Extremophiles at Wonders of Wildlife

First posted on 03-27-2007

Springfield, MO - A traveling exhibition, “Extremophiles: Living In Extremes,” will be on display at Wonders of Wildlife through Memorial Day, May 29, 2006. Misty Mitchell, Wonders of Wildlife Director of Life Sciences, said that this exhibition will “take you where you cannot go on your own and immerse you in a deep-sea experience.” NASA, who also contributed content, funded the display, and the University of Montana and Explore Digital Education, Inc., built the display.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a 16-foot multi-screen multimedia display showing deep-sea footage from Al Giddings, a famed deep-sea filmmaker. Giddings was part of the crew that discovered the Titanic and worked on the movie Titanic. The multimedia presentation will show Extremophiles in their natural environment on four monitors. The exhibition also includes graphic information panels and incredible photographs of these bizarre creatures.

Dr. Jonathan Trent, a NASA Astrobiologist who works at the Ames Research Center, did the majority of the research for this exhibition. Wonders of Wildlife Executive Director Tony Schoonen explained, “‘Extremophiles: Living In Extremes” continues the theme established last year with the exhibit “In Search of Giant Squid.” These exhibits offer a science-based educational opportunity to WOW visitors, WOW members, and school children in the Ozarks. One objective of this exhibition is to excite young people about nature and the unique creatures that exist there

Two special Saturday programs are planned around this exhibit. The first, “Ocean Conservation Day,” will be on March 18. This daylong event will help visitors learn about oceans and creatures that live in the deep. The second, “Jellyfish, Squid, and Squishy Things in the Sea Day,” will allow visitors to learn about unusual things in the sea from jellyfish to squid. Both of these special days will have activities for adults and kids, dive programs in the aquariums, fish feeding programs, and other hands-on events.
Sponsors of the exhibition at Wonders of Wildlife are Great Southern Bank, Hemingway’s Blue Water Café, Butler, Rosenbury and Partners, Ollis and Company Insurors, University Plaza Hotel, and Fisk Limousine.

Jonathan Trent, Ph.D.
Dr. Trent is an Astrobiologist at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. He spent nine years as a research diver studying the open ocean, using SCUBA to explore surface waters. He has been to the bottom of the deep ocean in the research submersible “Alvin.” At NASA, he established the Protein Nanotechnology Group and is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Biomolecular Engineering Department at U.C. Santa Cruz. Dr. Trent has been studying molecular adaptations of Extremophiles. His current research addresses questions about the limits of life and microbial ecology of chronic wounds in diabetics and ways to optimize the healing process.