Making marine microbes ma er Darlene Trew Crist Director of Communica ons Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Maine USA
The communica ons challenge was a grand one. How could we make people interested enough in marine microbes to be curious about the research being conducted here at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences? Bigelow Laboratory is the only independent basic research ins tu on in the world that focuses on microbial oceanography. How could we pique people’s interest? Draw them in? Make them understand that the invisible world of marine microbes is vitally important to planetary balance? And, how could we make them understand that we need to know a whole lot more about how the ocean’s niest inhabitants are responding to ongoing climate change? Our mo ves were not en rely altruis c. We also wanted to advance the reputa on of the Laboratory, draw a en on to the world-class research going on here, and garner addi onal public and private support for our research. To meet our goals, we made the invisible visible and, by so doing, set out to make “marine microbes ma er.” Using images taken at three different scales with three different microscopes (compound-light, confocal, and scanning electron), we not only made the invisible visible, but we made the visible huge! We coloured and enlarged images of diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, and other ny marine organisms into a photographic exhibit of 18 images that ranged in size from 40” x 40” to 60” x 50.” We called the exhibit, which we took on the road for display in public places, Tiny Giants: Marine microbes revealed on a grand scale. We cap oned the images with informa on about the microbe itself, its role in the environment, its benefit to society or nota on if it was at risk, and any relevant research being conducted at the Lab. An accompanying brochure was created, but in the interest of “being green,” we created an app (h p:// nygiants.toursphere.com) that described the various images that was accessible on a smartphone. For those without smart phones, we offered up a local call-in number that provided an audio tour. To date, the exhibit has been seen by thousands at venues throughout the New England region of the United States, with a full schedule plan through 2016. In September of this year, the exhibit will move to Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where professors are developing curriculum around the Tiny Giants exhibit in a variety of disciplines ranging from the arts and humani es, to the sciences, to economics. In terms of media coverage, we succeeded in opening up coverage in new media markets, including a slide show on Na onal Public Radio. In short, as our exhibit literature reads, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is proud to share the beauty, wonder, and fascinaƟng stories of these amazingly intricate and adaptable organisms upon which our lives depend. Example of images and cap ons
The Tiny Giants exhibi on in Portland
Contact us: rumyantseva.anya@gmail.com, info@nf-pogo-alumni.org, lilian.krug@nf-pogo-alumni.org NANO website: www.nf-pogo-alumni.org
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