We conducted the first horizon scan for zoos and aquariums to identify the 10 most important emerging issues for species conservation. This involved input from more than 100 experts from both the wider conservation community and the world zoo and aquarium community. Some of the issues are globally important: diseases, zoonoses, and biosecurity issues; new (communication) technologies; global wa...

We have explored design opportunities to enrich the tourism experience of people at the Georgia Aquarium by providing a context of photos and by motivating people to be active creators of content to share their experiences with others. We designed a system named RevisiTour to enable visitors to reorganize photos taken from tour sites and share the photos with others. A visitor’s path and timest...

We present AmbiLife, an aquarium, interactive art installation and ambient information display. The fish generates abstract forms on the surface below the tank. The slow, organic and weightless motion is reflected in a dynamic pattern that is intimately coupled with movement and information flow. In addition to the aesthetic rendering, it acts as an ambient display and information panel, since ...

In the early 1980s, a biologist at the tropical aquarium in Stuttgart, Germany, noticed that the beautiful green alga Caulerpa taxifolia (Fig. 1) would make an ideal aquarium decoration. It does not wither, it is fast growing and it withstands cool temperatures. In the following years, many aquariums acquired Caulerpa plants from Stuttgart, among them the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, from wh...

Inhalational exposure to palytoxin is an extremely rare cause of respiratory distress. This little-known marine toxin has the potential to cause significant morbidity and mortality. Toxicity has been best documented in cases of ingestion but has also been seen in cases of dermal exposure and inhalation of vapors. Palytoxin has been found in several coral species, some of which are favored by ho...

In response to the need for more accessible Informal Learning Environments (ILEs), the Georgia Tech Accessible Aquarium Project has been studying sonification for the use in live exhibit interpretation in aquariums. The present work attempts to add more interactivity [1] to the project’s existing sonification work, which is expected to lead to more accessible learning opportunities for visitors...