About the Exhibition

Every journey into the ocean begins at the edge of what we know. It might start with a signal in dark water or a mountain rising from the seafloor. Sometimes, it begins with a living glow where none was expected or a trace of life inside a vial of seawater. Each discovery invites us to look closer.

Into the Unknown brings together more than 20 interactive, immersive and digital experiences that open different paths into ocean exploration. Follow data through the water column, step inside a kelp forest or take the controls of an ocean research expedition. Across science and art, technology and storytelling, the ocean becomes something you can see, hear and enter.

Collaboration shaped every part of the exhibition. Some ideas began during hackathons aboard R/V OceanXplorer, while others emerged from university classrooms and partner institutions. Fellowships and residencies gave artists, students and creative technologists the time and support to develop their ideas alongside scientists and educators.

Move through the exhibition in any order and follow what draws you in. Each experience offers a different way to encounter the ocean and may leave you seeing our relationship with it differently.