Exhibition Opens March 31, 2012, and Remains on View Until January 6, 2013



The American Museum of Natural History announces Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence, a new exhibition about the extraordinary organisms that produce light, from the flickering fireflies found in backyards across the Northeast to the alien deep-sea fishes that illuminate the perpetually dark depths of the oceans. Rare among plants and animals that live on land, the ability to glow—that is, generate light through a chemical reaction—is much more common in the ocean, where up to 90 percent of animals at depths below 700 meters are bioluminescent, including many unknown to science. Like the crystal jelly whose glow led to a revolution in cell biology, these animals may hold important clues to essential questions, but scientists are in a race against time as habitats are increasingly threatened by pollution, overfishing, and global climate change.

“Creatures of Light reveals to the public some of the most magical, wondrous, and truly extraordinary creatures and phenomena to be found in the natural world,” said Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History. “The exhibition will take visitors to such fascinating places as a bioluminescent bay and the far depths of the ocean, explain why and how certain animals create ‘living light,’ and help us all better understand the vast and glorious ecosystem of which we are just a part.”

In Creatures of Light, visitors will move through a series of re-created environments, from the familiar to the extreme, to explore the diversity of organisms that glow and how they do it; discover the variety of ways in which light is used to attract a mate, lure unsuspecting prey, or defend against a predator; and learn how, where, and why scientists study this amazing natural phenomenon. Throughout the exhibition, iPads featuring videos, infographics, photo albums, and animations will provide opportunities to hear directly from researchers about their work.

Starting in a local meadow on A Summer’s Night, where fireflies use unique patterns of flashing light to communicate with potential mates, visitors will descend into A Mysterious Cave in New Zealand to watch a fantastic spectacle of luminescent “fishing lines” strung by larval gnats, glowworms, to trap prey.

A unique interactive environment in A Sparkling Sea will introduce the brilliant light displays of Mosquito Bay on Puerto Rico’s ...