The beauty of the deep sea is lighting up South Kensington

Bioluminescent creatures emit light created inside their bodies so they can glitter, glow and signal to each other in complete darkness.  

As many of these animals live in the deepest parts of the ocean, deep-sea bioluminescence is a phenomenon typically witnessed only by the most intrepid deep-sea explorers.

To share the experience with Museum visitors, the makers of the new Life in the Dark exhibition have been working with Jason Bruges Studio in east London to bring the lights of the deep sea to the Natural History Museum.

The installation draws together state-of-the-art technology, beautiful design and the expertise of the Museum’s deep-sea scientists.

Designers have used virtual reality and video gaming technology to programme lights that mimic deep-sea creatures Atolla jellyfish, spewing shrimp and stoplight loosejaw.

The display is made up of 1,500 individual LEDs suspended above scientific displays in a spacious reflective room.

The light display is just one of the highlights of the Life in the Dark exhibition open from 13 July 2018 to 6 January 2019.