First Floor - next to Volcanoes
The Oceans Gallery features life-sized replicas of the sea shore and inter-tidal zone around New Zealand´s coastline. As in the Land Gallery, Oceans also makes dramatic use of land modelling.
Auckland War Memorial Museum is registered as a zoological park, because live exhibits are used throughout the natural history galleries. In the Oceans Gallery you can find marine creatures such as sea-anemones, fish and echinoderms (starfish and sea eggs) in saltwater aquaria. Tonnes of sea water had to be pumped into the galleries for the aquaria.
After the rock pool in the Coastal Gallery, visitors are led into a truly magical sea display, where models of giant sharks and marlin and projected images and sounds of other fish life, create a living ocean experience.
A replica segment of the 40 metre arched wall from the Poor Knights Marine Reserve has been recreated as close to reality as possible. It is a world filled with many strange and wonderful plants and animals and fascinating environments with the bright and colourful profusion of sponge, coral, shell and fish life. This wall is considered by many to be a diving mecca worldwide and divers visiting the gallery swear to the authenticity of the Museum´s version.
There are touch screen monitors in the Oceans Gallery, which visitors can use to access audio-visual information on the sea and marine life.
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