Quote:"In Search of Giant Squid" opens!

The exhibit will not feature an actual live giant squid. That is because until recently, NOBODY HAD EVER ACTUALLY PHOTOGRAPHED ONE IN ITS NATURAL HABITAT! But we knew they existed because they had been found in fishermen’s nets, and washed ashore all over the world.



For the first time researchers in Japan captured and filmed a live giant squid—shedding new light on the famously elusive creatures. Tsunemi Kubodera, a scientist with Japan's National Science Museum, caught a 24-foot animal last December near the island of Chichijima, some 600 miles southeast of Tokyo. His team snared the animal using a line baited with small squid and shot video of the russet-colored giant as it was hauled to the surface. Giant squid, the world's largest invertebrates, are thought to reach sizes up to 60 feet (18 meters), but because they live at such great ocean depths they have never been studied in the wild. Kubodera has spent three years searching for the creatures, and his team scored a coup in 2004 when it used a remote underwater camera to take the first-ever photographs of a live giant squid.



The new "In Search of Giant Squid" exhibit will feature an actual giant squid beak and suckers, examples of squid prey, squid eggs, and other parts of a squid. Planned interactive components allow visitors to compare their size to that of a giant squid. Compelling graphics, evocative text and a captivating video presentation are included in this extraordinary Smithsonian exhibit!



Opening weekend of the exhibit will feature speakers and presentations, to be announced upon confirmation. Stay tuned for details!



In Search of Giant Squid has been developed by the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in partnership with the Discovery Channel, and is made possible by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmoshperic Administration (NOAA).