Discovering Hidden Worlds: In the Dark

February 11 through May 29, 2006

Discover the fascinating world of things that go bump in the night at the Witte Museum's newest exhibit, Discovering Hidden Worlds: In The Dark, at The Witte Museum from February 11 through May 29, 2006. There is a $2.00 surcharge for this exhibit.

Discovering Hidden Worlds: In The Dark contains five exciting areas that invite visitors to walk through and experience some of the dark unknown environments on earth. This exhibit allows visitors to peek into the unknown and see what is really happening in places they might not have access to.

Discovering Hidden Worlds: In The Dark utilizes life-size dioramas, interactive elements, mechanical displays, chemical experiments, specimens and informational panels to stimulate visitors senses in each of the dark ecosystems. Discovering Hidden Worlds: In The Dark consists of:

Darkness of Night
Visitors walk through diverse environments to encounter animals that appear in these environments when darkness falls. Visitors travel through a forrest in the Great Smokey Mountains seeing a Barred Owl, Spotted Skunk, a Bobcat, a Flying Squirrel and even Salamanders as they search for food. A visit to the Sonoran Desert allows visitors to watch bats feed on night-blooming cacti.

The interactive games "The Viper Game" and "Flashers of the Night" allow visitors to learn how to hunt as snakes and what firefly's signals mean.

Darkness within the Soil
See what lives below the soil in this area of the exhibit. The Darkness within the Soil area examines what thrives just below the earth's surface. It shows the relationships of the world's underground ecosystem and the life above ground. Visitors will be submerged through a diorama of a typical backyard. They will learn about the animals that call this area home.

Visitors can become a termite through the interactive games "Robomite". The player will travel into the termite's underground colony to find food, the queen and map their colony all before the Robomite runs out of power.

Darkness Deep within Caves
Visitors are shown the natural process that allows caves to form. With dioramas of both open and "closed" caves visitors see the difference between each unique environment. The slow process of formation is as unique as the organisms that live within the depths of a cave.

In the interactive computer game "Look What I Hear" visitors simulate how bats find their way out of a cave using sound. Guests are also privy to "A Cave Dweller's Survival Guide". By pretending to be a cave-dwelling creature visitors utilize this guide to improve their chances for survival.

Darkness of the Deep Sea
This section of the exhibit takes visitors off land and into the exciting regions of the sea. Visitors are shown two types of sea environments- a deep sea vent field and the open sea. In the vent field life begins with bacteria, while life in the open sea is dependent on photosynthetic plankton.

In an interactive experience "Keep on the Level" visitors stand on a balancing device, similar to the body design of a jellyfish. They discover a special organ called the statocyst that helps the jellyfish move its floppy body in a balanced way through the darkness of the ocean.

Darkness and Humans
This exciting section tells visitors about how past and present humans interact with dark environments and how those interactions affect each ecosystem. Visitors are told the stories of different cultures and how they interpret night and darkness. Visitors see how animals such as dolphins, bats, and owls survive in dark conditions.

Visitors can engage in "Dare to Compare" which shows human technological advances in dealing with the dark such as sonar, radar and image enhancers. Visitors can also learn the Braille alphabet and then answer trivia questions written in Braille.

Discovering Hidden Worlds: In The Dark features a reference library for parents and teachers. There are also educational components including teacher resources and curriculum guides.

Generously supported by Grande Communications, Fritzi Abbott, the Joan and Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation, and Natural Bridge Caverns.

Watch the Video »

Photo Gallery - Member Opening