Hidden Kingdoms: The World of Microbes

We live in a sea of microbes...
Even though you cannot see these microbes, you are surrounded by them. They are on everything: surfaces, hands, soil, water, snow, and in the desert sands and Arctic Ocean. And they are alive: they reproduce, move, and respond to their environment. Welcome to Hidden Kingdoms-- The World of Microbes. Here you will be able to explore this unseen, fascinating and important realm of life.

Sea of Microbes
Look in the aquarium. You see fish and plants. What you don’t see are the billions and billions of microbes that also live there. To see these microbes look in the nearby microscopes.

Microbes are at the bottom of the food chain: Microbes eat each other and are eaten by tiny animals, which are larger than microbes, that in turn are eaten by the small fish you see in this tank.

Listen to a guided tour and observe the microscopic world that lives in a drop of pond water. You may even make your own drop-of-water slide and see your organisms projected with our video microscope.

Microbial Zoo
There are several different views of microbes in this exhibit. Look at "cavorting beasties" through the unique, high-quality, easy-view microscopes and see some of the "animalcules" that were seen for the first time over 300 years ago!

Giant Eye of a Needle
And finally, walk through the giant eye of a needle enlarged 1000 times, and see amoeba, euglena, paramecium and a sewing thread all enlarged to the same scale. Even at this scale, bacteria are mere dots, and viruses are invisible!