Jelly Swarm Invades Pier 4

A new swarm of jellies has invaded the National Aquarium’s Baltimore venue… and they’re right over your head!

The Jelly Swarm is an original art installation in the Aquarium’s Pier 4 atrium, just outside the entrance to the Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out of Balance exhibit. Our Exhibits & Design team worked with Stephen Seigel, who created the jelly lights for Seattle’s Experience Music Project, to develop their design concept. They then went to Dillon Works for final design, fabrication, and installation of the piece, which was installed this week.

 

More than 600 individually painted jellies in seven different shapes and textures comprise the piece, made of vacuum-formed polycarbonate. Altogether, it weighs more than 1,000 pounds.

Here’s a description of the concept from the designers:

As guests approach the Pier 4 atrium they’re greeted by hundreds of translucent, iridescent jellies that sweep down through the space. Crossing the balcony to the stairs they walk under the swarm. The colors shift in the sunlight and the jellies move gently with the currents of air. Following the flow of the jellies, guests descend the stairs and come under the swarm. Soft colors and shadows animate the whole atrium.

This art installation was supported by a donation from an anonymous donor, and was inspired by the many qualities of jellies that intrigue us—their translucent beauty, graceful pulsing movements, otherworldliness, and massive numbers.

Come to the Aquarium soon to see both The Jelly Swarm and the real jellies in our exhibit!

What’s behind the sting?

This weekend marks the start official start of beach season! Every year around this time we start to hear more about jellies because people see them while visiting beaches and swimming in oceans. But unfortunately, the interactions we tend to have with jellies in the ocean are not very pleasant ones.

Recently, a young girl from Australia was the chatter among medical experts around the world for her amazing recovery from a “deadly” jellyfish sting. We all know that jellies have the power to inflict pain to us humans, and have heard that some jellies can even be deadly.  So is her survival of a box jelly sting a miracle?

Box jellies are not a part of the Jellies Invasion exhibit, so our experts don’t have to deal with them on a daily basis. But when asked, Aquarist Vicky Poole said, “As this is a creature with one of the most toxic venoms in the world, I’d say it was a miracle.”

The odds of surviving a severe box jelly envenomation is extremely rare. Box jelly stings have a 20% mortality rate, which includes both severe and mild cases, but the extent of the sting, covering her entire leg, is what makes her survival such a surprise for her doctors.

So what’s behind the sting? Jellies are animals without brains (or hearts, for that matter), so there is no “decision” about stinging. They indiscriminately will sting anything they happen to bump into – prey (for food) or predator (for defense). Vicky reminds us that it’s really their survival strategy…sting first and ask no questions later!

What happens when a jelly stings? Their tentacles have tiny microscopic stinging cells called “nematocysts” that look like fishing harpoons with barbs that penetrate our skin, and then stay in place while the venom is injected into the body of the victim. There is often pain at the site, and usually you’ll notice localized swelling or welts due to the skin’s reaction to the toxins. Depending on the species of jelly, the body’s reaction will vary in severity, and some people have a more severe reaction than others. In extremely toxic species, severe reactions may involve difficulty breathing, coma, or even death.

Let’s bust some myths – can anything really treat a sting? Although weak acids (like vinegar) and very hot water have been reportedly used to neutralize jelly stings, your body will still react to the venom in your system so pain management is needed. And if you’re in areas where dangerous species of jellies exist, Vicki suggests that you seek medical attention immediately. After all, she’s no doctor, just a humble jelly aquarist!

Even though these brainless, heartless creatures instill fear among beach-goers around the world, they are truly fascinating creatures that are an important part of our marine ecosystem. This summer before you hit the beach, we invite you learn more about jellies. You can start by exploring the Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out of Balance website!

Jellies make for interesting art

Jack Cover, the Aquarium’s general curator of fishes and rainforest exhibits, refers to jellies as living  lava lamps. Many exhibits around the country show jellies as living art.  Visitors see them as majestic and mesmerizing. When visiting our new Jellies Invasion exhibit, one local reporter referred to them as being “other-wordly.”

There seems be a new form of jellies artwork…a 600 ft crop circle in a jelly pattern that recently appeared in a barley field in UK! It’s gaining a lot of media and tourist attention as one of the most intriguing crop circles ever seen in Britain. Click here to read more about this amazing form of art.

Have you seen any cool jellies artwork?

Jellies Invasion is here!

Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out of Balance is now open at the National Aquarium! For a sneak peak at the exhibit, visit our new Jellies website!

How has something with no brain survived for millions of years? Learn more about these amazing animals and what makes them so unique. Get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to maintain living Jellies, learn about the species featured in the exhibit, and play the Jelly Quest game!

Jellies are survivors

One of the reasons Jellies are invading the oceans is because they can survive environmental changes that have negatively affected other forms of sea life. Did you know jellies have survived for over 500 million years?!They were here even before dinosaurs.

The key to this survival is their ability to adapt and thrive to changes in the environment. Jellies appear to be better able to survive in polluted water than other forms of aquatic life. Runoff  may be a cause for increases in jellies populations. Excess fertilizer from our yards runs into our waterways fueling algae blooms and the creation of low oxygen “dead zones” in the Bay and in the ocean.  Jellies are able to survive and thrive in these degraded water conditions.