EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

The exhibition features two sections which are further subdivided into themes, as shown:

1. Origin and diversification of life in the oceans

   • Ocean Formation: physical and chemical conditions involved in ocean formation.
   • Origin and Diversification of Life in the Oceans: a poster session on the chemical theory of the origin of life and the diversification of life forms throughout the geological eras. A timeline of life, measuring 6.5 X 6.5 meters, illustrates this set of information.
   • Evolution: this poster session brings the visitor closer to the concept of biological evolution, with a brief recapitulation of some of the historical aspects of the studies on evolution, and an explanation of the main evolutionary mechanisms, as well as a reflection upon the polemics around evolutionary theory.

2. Information, photographs and curiosities of extant marine organisms

   • Marine Biodiversity: an assemblage of photographs, information and interesting facts about marine organisms. Most photos illustrate species from São Sebastião Channel, in the city of São Sebastião, state of São Paulo, home of CEBIMar-USP.
   • Marine Ecosystems: shows the marine organisms, their interrelations, and how they relate to their natural habitat (sandy beaches, rocky shores, coral reefs, deep sea, and plankton).

A total of 30 posters, composed mainly of illustrations and photographs with a small amount of written text, are displayed in the exhibition. In its original layout, the exhibition also includes fossil samples and some intriguing anatomical parts of marine animals: blue whale and dolphin vertebrae, turtle plastron, ray eggs, sea urchin skeleton, giant seashells, and barnacles).

Additional interactive activities such as board games, drawing spaces, puzzles, black boxes for touching experiments, and marine tanks for observation and interaction with live animals, under the assistance of monitors. Find out more about these activities in the section Educational Activities.

See also images and videos of the exhibition in its original layout, and photographs of subsequent exhibitions in the Image Gallery.