Stunning Smithsonian Ocean Hall Sea Sights
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Revealing some of the underworld’s untold mysteries from the ocean’s deepest recesses, the breathtaking new Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington opened to the public on Saturday, teeming with sea life of hundreds of marine specimens, models, and high-definition video experiences.
Photo Getty
The project is the largest renovation since the museum opened in 1910, which took 5 years and $49 million to build, and involved more than 1,000 people to create the new exhibit which will allow visitors to plumb the depths of the sea.
More people have stood on the moon than have visited the ocean’s deepest recesses.
The global view of the ocean includes a display of sharks and a Great White Shark jaw, as well as a 1,500 gallon aquarium containing an Indo-Pacific coral reef featuring more than 1,000 specimens of 50 species of live fish and other marine life.
‘Phoenix,’ a North Atlantic right whale model in the Sant Ocean Hall. Photo Telegraph
‘Phoenix,’ right whale model. Photo Telegraph
Great White Shark jaw. Photo Telegraph
The massive ‘Phoenix’ looms overhead — a 45-foot model of a North Atlantic live right whale which was born in 1987 and has been tracked by scientists ever since.
“Phoenix is the ambassador of the hall.” said museum director Cristian Samper.
Sant Ocean Hall is the only place in the world to display the preserved remains of a large prehistoric adult coelacanth fish and its pup, which was thought to have gone extinct 65 million years ago until a fisherman caught one off the coast of South Africa in 1938.
Other preserved remains include male and female giant squids floating in liquid.
“For thousands of years people looked across the ocean and asked, ‘What lies beyond?’ Today we ask, ‘What lies below?’ and ocean explorers with new technologies are finding answers to those deep mysteries.” said Conrad C. Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The ocean is a global system essential to all life, including yours.” added Cristian Samper:
Photo Telegraph
Prehistoric Coelacanth and its pup.
Fossil specimen of a Trilobite that dominated the ocean more than
400,000,000 years ago which became extinct.
Other displays and technologies in the 23,000-square-foot exhibition include:
• “Ocean Odyssey,” a film by underwater cinematographer Feodor Pitcairn, which wraps the walls above the exhibit space.
• “Journey through Time,” looking at the past with fossils of ancient organisms, some more than 500 million years old.
• “Deep Ocean Explorers,” a video that follows a dive through the zones of the open ocean to the deep bottom aboard the submersible, Alvin.
• “Living on an Ocean Planet” traces the connection between the ocean and daily life.
• “Human Connection,” a series of 30 stories told throughout the hall, highlighting the relationship between humans and the ocean.
• “Science on a Sphere,” a room-sized, 360-degree global display system, developed by NOAA, displaying information on what the ocean produces, how it changes and how it interacts with the atmosphere to moderate our climate.
• “The Ocean as a Laboratory,” developed with the History Channel, a series of audiovisual stories and supplemental photo essays that introduces the work of marine scientists around the world.
The Science on a Sphere globe created by National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. Photo Telegraph
Photo Telegraph
Sant Ocean Hall
Sant Ocean Hall is named for Roger and Vicki Sant, D.C. philanthropists and Smithsonian supporters who donated $15 million to support the new hall and related programs and outreach activities, making them the largest donors to the museum.
$21 million was also provided by a federal appropriation for the renovation of the hall.
The hall was created in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Smithsonian’s partnership with The History Channel resulted in several audio-visual stories about marine scientist work around the world. Hall-wide teaching points include habitat transformation, pollution and climate change.
Window into the Ocean
Sant Ocean Hall Media Preview
Source: Yahoo News
Tags:animals marine life Sant Ocean Hall science Smithsonian National Museum
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Absolutely amazing pictures. These definitely do not suck.
Wonderful display BUT …… The South African Institute for aquatic Biodiversity (formerly the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology) in Grahamstown, South Africa has had a coelacanth adult and pup on public display for the past 20+ years. In addition the original 1952 specimen from Domoni, Anjouan is also on display.
Great pictures! It’s pictures like these that make me wish I had gotten into photography.
amazing photos it looks a spectacular place well worth a visit.
Pad
Did you see how big those shark jaws were!?! OMG! I would hate to encounter that shark in the water!
That’s interesting, Robin, as the words that the Smithsonian Ocean Hall was the only place in the world to display the preserved remains of a large prehistoric adult coelacanth fish and its pup came directly from officials from the Smithsonian themselves.
Just imagine what it’s like to see live, rather than from photos, Susan
I know, they’re absolutely monstrous and frightening to even think about, Harley Jane
that whale overhead looks amazing. striking.
Deborah – just go to show that even ‘experts’ can get it all wrong!!They are indeed quite awesome – a face only its mother could love
. Robin
Very true, Robin
Some of the most unattractive creatures can also be some of the most interesting.
Time is spread very thin for me, but if I get a chance I’ll do a search and see what I can come up with to update this post with what you stated for the South African Institute. Thanks for your input =)
Even the Smithsonian Ocean Hall Sea Sights couldn’t resist putting a clown fish on display amongst 400,000,000 fossils.
Deborah, try browsing through . With any luck they might still have pics of the coelacanth display I set up in the Institute. Robin
Oops! That should read . Also try which has loads more info on coelacanths. Robin
Not working – saiab.ac.za and dinofish.com
Well now I understand how you come to know so much about the coelacanth, Robin
Copying the URL’s that you provided to the browser only worked for the second link, but doing a search for The South African Institute did bring me to your first link which worked from there.
I was able to find images of coelacanths on their site, but nothing in regards to your display. Do you know if it’s still set up there, or could the Smithsonian possibly have acquired the exhibit from them?
The second link does provide some great information on the fish, thanks for providing the info
@fish248, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering their large popularity
Awesome Pictures! Can’t wait to see this with my own eyes!
Deborah, I went down to SAIAB yesterday just to check that they still have those three coelacanths on display (anticipating your query
) and, yes, they do! I also queried why there was so little information on their website which really is a huge disappointment – it was FAR and away better some years back! No response yet 
The owner of the dinofish website is a good friend of mine – lives in New York – and I think might have some pics and even possibly some video of the SAIAB (my) display.
If you write to me at *** I can and will send you some pics and info that I have of my display. I can also send you the URL wherein there is my account of the 1952 coelacanth and the desperate flight to recover the fish from the Comoro Islands.
Thanks so much Robin. I’ve sent you an email, so if you don’t receive it, please check your spam folder. We will get the record set straight for you
Hey! The above comments aside – the new Smithsonian hall looks absolutely STUNNING and I dearly wish I could see it all for myself. Another lifetime perhaps!
Indeed it does, Robin. I would love to see it myself, but the odds in that are slim to none
And I would really be interested to know what has come of your display 
Robin, and for others reading this, I have received your information and photos. I will be updating this post very soon, so please stay tuned
Just wondering how BHO is going to make everything “fair” in the ocean? He wishes to make our economy fairer hence the lefty’s Fannie Mae situation. Lets all share and share alike, if you can not pay your loan we will do it for you just vote for us. Well in the ocean the little fish get eaten by the big ones, under the Soros and Obama administration this will no longer occur. The bigger fish will be penalized for being big, its only fair.
Great photos .. loved the window into the ocean video