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According to a new report just released by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), average sea level around the world is projected to rise anywhere from 8 inches to over 6 feet by 2100. That seems like a large range, so what does that mean? NOAA developed the sea level rise range based on four scenarios, that include varying amounts of ice sheet loss in Greenland and West Antarctica and different levels of ocean thermal expansion (warming of the ocean waters). From 1900 to 2000, the average global sea level rose 8 inches, so it seems safe to say that another rise of 8 inches would be the absolute minimum we could expect by 2100. At the high end, a rise of over 6 feet would occur if global ice sheets melted at the worst-case rate between now and 2100. However, the rate at which glaciers and ice sheets will melt is the greatest source of uncertainty in sea level rise projections. No one has the answer for this difficult scientific question, as there is a lot more that goes on with ice dynamics than meets the eye.
So what does all this mean for South Florida? Regional projections in sea level rise are a tough, but necessary business. While we can try and hope for the best, officials need to plan for large changes in sea level. (Better safe than sorry, right?) South Florida is particularly vulnerable, with a large population along the east coast and the unique and fragile Everglades to the west. Not to mention the fact that Florida sits on top a limestone bed, which is very porous and allows for rising seawater to intrude into our freshwater drinking supply. Also, even a small increase in sea level can lead to a greater chance for urban flooding events, especially during storms (think Hurricane Sandy). We all know that South Beach already floods during an afternoon thunderstorm, so this could very well become a more frequent occurrence throughout South Florida. And depending on the extent of sea level rise, some places could disappear altogether. In the images below, you can see what Florida will look like (and which areas will be underwater) if the sea level rises to a given level. If you want to experiment with what U.S. coastlines will look like as the sea level rises, go to NOAA’s Sea Level Rise and Coast Flooding Impact Viewer.
To learn more about sea level rise and storm surge threats, come visit our two exhibits Water, Wind and Waves: Miami in a Changing Climate, funded by NOAA, and Hurricanes, funded by the FIU’s International Hurricane Research Center.
 The Miami coastline, with a 1 foot increase in sea levels. Shades of blue indicate areas underwater; green indicates low-lying areas.  The Miami coastline, with a 3 foot increase in sea levels. Shades of blue indicate areas underwater; green indicates low-lying areas.  The Miami coastline, with a 6 foot increase in sea levels. Shades of blue indicate areas underwater; green indicates low-lying areas.
The Museum was flooded last weekend with visitors who came to dive into our 2nd annual Miami Underwater Festival. Friday night kicked off the event with showings of award-winning French and English underwater films from the 39th Festival Mondial de L’image Sous-Marine, including The Surprise Salmon, narrated by Jeremy Irons. And the film festival continued on Saturday with an evening of marine conservation films sponsored by COSEE Florida and Beneath the Waves Film Festival. Throughout the weekend, lots of special guests came to shed light on fascinating underwater worlds, and the amazing creatures that call water home:
Dr. Ted Caplow of Fish Navy Films showed his film Fish Meat: Choose Your Farm Wisely, and talked about how to support sustainable fish farming (for example, eat the “bottom feeder” species)… Dr. Mike Heithaus of Florida International University talked about all the incredible research they are doing in Shark Bay, one of the world’s most unique ecosystems… Julian Sprung of Two Little Fishies discussed new trends and species in ornamental marine aquaculture (everyone loved seeing all the new blends in hybrid fish coloration)… Dr. Lisa Krimsky of NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office talked about lionfish, which are an invasive species in south Florida (this means they are not native to the region), and the problems they are causing for native species. This was followed by a yummy lionfish taco tasting prepared by Chef Alan McLennan… Expert divers Nick Morrell and Jason Bacon of the Miami-Dade Reef Guard Association shared tips on the best places to dive and the fantastic things you can see there… and Chris Olstad from the Marine Resources Development Foundation connected with the Museum via videoconference from Key Largo, and let visitors here at the Museum remotely operate an underwater vehicle in the ocean!
For those visitors who wanted to really get their hands wet, there were workshops to learn how to set up and maintain an aquarium (and a raffle to win your own new aquarium), activities to learn how things float, interactive story time with Oscar from the Miami-Dade Public Library, displays of fluorescent coral, viewings of WPBT2’s Changing Seas, and an exhibition of underwater photography by the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. If you really wanted to get up close, you could even dissect a squid (if you could stomach it). And of course, when you are showing award-winning French films, the weekend would not be complete without a delicious French breakfast by PAUL, sponsored by the General Consulate of France in Miami and partners.
