On the afternoon of February 12, the "Heart of the Ocean - Foraminifera Science Exhibition" sponsored by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province (Shandong Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics) was officially launched at the Shandong Museum. Foraminifera is a magical creature with a 500 million-year history, and the exhibition gives museum lovers a great opportunity to walk into it.
"Heart of the Ocean - Foraminifera Science Exhibition" is located in Hall 19, the third floor of Shandong Museum. A total of 126 foraminifera specimens, more than 50 specimen enlargement models, and more than 100 specimen photomicrography photos were exhibited, presenting the artistic beauty, diversity of species, survival adaptability, and environmental significance indicated by the shell of foraminifera from multiple angles. During the Spring Festival, the exhibition was previewed, receiving an average of more than 10,000 visitors per day, becoming a highlight of many exhibition activities in Shandong Museum.
Foraminifera are shelled or shellless, single-celled animals composed of a clump of protoplasm belonging to the protozoal kingdom granulocons Phylum Foraminifera. There are one or more openings in the shell surface or shell mouth for the pseudopod to protrude. Foraminifera often have holes in the next door between different atriums, hence the name foraminifera.
The smallest foraminifera in a single adult cell is only 0.02 mm in size and up to 110 mm in size, making it the largest and most diverse group of protozoa. Since the Cambrian Period, foraminifera has a history of more than 500 million years, with more than 40,000 known fossil species and more than 6,000 living species, the vast majority of which are marine species, benthic or planktonic life.
The Shandong Museum held this exhibition, which was strongly supported by the team of academician Zheng Shouyi of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Zheng Shouyi, born in the Philippines in 1931, returned to China in 1956 and is now a researcher at the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2001, he was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has been engaged in marine biology research for a long time and has carried out modern foraminifera research in China for more than 60 years, and is one of the pioneers and founders of this research field in China. In 2003, he was awarded the Kushman Prize, the highest international award for foraminifera research. Academician Zheng Shouyi is committed to the application of science education and scientific research, developed the first domestic and international rare foraminifera model, the original only under the microscope can see the foraminifera, carved into the current some like shells, some like clay pots, some like whistles, some like garland models, vividly presented in front of the public,become people can see and touch the scientific research teaching aids, popular science exhibits, tourism souvenirs and large sculptures.
Before the exhibition, the team of Academician Zheng and the business staff of Shandong Museum conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on the selection and identification of foraminifera specimen species, the preparation and display of the exhibition outline, which not only ensured the academic nature of the exhibition, but also enhanced the effect of science popularization.
Foraminifera average only 1 mm, in order to present such a small organism to the general audience, Shandong Museum also invited Shandong Pictorial News Senior Reporter, famous photographer Hou Xinjian researcher, to overcome difficulties together, from scanning electron microscopy, to ultra-depth of field microscopy technology, to micro photography shooting, one by one to try, and finally reached the perfect integration of science and art, presenting a wonderful and chic microscopic marine life world to the audience.