Coral reef adventure

Carnegie, Jan/Feb 2003

CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER

Rangos Omnimax Theater - February 21 - October 2003

It is a world of flashing neon colors, undulating water, and pulsating, oddly-shaped creatures. This is a coral reef: one of the oldest and richest ecosystems on Earth. Nowhere else does such a diverse range of organisms coexist so closely and in such abundance. In fact, nearly 25 percent of marine life-including octopus, angelfish, damsel fish, sea snakes, sponge, anemones, lionfish, cleaner shrimp, and turtles-call the coral reef home.

Coral Reef Adventure, a new film premiering at Carnegie Science Center's Rangos Omnimax Theater on February 21 illustrates the beauty of coral reef systems around Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, Tahiti, and Rangiroa.

The "emcees" of Coral Reef Adventure are underwater filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall, who have studied coral reef ecosystems for more than two decades. The Halls take viewers down 360 watery feet to explore the corals of the South Pacific, swim amid sharks in coral canyons, and be dazzled by the myriad colors and shapes of the sea creatures living among the coral.

So dive into the South Pacific's sun-drenched waters-- it's more appealing than a Pittsburgh winter.