We are just starting to dry off after our weekend underwater, but we are already looking forward to diving in again next year!
 What you’ll see in our Sea Lab, or diving off south Florida  Visitors dissect squid in the Museum’s Sea Lab exhibition  Starfish can grow a whole new body from just a single limb!  Elizabeth and her family meet a seahorse for the first time  Zach meets a diver while remotely operating an underwater vehicle
 Algae living in these coral fluoresce under ultraviolet light
Posted in In the Museum, Partnerships
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Tagged Alan McLennan, aquaculture, Beneath the Waves Film Festival, bottom feeder, Changing Seas, Chris Olstad, COSEE Florida, Festival Mondial de L'image Sous-Marine, Fish Meat: Choose Your Farm Wisely, Fish Navy Films, Florida International University, General Consulate of France in Miami, invasive species, Jason Bacon, Jeremy Irons, Julian Sprung, Key Largo, lionfish, Lisa Krimsky, Marine Resources Development Foundation, Miami-Dade Public Library, Mike Heithaus, National Sea Grant Office, Nick Morell, NOAA, PAUL, Reef Guard, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, ROV, Shark Bay, sustainable fish farming, Ted Caplow, The Surprise Salmon, Two Little Fishes, University of Miami, WPBT2
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In recent times, it seems more and more difficult for humans to avoid negatively impacting nature. But that does not mean that we can’t make a positive impact. The Museum’s eco-art Reclamation Project works to help restore our coastal environments. You can see these efforts every day, on an exterior wall by the Museum’s Wildlife Center. More than 1,100 mangrove seedlings are lined up in biodegradable cups, waiting to be replanted at several restoration sites scattered throughout Miami. Each year, when all the seedlings are taken to be planted, 1,100 more seedlings are brought in to replace the ones that were taken out. This year, as part of a grant from State Farm Youth Advisory Board, students from the Miami Science Museum’s Upward Bound Math and Science program replaced the 1,100 red mangrove seedlings on the wall with new ones they had collected in September from Bear Cut Preserve on Key Biscayne and Matheson Hammock County Park. The seedlings taken down off the wall will be replanted by the Upward Bound students over the next couple weeks at R. Hardy Matheson Preserve, a Miami-Dade County Park, and on Virginia Key. As part of the same grant, students also visited a restoration site at Oleta River State Park that is currently covered in invasive species. In the spring, students will help restore the site by replanting 1.5 acres. Through these activities, students begin to have a first-hand understand of the importance of nature – because humans and animals need nature in order to survive, and nature certainly needs our help to survive as well.
With the increase in number and strength of hurricanes over recent years, it’s important to know how to deal with these natural phenomena. To help the public learn what it takes to predict, prepare for and protect against a hurricane, the Miami Science Museum, in collaboration with State Farm and Florida International University, opened its brand new “Hurricanes” exhibit over Thanksgiving weekend. If you are willing to brave the exhibit, you can test your skills against an impending disaster with a hurricane preparedness game, see real artifacts from Hurricane Andrew, test a model house against hurricane-force winds using a model Wall of Wind, and even climb inside a full-scale P-3 hurricane hunter aircraft. While in the aircraft, you will be headed into the eye of a hurricane, thanks to the large-scale wall mural painted by local artist Jiae Hwang. At the heart of the exhibition is the interactive spherical display known as the “Magic Planet,” which, thanks to a contribution from CSX, has been enhanced with a live climate change presentation led by Museum explainers. The Magic Planet enables visitors to explore connections between hurricanes and global climate change, with a focus on possible impacts on South Florida. During hurricane season, the 4-foot spherical display will even display real storm tracks. “This is a very important time to showcase the hurricane exhibit,” said Miami Science Museum CEO & President Gillian Thomas. “Severe weather is becoming more prevalent and serious across the globe, and South Floridians in particular need to be aware of how to prepare and protect themselves before, during and after hurricanes.” Admission to the “Hurricanes” exhibit is included with regular museum admission.
