Event 2: Noise Aquarium

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For my second event, I attended the Noise Aquarium curated by Professor Vesna and I am so glad I did. The Noise Aquarium was an eye-opening experience for me and shed light on a pressing ecological issue that is unknown to most people. The issue is the effect that human-made noise such as boats, sonar, fracking, etc. has on microscopic planktonic creatures. There has been scientific research to investigate the effect that these noises have on larger organisms but very little on the aforementioned issue.
3-D scan of a Cyanobacter Sp. 
At the Noise Aquarium, 3-D scans of various plankton are blown up to the size of whales and projected onto a screen. Participants of the Noise Aquarium step onto a platform and trigger "destructive visual and audio noises" via their movement on the surface (Vesna). The goal is to find a balanced equilibrium on the platform to "save" the plankton. During my time on the platform, I was matched with a Paramecium.  Thankfully, after watching a few other students succeed, I was able to save my plankton and was rewarded with a whale song.
A student participating in the Noise Aquarium simulation.
The Noise Aquarium allows humans to understand the stressful and painful environment that plankton experience every day. My experience lasted less than a minute but it was highly stressful with the loud noises. Professor Vesna noted that most people can only stand around 30 seconds in the full-scale simulation because the noise is so overwhelming.
Noise Aquarium. 
I would highly recommend the Noise Aquarium to other students and people in general. I learned a lot about an issue that I had no previous knowledge about and had the opportunity to have a fun, interactive experience.

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