El Universo en una gota de agua – by Guille
Grant artist at SLEA7
Open for visiting until December 31, 2022
The microscopic universe is fascinating. Its living beings, the varied and surprising shapes and colors are unimaginable landscapes that invite you to discover and explore them. This exposition takes you on a journey through this universe.
The exposition ground is a very attractive, natural and peaceful environment where navigation is easy with the map at the landing point, the many teleporters available, and the clear signposts along the paths. Make sure to immerse yourself into a drop of water and see those little beings that our eyes are normally not capable of seeing.
Welcome to the world of the invisible!
The exhibition has several angles on the subject. It highlights microorganisms in different environments like a pond, the sea, a cave and peatlands. You can learn about instruments used by scientists who study these microorganisms and see examples of evolution and pollution. The many pictures that are exhibited show a world of color, shape and variation that is both astonishing and pleasing.
It gets even better when you sit down to touch a microscope from where you will be able to submerge yourself under the waters of a pond, reducing yourself 10,000 times, and see an unusual and different perspective of these invisible organisms, sailing before your eyes as if they were small and beautiful toy submarines, amazing floaters and other tiny and beautiful bottom-dwelling organisms.
You will fall in love submerged among microscopic organisms!
The base of life
The caves of our planet hide true treasures that resemble jam of incredible colors. These fascinating organisms give you clues about the origin of life on our planet and how they are able to absorb CO2 differently and more efficiently than many plants… they are a hope for the future. In the cave of the exhibition you will be able to discover its colors and shapes as tapestries of the most beautiful paintings.
The gallery located towards the outside, already in contact with the water allows you to appreciate a small collection of the main groups of microorganisms that inhabit the sea and that give life to the oceans. Without them, there would be no fish or dolphins , neither seals, nor jellyfish nor whales. They are at the base of life in the water and on Earth as a planet and thanks to many of them in the water the Earth has its best lung, surpassing in oxygen production that of all Earth’s forests.
Equally fascinating are the microorganisms that live in peat bogs. This water is generally not corrupted and allows the development of unique and very beautiful beings. Due to their shapes and colors they are reminiscent of tiny jewels, very sensitive to changes in the environment and pollution. For this reason and because of their great biodiversity and their great capacity to absorb CO2, they are of great interest.
In the large modern building “Evolution and Pollution” with three floors, very remarkable things are exhibited, related to the microscopic world and its uses. It focuses on research of key microorganisms in evolution and the role they could play in the understanding several diseases. It shows that knowing these tiny beings is essential.
Laboratories
Your journey will lead to both an old and a new laboratory, furnished and decorated according to their time and both full of information.
The old laboratory gives you insight on how more than 300 years ago the oldest microscopes opened this universe of knowledge. It is also home to a library where you can consult and download documentation, some magnificent classic works with beautiful illustrations, or consult some of the most interesting links on the laptops.
In the new laboratory you can take a seat in front of an electron microscope, or various optical research microscopes, to peek into microscopic life, and begin to discover it that way. You will be surprised by the shapes and structures of many of these organisms, which become sculptures and works of art, when viewed at thousands of magnifications with this microscope.
In the optical microscopy room, you will be able to see how all these tiny beings tell us about the health of our planet’s waters.
Picnic and rest
At any point in your adventurous journey, you can take a rest at the inviting picnic area.
You may have learned a few things from the vast amount of information that is available. It is easy to choose how much of this knowledge you wish to digest, there is enough to see and do anyway.
But how amazing is it that you have seen the invisible? And hopefully you have been touched by the beauty of it!
About the artist
Guille (Antoronta) in SL is in RL a doctor in Biology and professor of Natural Sciences in Spain where he works as a professor and as an altruistic independent researcher in different projects related to microbiology, the environment or the astrobiology.
He won the National Prize for Scientific Photography and also the Giner de los Ríos Prize, the most prestigious educational award in his country, in addition to having many other national and international recognitions.
He brought his passion for all these fascinating unseen beings into Second Life and has been able to recreate here the life of microorganisms in a drop of water, together with a research environment. The beautiful area at SLEA7 has been built in cooperation with Helga Mercury.
