Open Ocean

The Open Ocean gallery explores the pelagic zone — the vast open water column where large predators, schooling fish, and drifting jellyfish share a seemingly empty but complex ecosystem. Moon jellyfish displays showcase the ethereal beauty of these ancient creatures in illuminated cylindrical tanks.

The open ocean is the largest habitat on Earth yet remains one of the least explored and most threatened. Overfishing, plastic pollution, and ocean acidification from carbon dioxide absorption are altering marine ecosystems at an unprecedented rate, affecting species from microscopic plankton to great whales.