The Astounding Lives of Octopuses, Squid and Cuttlefishes
“We’re trying to display something that doesn’t want to be seen” – Aquarist Alicia Bitondo
Tentacles: The Astounding Lives of Octopuses, Squid and Cuttlefishes opens April 12, 2014 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This $3.5 million special exhibition is a world’s first: the largest and most diverse living display of animals that have captivated people for 4,000 years. It will continue through Labor Day 2016.
They’ve captured our imaginations for centuries. In real life, they’re even better. Join us for an amazing adventure. You’ll explore a dozen live exhibits of octopuses and their kin including the world’s largest octopus, one of the world’s smallest squid and deep-sea cephalopods.
It features:
- Potentially up to two dozen species over the life of the exhibit, rotating through a dozen displays. Some are being raised and exhibited for the first time anywhere in the world. They include giant Pacific octopus, Hawaiian bobtail squid, the wunderpus, the flamboyant cuttlefish and others – including the world’s smallest squid and one of the world’s largest cuttlefishes.
- Artwork (original and reproductions) reflecting 4,000 years of human fascination: from pottery dating to Minoan Crete, to 19thcentury scientific illustrations and original Blaschka glass models, to contemporary tattoos and a Rothko painting.
- Kinetic sculptures created for Tentacles by Bay Area artist Nemo Gould.
- Interactive digital elements, including stations where visitors use facial recognition software to “ceph themselves” – painting their faces with colorful chromatophore patterns that cephalopods use for camouflage, creating portraits they can share socially.
There may from time to time be displays of never-before-exhibited deep-sea squid and octopuses collected by undersea robots in collaboration with the aquarium’s sister organization, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute – founded by H-P’s David Packard.
The mission of the nonprofit Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans. Members Hours: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. General Hours: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Restaurant: 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Cafe: 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Monterey Bay Aquarium 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 648-4800