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 Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Birch Aquarium at Scripps Debuts its First Children's Book What Color Would You Be to Hide in the Sea? explores camouflage in the ocean Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego Now you can take a piece of the aquarium home with you! What Color Would You Be to Hide in the Sea? celebrates camouflage strategies used by spectacular ocean creatures. Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, announces the publication of its first children's book: What Color Would You Be to Hide in the Sea? Inspired by the aquarium exhibit Art of Deception, this stunning new book explores and celebrates the fascinating camouflage strategies used by some of the ocean's most spectacular creatures. Camouflage is an essential survival strategy, especially in the oceans. It helps prey to escape detection and predators to sneak up on prey. Marine animals featured in the book exemplify a variety of camouflage tactics - from false eye spots, to a squirt of ink, to limbs that resemble seaweed. What Color Would You Be to Hide in the Sea? features a rich blend of astonishing color photographs from the aquarium's exhibit, lush watercolors, playful poems and fascinating science notes that offer children and adults an opportunity to uncover marine creatures normally hidden in the sea. Created exclusively by Birch Aquarium at Scripps, this book helps support the aquarium's mission to provide ocean science education, to interpret Scripps Oceanography research and to promote conservation. "What Color Would You Be to Hide in the Sea? is one more creative way we're bringing people and the ocean closer together," said Nigella Hillgarth, Birch Aquarium at Scripps executive director. "We're delivering our message of ocean discovery and conservation beyond the aquarium walls to generations of readers through this colorful and entertaining book."  The Raccoon Butterfly fish uses a false eye spot to confuse predators. Recognition of support also goes to members of the San Diego Underwater Photographic Society, whose alluring images of marine life accompany the poetry published in this book. Watercolor fish illustrations produced by Eques, Inc. are also featured. This first-edition book is available for $18.95 at the aquarium bookshop, open 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. It may also be ordered through the bookshop at 858-534-8753 or online at http://aquarium.ucsd.edu. About Birch Aquarium at Scripps Birch Aquarium at Scripps is the public exploration center for the world-renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the aquarium features more than 60 habitats of fish and invertebrates from the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest to the tropical waters of Mexico and the Caribbean. An interactive museum showcases research discoveries by Scripps scientists on climate, Earth and ocean science. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Birch Aquarium welcomes an annual attendance of more than 400,000, including 45,000 school children. # # # Note to broadcast and cable producers: University of California, San Diego provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. Please phone or e-mail the media contact listed above to arrange an interview. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest and most important centers for global science research and education in the world. The National Research Council has ranked Scripps first in faculty quality among oceanography programs nationwide Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today in 65 countries. The institution has a staff of about 1,300, and annual expenditures of approximately $155 million from federal, state and private sources. Scripps operates one of the largest U.S. academic fleets with four oceanographic research ships and one research platform for worldwide exploration. |
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