Who says vectors have to sit still? Why not have them go for a swim? At the American Museum of Natural History, we recently put together a new section of the Museum site for kids, (OLogy). Each section of the site looks at a different "study of" (aka, "ology"), and this one was about marine biology. We focused on the story of ocean life and the research of ichthyologists. Check it out: (Marine Biology: The Living Oceans)

Inside you'll find a cool collection of features ranging from a whirlwind tour of three major marine ecosystems and creature matching game to a sampling project in (and under) a mangrove tree and an in-depth look at biodiversity in the ocean. But this little guy you see flailing his arms about is the star of an OLogy feature called (They Glow!) This two-and-a-half minute presentation "Glowing in the Ocean" introduces the process called bioluminescence - creatures that glow in the dark! Our writer put the lyrics together and we had quite a few people behind-the-scenes to make this happen; the storyboards, animation, and soundtrack was put together by yours truly. Yup, this was a major task of mine back in Fall 2003. Everything from recording the music (that's me singing the third verse, and two co-workers on the first two... an in-house project all the way!) to shading the background to show the depth of water for each scene.

This is a blue-ringed octopus, one of the most venomous octopus species out there and also among the smallest (about the size of a golf ball). It's typically pale-yellow until it feels threatened when it 'lights up' with bright blue rings: a clear warning sign that it's likely to bite. Getting this little guy to glow was one thing, but just the fluid movement necessary to give him some sense of reality was quite a challenge. The whole presentation has a comic style (and combined with the urgency of meeting a deadline), his movement is simplified to jointed arms, which fortunately could all connect safely hidden under the layer that formed the octopus head. The good fortune of a trip to see some of the real thing (at the New York Aquarium) inspired the approach to his dance and the suction that happens when he moves around (just like a jellyfish or squid would do).