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It's a world that, until a few years ago, no one knew existed. EXTREME DEEP: Mission to the Abyss, sponsored by John Hancock Financial Services and Discovery Channel, offers opportunities for hands-on exploration of life at the bottom of the sea.

Presented by Clear Channel Exhibitions in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), EXTREME DEEP is a blockbuster interactive exhibit that highlights the adventure of deep-sea exploration and discovery.

EXTREME DEEP depicts the mysteries of the ocean's greatest depths. Newly discovered life forms, thermal vents, close-up views of deep-sea research submersibles, and shipwrecks, including the Titanic, are among the attractions in this deep-sea adventure. Museum visitors will observe firsthand the technology that has only recently allowed men and women to travel to the ocean floor.

EXTREME DEEP puts the technology necessary for deep-sea exploration in the hands of museum guests. From the Command Center, visitors can simulate the launching protocol of the submersible Alvin to begin another exciting trip to the abyss. Visitors join fellow explorers in a replica of Alvin 's personnel sphere, which they can operate to simulate a dive to depths of up to three miles.

They can fly a remotely operated vehicle over a model of the Titanic 's deck. They can also test their skill at manipulating Alvin's robotic arm by picking up lava rocks and clams from the sea floor while peering through a recreation of Alvin's four-inch viewport window. It's not as easy at it looks!

Geologic forces deep within the earth drive the great crustal plates of our planet, building seafloor features that create hydrothermal vents. Researchers study the process firsthand in WHOI's submersible Alvin, or using other tools like the remotely operated vehicle JASON and autonomous underwater vehicles ABE and REMUS.

EXTREME DEEP brings the sea floor to the surface in an amazing display that illustrates the magnificent engineering feats of Mother Nature, such as the building of enormous "black smokers" that spew mineral-rich fluid into the ocean supporting life vastly different from that flourishing on land or shallow water.

The exhibit allows museum visitors the opportunity to walk along a dramatically recreated ocean environment, something that is impossible to do in the real ocean because of the crushing pressure of the water. This enthralling space features many of the creatures, each depicted in full, lifelike detail, living thousands of feet below the surface around the deep-sea vents.

Based on the findings of WHOI researchers and their colleagues, some scientists theorize that similar life may await discovery in outer space. The discovery of the earth's vent site creatures, which do not need sunlight to survive, suggests that life can exist wherever there is water, heat and nutrients. A likely celestial body is one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, which appears to be covered by ice which some believe may harbor a deep, underground ocean of water. EXTREME DEEP highlights the Mission to Europa in video and murals.

EXTREME DEEP, designed for ages 6 and older, introduces biology, chemistry, geology, history, exploration and the critical role that technology plays in understanding our world and its future.

LIST OF INTERACTIVES

Research Vessel:
The journey to EXTREME DEEP begins when visitors step aboard this ship-themed area into a model of a control van on the deck of a ship.

Command Center:
- Launch Alvin Interactive:
Prepare Alvin for a deep-sea dive. Visitors can simulate the checklist that the expedition commander must run through before each exciting dive. After you push the right buttons and turn the proper switches, this command center video illustrates stages of launching the 17-ton submersible for another trip to the abyss.

- ROV (remotely operated vehicle) Shipboard Control Van:
Video images offer remarkable detail of the sea floor and appear as though they were actually coming in live from an ROV. Visitors get to choose which amazing site to explore or what ROV to pilot by pushing buttons on multiple screens.

Under Pressure Interactive:
A view of objects subjected to the tremendous water pressure at the bottom of the sea helps visitors understand the dangers and implications of deep-sea dives. Place your arm in a pressure cuff for a physical sense of increasing pressure.

Alvin Photo Op Interactive:
Few will ever get to dive in the real Alvin, but we can all dream! Picture yourself as an Alvin crew member on this full-size Alvin mock-up with a mural of the ship Atlantis as the backdrop.

Alvin Personnel Sphere Interactive:
Three visitors at a time enter this full-size recreation of the Alvin sphere to prepare for a dive. Complete a checklist of tasks to prepare the submersible to "dive." Video footage from actual dives appears in the three viewports.

Robot Arm Interactive:
Watch through a 4-inch viewport window--just like Alvin 's window--and attempt to operate Alvin 's robotic arm. Others may watch the motions of the scaled-down robotic arm from the side, then try to perform the same task watching only the video monitor.

Alvin Arm Artifact:
It's the real thing! Touch and manipulate the claw of a real Alvin arm. This is the essential tool on Alvin used by scientists to collect biologic and geologic specimens from the ocean floor for examination.

Types of Vehicles:
Visitors have all the pieces in their hands ... to build a high-tech submersible. Using colorful puzzle pieces, visitors can build one of WHOI's remarkable underwater explorers, let the pieces fall and try again.

Pilot A Sub:
Little ones can enjoy the deep, too! Children 3-6 climb into and on this toy mini-sub one at a time and play with a periscope. An accompanying mural depicting the vehicles in the exhibit, including Jason, Alvin, ABE and REMUS, evoke an undersea experience.

Build A Sub:
Kids of all ages can flex their engineering muscles building this 3-D Alvin. Using the lightweight, interconnecting pieces helps visitors understand the complexity of this remarkable submersible. The arms go in front, the personnel sphere goes in the center--what else do you need to build a research sub?

Water Column Interactive:
Highlight descriptions of sea life at different depths on a descent to the abyss.

Garden 9° North:
"Now I know what it feels like to get out and walk around in this amazing world!" That's what a deep-sea biologist said about the vent site recreation. This life-size environment depicts what scientists never expected they would find--life at the bottom of the ocean where the sun never shines. You can be Alvin's pilot and manipulate its cameras to zoom in on some of the more than 500 new species discovered in the last few years.

Encounter with a Giant:
Juan de Fuca Ridge: It's dark down here! Scientists see only what Alvin's lights illuminate. View Alvin in scale with the ocean depth for a sense of just how tiny the sub is. Turn on the light: is that a giant?

High Definition Video:
Imagine your living room window opens up into the extreme depths of the ocean--it's that clear! Through the use of state-of-the-art, high definition technology, you will experience 9° North and the amazing and bizarre creatures that live at such depths.

High Resolution Video:
"Swim with the fishes" (almost) by viewing astonishing video of three different vent sites, (1) 9° North off the coast of Mexico, (2) Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Washington state, and (3) Mid Atlantic Ridge--smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Biological/Geological Specimens:
The Real Stuff. Five-foot worms, see-through crabs, and other fragile-yet-tough creatures thrive more than 3 miles below the ocean's surface. These other-worldly creatures live on a diet of hydrogen sulfide and bacteria, nestled snuggly around volcanic vents in near-freezing water. Now we get to see them up close and personal. Visitors examine deep-sea life--biologic and geologic specimens--through a magnifying lens.