Water Planet Exhibit To Open At California Academy of Sciences On September 27

Where there is life, there must be water. And where water is detected, life is almost always found. This critical relationship between water and life is the subject of an innovative new exhibit that will open on September 27 as part of the new California Academy of Sciences.

Silvery, sculpted walls and dramatic lighting set the scene for a unique foray into the Water Planet exhibit. Constructed using new technologies for computer-aided design and fabrication, the complex molded surfaces seemingly flow into one another, inviting touch and creating an immersive, watery setting. Fluidly-shaped openings in these walls provide windows into dozens of aquarium tanks. In the center of the room, three low islands combine additional live animal displays with interactive “touch surfaces” and innovative water elements to address the physical and chemical properties of water. The perimeter walls double as a surround-view theater screen; a five-minute movie about the central role of water on our planet plays across their surfaces once an hour.

While most aquarium exhibits are organized by geography, the live animal displays in Water Planet are grouped by adaptation to life in and around water. Along the perimeter of the exhibit, seven clusters of tanks focus on adaptations for feeding, locomotion, reproduction, defense, sensing, surviving in deserts, and living in and out of water. Animals that have evolved particularly interesting solutions to these functions are featured in each cluster. The sensing cluster, for instance, includes elephant nose fish, which use electric sensors in their skin to detect weak electrical pulses produced by prey, and blind cave fish, which navigate using special cells that detect water pressure changes. The defense cluster includes glass catfish, whose bodies contain mirror-like guanine crystals, causing predators to see mostly reflections instead of their prey. The feeding cluster includes leeches, which inject both an anesthetic and an anticoagulant to block the pain of their bite and keep the blood flowing when they latch onto their hosts. And the locomotion cluster includes a chambered nautilus, which squirts out a jet of water to propel itself through the sea.

The three islands in the center of the exhibit address survival tactics in extremes of water abundance and scarcity, stillness and movement, salinity and freshness, and heat and cold. In the first island, the water scarcity display is inhabited by beaded lizards and gila monsters, two experts at water conservation. Leafy and weedy seadragons drift gracefully at the other end of the island, both of which depend on large bodies of water for their survival. Between the two displays, an interactive touch surface enveloped in mist allows visitors to “wipe away” images to reveal information about organisms that have adapted to a wide range of available water conditions. The second island, which houses koi, cichlids, and jellyfish, turns the focus to water movement and salinity. Here, two more touch-responsive surfaces address adaptations to various levels of salinity and motion, while water spurts and flows across them. The third island, which puts the spotlight on temperature, includes a display of yellow perch under ice. A final touch surface allows visitors to pull up images and stories about animals that survive in a wide range of temperatures.

Once an hour, the entire exhibit is transformed into a full-round theater, playing a five-minute video about the importance of water on the planet. A ring of ten high-resolution video projectors create a seamless, surround-view projection field along the top six feet of the Water Planet walls. The show, which is narrated by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, outlines the properties of water, its link to the origin of life on Earth, and the need to conserve this precious resource.

A Novel Design and New Technologies
The Water Planet exhibit was conceived by New York-based design firm Thinc, which set out to create a powerful and engaging public experience inside an exhibit that reflected the tactility and sensuality of water. To design the exhibit’s innovative wall treatments and islands, they partnered with Urban A&O, an architecture firm that specializes in the design and precision modeling of sophisticated forms and surfaces using CATIA-based software. The molds for the exhibit’s sculpted walls were carved on a computer-guided, five-axis milling machine. The wave-inspired panels were then formed in fiberglass.

The sinuous forms that invite touch throughout the exhibit become directly responsive in the interactive touch surfaces that are embedded in the three central islands. The imagery on these surfaces is projected from above, while water and mist play across them. Hand motion over the surfaces is tracked using camera vision, rewarding curious visitors with responsive content.

In order to project the surround-view media presentation onto the sculpted surfaces of the Water Planet walls, the designers turned to Seventh Sense software, which is capable of merging multiple sources of projection onto compound-shaped visual fields, creating a seamless, shared experience for up to 150 people.

The combined effect of these technologies is an immersive, interactive space that evokes a sense of wonder about the key element that makes life possible on Earth—water.

The Water Planet exhibit is funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

About the new California Academy of Sciences Building
One of the world’s most innovative museum building programs, the record-setting new California Academy of Sciences building will blend seamlessly into San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Expected to earn a LEED Platinum certification, the new Academy will employ a wide range of energy-saving materials and technologies. Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Renzo Piano, and topped with a 2.5-acre living roof, the new building will stand as an embodiment of the Academy’s mission to explore, explain and protect the natural world. With interpretive signage about its green features and a roof-top observation deck, the building will also serve as an exhibit in and of itself. Construction on the exterior of the new facility, which began in September of 2005, was completed at the end of October 2007. The Academy received the keys to the building on November 1, and will now begin the process of building out the exhibits and moving its collection of live animals and research specimens into their new home.

The California Academy of Sciences is one of the world’s preeminent natural history museums and is an international leader in scientific research about the natural world. Founded in 1853 as the first scientific institution in the West, the Academy is now home to the Kimball Natural History Museum, Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium. The Academy conducts research in 11 fields of study, and houses over 20 million scientific specimens. This major new initiative builds on the Academy’s distinguished history and deepens its commitment to advancing scientific literacy, engaging the public, and documenting and conserving Earth’s natural resources. The new building will open on September 27, 2008.

The California Academy of Sciences is home to Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, Kimball Natural History Museum, and world-class research and education programs—all under one living roof. The new Academy, designed by award-winning architect Renzo Piano, opens to the public on September 27. Admission to the Academy is: $24.95 for adults; $19.95 for youth ages 12 to 17, Seniors ages 65+ and students with valid ID; $14.95 for children ages 7 to 11; and free for children ages 6 and younger. The Academy is free to the public on the third Wednesday of each month. Admission fees include all exhibits and shows. Hours are 9:30 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Saturday, and 11:00 am – 5:00 pm on Sunday. The Academy is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. www.calacademy.org. (415) 379-8000.