 Artist Jiae Hwang paints a wall-sized hurricane  Piloting the P-3 hurricane hunter  Testing a house against a “wall of wind”
 2013 Galaxy Gala Committee (from left to right): Patty Garcia, Irene Korge, Linda Levy Goldberg, Lizette Martino Diaz, Tori Anderson, Rose Weiss, Alan Randolph, Alicia Cervera, Anne Owen, Tara Solomon, Gillian Thomas, Trish Bell, Nancy Batchelor, Nicole Lozano, Jennifer Diliz, Maria Goodno, Steven Arch, Jennifer Gibbs, Terry Buoniconti, Swanee Dimare, Maria Beguiristain, Kristen Scorza, Abigail Dubearn. Not Pictured: Ana Maria Bezerra, Debora Duro, Joseph Falk, Vanessa Grout, Lee Hare, Caressa Lanier, Lesley Lyons-Monahan, Bronwyn Miller, Brenda Nestor Castellano, Helena Poleo, Kim Smith, Electra Spillis, Elizabeth Taylor, Susie Wahab, Dale Webb, Steven Weinger. Under the leadership of co-chairs Nancy Batchelor and Nicole Lozano, along with a stellar committee of the leading ladies and gentlemen of Miami’s business and philanthropic communities, the Committee for the 2013 Galaxy Gala is off to a great start!
Scheduled for March 9, 2013, the gala’s theme this year will be centered on an out of this world aquatic experience. The inspirations are the outdoor aquatic spaces and the 600,000 gallon aquarium facility that will be featured in the museum’s new facility at Museum Park. Among the many amazing elements conceived by Miami’s top event planning/marketing company WOW Factor for the gala are: live fish tanks, an LED screen over the dance floor that will make guests feel like they’re truly under the sea, and a few surprises that will blow guests out of the water!
Committee members have already helped line up top sponsors that include Neiman Marcus, Bacardi, City National Bank and Baptist Hospital, among others. In addition, they have secured a line-up of top-notch, luxurious items for the auction that range from a Gucci handbag and Rene Ruiz gift certificates to a 2-night stay at the Shore Club and box seats to the Sony Ericsson tennis finals.
The gala is taking place just as the construction on the new facility continues to progress. Designed by internationally recognized Grimshaw Architects, the 250,000 square-foot Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science will be among the world’s most innovative and sustainable science museums. According to Grimshaw, the Museum is intended to act as a demonstration of ecological and sustainability principles. The building will harness energy from water, sun, wind and even museum visitors to power exhibits and conserve resources.
Slated for completion in 2014 and grand opening in 2015, the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science will be state-of-the-art center for science education and innovation.
At this year’s Miami International Book Fair, the Museum filled a tent in the Children’s Alley section with activities, storytelling, story writing, and even a huge tank of water where children could drive an underwater remotely operated vehicle. Each day we had a different theme – Friday was Environmental Science (Sea Turtle Bingo anyone?), Saturday was Space and Weather (just try to “launch” a ball through a moving hula hoop “target”), and Sunday was Chemistry and Nano Science (can you write a secret message using acids and bases?).
One of the big hits in the tent was our “Community Storytelling Project.” We would start off a story with one simple sentence, and we invited children that came into the tent to write the next lines in the story, one after the other (and even add an illustration if they wanted). By the end of each day, we had some amazing stories that would make even some Hollywood screenwriters jealous. Here are a couple gems from our community storytelling collection. The stories are re-typed below each photo:
Jupiter is my favorite planet. One day I want to go on a space adventure and travel to Jupiter. The ship will launch from America’s future base on Mars. It will be a loooong trip. I want to fly to Jupiter (not the one in Florida, like in the first sentence). I hope to see aliens!
There was an incredible rocket launch into space the other day. NASA is cool. The rocket went to the Moon and the Sun. We also saw 6 aliens! Slimy and small as ants they approached us. They offered atomic ice cream, it tasted like barf. So they spit it out and baby aliens came out of the ice cream when it melted in the crater hole. I jumped in the spaceship and flew as far as I could, but the aliens followed me. Then as I tried to zoom away back to Earth, the aliens threw lasers at me. Soon I called Mission Control for help. But then they got scared of the aliens. And then there was an asteroid that hit the aliens and the spaceship was safe.
