Free exhibit showcases our rare marine life

Torch-toting fish and mammoth sharks seen up close in Auckland Museum's new Moana - My Ocean marine exhibition.

Alien-like fish specimens from the deep, life-size shark replicas and microscopic phytoplankton magnified to look like works of art are just a few of the displays visitors will come face-to-face with in Auckland Museum's new marine exhibition.

The exhibition is the culmination of two years' planning and research and the museum's largest marine exhibition to date.

The free exhibition follows a journey that spans five marine zones: Auckland's east coast featuring sections on the Firth of Thames, Leigh Marine Reserve and Okahu Bay, the Hauraki Gulf, mid-water - the world's largest and least-known living space, the Kermadec Trench and finally the marine life of the Kermadec Islands.

Rarely seen specimens including a supergiant amphipod from the depths of the Kermadec Trench "seen only a handful of times in human history" are joined by experiential technology that brings current marine research to life.

In a first for the museum, augmented reality is being used to allow visitors to explore the inside of a root-like seaweed structure and see the marine animals living within it.

Another first for the museum is the use of artificial intelligence allowing visitors to step into the middle of a Hauraki Gulf boil-up - or feeding frenzy - as prey and predator come together in a battle for survival.

Auckland Museum's head of natural sciences Dr Tom Trnski says the aim of the exhibition is to immerse people in the marine environment as a means for them to understand it better.

"The technology we're using to help tell these great stories really adds to the science."

A massive undertaking for the museum, Moana - My Ocean also draws on contributions from more than 30 organisations including NIWA, GNS, Te Papa, Department of Conservation and the University of Auckland and further afield from institutions including the University of Aberdeen.

"We live on a planet that is 71% ocean so there are so many incredible stories to share in this exhibition," says exhibition developer Victoria Travers.

"A lot of what we are sharing in Moana - My Ocean will flip people's thinking on its head, for instance the fact we're reliant on tiny, microscopic phytoplankton for around half of our available oxygen."

The exhibition will run from 21 June - 28 October 2013. For more information or to see the Moana - My Ocean event programme visit: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/1879/the-exhibition