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Arts & Entertainment

Jellyfish, fireflies and glowworms light up Perot Museum's new exhibit

The first thing to know about the Perot Museum of Nature and Science's new exhibit, Creatures of Light: Nature's Bioluminescence, is most of its glimmering and glowing animals are not real.

As Colleen Walker, the museum's Eugene McDermott chief executive officer, put it, they are instead "artistically rendered." Still, she believes "bioluminescence" will be Dallas' buzzword this winter.

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Creatures of Light, opening on Halloween, brings to life some of the world's most intriguing organisms that chemically create and omit light. The visual and interactive show, curated by the American Museum of Natural History, has previously traveled to the Field Museum in Chicago and resides here until Feb. 21, 2016.

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The exhibit introduces the scientific concept of bioluminescence with nature's most familiar flickering insect: the firefly. From there, museum-goers can dive into the jungles of Brazil, home to bioluminescent mushrooms, via iPad app or literally stick their heads into a reconstruction of a New Zealand cave where glowworms flourish.

But as patrons will learn, glowing organisms inhabit few places on land. Most reside more than 3,000 feet beneath the ocean's surface in a place called the Midnight Zone. That's why the majority of Creatures of Light displays are models of bioluminescent species, such as crystal jellyfish and vampire squid. However, there is one tank of living fish to look forward to.

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For the exhibit, the Perot secured 20 flashlight fish, which have organs under their eyes that blink when they rotate. Though the fish are about four inches in length, don't expect to see more than quick flickering lights bounce around the tanks.

Because flashlight fish live at a depth known as the Twilight Zone (600-3,000 feet underwater) where light rarely reaches, the museum sequestered two 150-gallon salt water tanks in a dark corner where absolutely no flash photography is allowed. If the fish see light, they could interpret it as a predator and become stressed, which could derail their eating habits, says Jessie Crowley, the museum's lead naturalist educator.

The Perot acquired the fish about a month ago to give them ample time to acclimate, she said. The museum also anticipates donating the fish to an aquarium once the exhibit concludes.

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Creatures of Light excels at making its content approachable. Several portions of the exhibit offer information by traditional written marker, interactive iPad app and by more visual comparison of the science in action.

Subject enthusiasts will appreciate its intricacies, but casual museum-goers may find other aspects less enticing. For example, exhibitions offer more reading and less interactivity, so some is bound to be lost on younger children. And despite praise from curators and staff on the authenticity of the recreations, it didn't feel as life-like as walking through an aquarium or zoo.

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Either way, you're guaranteed to walk away learning something.

Creatures of Light: Nature's Bioluminescence runs Oct. 31, 2015 to Feb. 21, 2016, with the exception of a few holiday breaks (Nov. 27-29, Dec. 26-Jan. 2, Jan. 16-18 and Feb. 13-15). Access to the exhibit costs an additional $7 for adults and $6 for seniors/children after the regular admission price. The Perot will be hosting several spin-off events, including a Discovery Days and Social Science, that center on the bioluminescent theme. For more information, visit the museum's website.