A living fossil, sea turtles still nest up and down the busy and overbuilt South Florida coast and travel past our shores throughout the year. The various species of ocean roaming turtle are approximately 200-300 million years old but because they lay their eggs on our beaches, scientists are able to closely study the nomadic animals. For this reason, and with modern techniques such as satellite tagging, we can occasionally glimpse closely into their mysterious lives.
 Loggerhead Shell (photo by Paul Stoppi) One of the finer specimens in the Miami Science Museum collection is a gigantic loggerhead shell. It is from a specimen estimated to be around 150 years old when it died! The shell is marked with a label that the object came from United States Customs, confiscated from someone trying to trade illegally in sea turtle paraphernalia. This is part of the reason the Museum’s collection of sea turtles, around 25 specimens, is so impressive. Even though bycatch – the accidental killing by commercial fisherman – is the greatest threat sea turtles, for many years they were hunted for their shells as luxury items, or to adorn jewelry. In some places, like in Cuba, the flippers, eggs, and head of sea turtles are still eaten by people holding on to age-old traditions, even though hunting them was banned years ago.
 Green turtle specimen (photo by Paul Stoppi) The Miami Science Museum’s very own Fernando Bretos is an expert on green turtles and he follows their movements and mating throughout the Caribbean, but mostly focusing on nesting and migrations between Florida and Cuba. Fernando is a Cuban-American who is trying to pick up the dialogue between Cuba and the United States through sea turtles. It is one of the few links in which exchange is allowed and encouraged, “maybe the only link even,” states Bretos, “and we must share information and resources to protect the animals.” Sea turtles become not just amazing animals to study and appreciate but are also fascinating to consider as a bridge between two politically embattled nations.
 Green turtle specimen, close-up (photo by Paul Stoppi) Fernando is attracted to sea turtles, not only because they are beautiful and need help, but also because he sees a link to himself. They are migratory; he has lived in Cuba, the U.S.A, and Australia. And the green turtle traveling through the Gulf Stream is particular to both his homeland of Cuba and home country of America. But he feels it’s important to understand what our changing definition of nature is. Fisheries biologist Jeremy Jackson suggests at the time of Columbus the green sea turtle population was approximately 660 million turtles. The Tortugas were named such because of this drastic overabundance, and some tales speak of sailors walking from shell to shell on over crowded beached. Indeed sea turtle was one of the primary food resource in the Caribbean. That is in contrast with the estimated 88,000 nesting females in existence today, as reported by the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
In a bittersweet moment, it is almost because of this overabundance of sea turtles in combination with the regulations now put against their trade, that the impressive collection of sea turtle specimens at the Miami Science Museum could be compiled. Through conservation and conversation they can come back, but the dialogue must remain. The collection also shows us how important sea turtles are locally in Miami. In fact, Florida’s beaches are the most important nesting site for loggerhead turtles on the planet! Even though it is 25 specimens, because the scientific community is trying to conserve the animals, a collection like the one the Miami Science Museum is actually quite impressive. It would be impossible to compile today, making it truly unique.
 Turtle tracking via satellite The image above is a satellite track from SeaTurtle.org of five green turtles that were tagged off the coast of Guanahacabibes UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in August 2012 immediately after laying eggs. Since their tagging, these five female turtles have begun their annual voyage to foraging and mating grounds. Two of the animals, one named Conchita, after Fernando’s mother, made a fast dash immediately for Florida. Conchita, whose track is labeled in green, suddenly made an abrupt turn and swam to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula where she is now feeding on shallow sea grass beds.
It is critical to study the migratory movements of these enigmatic creatures. Without knowing where they feed, nest or travel, it is impossible to draft policies to protect them, particularly across international maritime borders.)
The Curious Vault is a bi-weekly online cabinet of curiosities featuring objects from the collection of the Miami Science Museum, presented by writer Nathaniel Sandler and Kevin Arrow, Art & Collections Manager. For more information, email karrow@miamisci.org
In 1949, The Junior League of Miami’s Project Finding Committee decided that the children of Dade County needed a place to explore, expand their minds, and experiment with the world around them. In other words, they needed a science museum. And it only took a year to get the ball rolling with a lot of momentum. The Junior Museum of Miami opened in a house on the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and 26th Street, but it didn’t take long for it to outgrow its first home. After a few years, moves, and name changes, the Museum opened at its current location on the grounds of the historic Vizcaya complex – and now, it’s growing even more, with construction under way for the new Patricia and Philip Frost Museum of Science in downtown Miami. It all began with a simple but clear vision from The Junior League of Miami, and the League continues to support the Museum today, over 60 years later. As visitors to the early science museum will tell you, children would come from all over just to see “the beehive in the chimney.” So, what better way to support the Museum than to bring back the bees? (The non-killer kind.) With a donation from the Junior League of Miami to build a brand new beehive exhibit, and help from Bunch Farms in installing the hive, the next generation of Dade County’s children can see (and even hear) inside the busy buzzing lives of bees.
