it is now up to you to take the plunge and enter the world of Sea Creatures to discover and be amazed.

Which sea creature within our oceans do you love the best?

Also did you know that you can download a Sea Creatures app and collect cards on the way.  You just need to scan the barcodes which are dotted around the exhibition.  Will you be able to hunt down all the cards.  Plus by collecting all the cards you will be able to get 20% off a t-shirt from the shop.

These are the moving 9D virtual reality pods which you can sit in and have a virtual experience under the ocean.  It is an extra cost of just £5.

You can even buy merchandise at the end for a reminder of your time when you discovered and learnt about the creatures of our oceans.  The T-shirts come to life by one of the features via the app on your phone.  Plus remember if you collected all the cards on the app you can claim a further 20% off the t-shirts.

Verdict

I think this exhibition is worth going along to if you are fascinated by what lives in our oceans as it really is a real eye opener.  I was especially interested and surprised to see such organs of creatures on display from a Seals eye to a Whales liver, which I must add is massive. However this exhibition was not as big as what I initially thought it would be and be warned as these creatures are preserved there is a strong fishy smell throughout the exhibition.  However all in all it is a very interesting exhibition and I certainly learnt a fair bit.

Also Sea Creatures will be popping up in

• Scotland 21 September – 18 October
• Yorkshire 27 October – 28 November
• Northern Ireland 8 December – 2 January 2019

Thanks to Sea Creatures for letting me and others from Love Pop Ups London community come down to discover and learn about the fascinating creatures which live in our oceans.  I went along on a complimentary basis in return for a blog but all views are my own honest opinion.

Click below to read the blogs and/or reviews from the other community members of Love Pop Ups London whom joined me on the venture.  All their views are of their own honest opinion.

Sea Creatures