2020-03-14 The Week Junior

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This week’s big exhibition

The Week Junior• 14 March2020

D

eep beneath the seaisastrange world of

monsters–somereal and some imaginary.For

centuries, humans have told stories about undersea

beasts, such as mermaids, seagoats and giant

krakens (squid-likecreatures) the sizeofentire

islands. Surprisingly,whatscientists have actually

discovered at the bottom of the oceanissometimes

even moreamazing than the mythical creatures that

humans have imagined.

Anew exhibi tion at the National Maritime

MuseumCornwall inFalmouth, England, allows

visitors to dive into this hidden underwater world to

explorecenturies-old myths, as well as discover the

real wonders living down there.

Through an immersive tour,visitorscan

experiencewhatitwould have been liketobe

a19thcentury scientist on boardHMS Challenger

and experienceits on-boardlaboratory.HMS

Challengerwasashipused onascientificexpedition

that spent four years, from 1872 to 1876, sailing

around the world measuring seacurrents,

temperatures andexamining wildlife. The deepest

part of the ocean, Challenger Deep,isn amed after

the historic vessel.

The exhibition then moves into the present day,

withexamples of technology used for state-of-the-art

underwaterexploration. Visitorscandiscover how

today’sscientistsexplorethe seas usingsubmersibles

(vessels that go underwater) that allow them to

ventureinto the deepest parts of the ocean. Thereare

also some specially selected specimens of thereal

monsters of the deep and some that may not be

genuine. Will you beconvinced by the “real” mermaid

that appears on stage?

Monsters of the Deepopens on 20 March.To see

morevisit: nmmc.co.uk/monsters-of-the-deep

onstersoft he de ep

Factorfiction?

Cìrein-cròin

The Cìrein-cròin is the largest animal in the world

but it has only been seen oncebyscientists,

because it lives about six miles down in the sea.

It is along serpent thatcaneat up to seven whales

amonth in the feeding season. The animal is

reported to be able to appear as small asatiny

fish and uses this disguise tocatch its prey.

Colossal squid

This enormous sea

monstercanweigh up

to 150 kilograms and

its body and tentacles

cangrowtoaround 14

metres. It lives deep in

the ocean, morethan

1,00 0metres below

the surface. It has the

largest eyes in the

animal kingdom. Its

eyeballs arearound 25

centimetres across,

which is bigger than

afootball.

Ghost shark

Withrabbit-liketeeth andabulging head, th

bucktoothed ghost shark is an odd-looking creature.

It is not particularly large, at around one metrelong,

but its strong teeth mean itcancrunch through the

shells on prey such as crabs. It lives so deep in the

seathat scientists do not know much about it.

Discoverthemyths,legendsandrealcreatureslurkingatt hebottomoftheocean.

The exhibitionlooksatr eal

and imagined sea creatures.

ereal. Fact!Ghostsharks ar 3 ddoes exist.colossal squiFact! The 2 folklore. ottish Gaelic asea monster from Sc Fiction! The cìrein-cròin is 1

Whichoftheseseamonstersarerealandwhicharemadeup?

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