 Junior League President Katie Lane Arriola, Museum President Gillian Thomas, Junior League Past President Dana Martorella  Junior League of Miami members are joined by their kids, with Museum President Gillian Thomas, by the Bees exhibit
 Bee Puppet Show!  The new Bees exhibit
 The busy buzzing bees at the Museum
 Calcite Tucked away on a high shelf in the collections room of the Museum of Science is a startlingly unique rock specimen. It is white with long jutting crystal arms and made of a fragile mineral called calcite. The piece looks like it comes from completely different planet.
How calcite looks isn’t the only amazing thing about it. Scientists in England have recently shown that calcite might unlock the secret to invisibility. They even make a paperclip disappear! By using the light that reflects off two specially made pieces of calcite, they are able to make the object behind them undetectable. Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak could one day happen due to this amazing mineral.
 Calcite Detail If you want to learn more about calcite, the Miami Mineralogical and Lapidary Guild is the best resource in town. They are a quirky and fun group, dedicated to all things rock-related. Founded in 1955, the Guild has been an affiliate study group with the Museum for those interested in rare or semi-precious stones, cutting and shaping them, and most importantly learning about them. They are very friendly, and welcome all visitors to learn about their unique hobby.
The members of the Guild explained to me that you can identify the specimen as a calcite because of its “habits”. Simply put a habit is the rock’s shape, or in this case, the crystal arms that jut out. How the habits are formed depend on where the rock was made. This particular specimen was found in Wisconsin and its habits come from the precipitation of either ground water or surface water piling on top of each other and hardening over the course of millions of years. The water drips and dries leaving coatings with small particles of the limestone walls that build up and form the calcite.
 Snowy River Cave (Image Source: PlanetGreen.com) One of the more fascinating places calcite can be found is the Snowy River Cave in New Mexico. There is a dry underground riverbed of white calcite, much like the Museum specimen. Only 9 miles of the cave has been mapped and the full extent of the bed is still unknown, but the discovery is one of the most important recent calcite and caving finds in America.
“Nature makes it different every time,“ said the Mineralogical and Lapidary Guild’s Vice President K.C. Foster. This is an important sentiment for minerals because, like a fingerprint, no calcite is ever the same. Whether an underground riverbed, a composite that can make things invisible, or a beautiful specimen like the one in the Museum’s collection, calcite is an amazing and unique mineral.
 The Board of the Miami Mineralogical and Lapidary Guild The Miami Mineralogical and Lapidary Guild meets the first Wednesday of every month at the Miami Museum of Science. They also set up interactive demonstrations for families and visitors the fourth Sunday of every month from 1-4 p.m.
The Curious Vault is a bi-weekly online cabinet of curiosities featuring objects from the collection of the Miami Science Museum, presented by writer Nathaniel Sandler and Kevin Arrow, Art & Collections Manager. For more information, email karrow@miamisci.org
When Orlando Figueroa was a child in Puerto Rico, the early years of the space race captured his imagination, and he wondered what it would be like to travel into space. After achieving multiple degrees in mechanical engineering in Puerto Rico and the U.S., he accomplished, in a big way, his childhood goal. He has served as the Director for Mars Exploration and the Director for the Solar System Division in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, and also as the Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. And he was one of the many people behind the successful Curiosity Mars rover. You can see why he has been given the unofficial title of “The Mars Czar!” Mr. Figueroa came to speak at the Museum recently as part of an event held by PROFESA, the Puerto Rican Professional Association. PROFESA works to help strengthen Puerto Rican community organizations, and is anchored on three pillars: culture, network, and empowerment. Young people from the community who were here to listen to Mr. Figueroa could see not only see that hard work pays off, but also see that with inspiration and lots of determination, you can even become a Mars Czar.
 Orlando Figueroa, “The Mars Czar”  The Mars Czar with future professionals
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