This exhibition is now closed.
Life in the Dark was open to the public from 13 July 2018 until 24 February 2019.
The exhibition explored the creatures that thrive at night, in pitch-black caves and deep in the sea.
Visitors could enter the worlds of nocturnal animals to discover how they find their way around their environment, hunt, mate and evade predators.
Gallery: inside the exhibition
Exhibition highlights:
- Encounter live Mexican blind cave fish that don't need eyes to navigate.
- See yourself through the eyes of a cave boa.
- Get hands-on with familiar nocturnal animals.
- Smell the distinctive aromas of the bat cave.
- Enjoy breathtaking live footage from the deep sea.
- Hear a symphony of nocturnal sounds and identify the creatures that make them.
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13 July 2018 until 24 February 2019
Museum staff who worked on the exhibition include:
- Geoff Boxshall, Merit Researcher Life Sciences
- Dr Paul Taylor, Postdoctoral Researcher, Leverhulme, Life Sciences
- Raph Chanay, Interpretation Manager
- Alex Fairhead, Interpretation Manager
- Amy Wedderburn, Interpretation Developer
- Alisa Crisp, Interpretation Developer
Discover more about life in the dark
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What on Earth?Superior senses in the dark
From bioluminescent lures to infrared abilities, meet some of the animals that have found ways to master life in the dark.
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What on Earth?Cave life: creatures that lurk in the shadows
Discover the rocky abyss and meet some unusual residents thriving in the absolute darkness of caves.
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Who's afraid of the dark?
Explore some of nature's most extreme sensory adaptations with leading scientists from the Museum.
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NewsCave centipede from hell is the deepest-dwelling ever discovered
Found up to 1,100 metres below the surface, the record-breaking centipede has been given the name Geophilus hadesi, after Hades, the Greek god of the underworld.
1 July 2015 -
OceansBioluminescence: light in the dark
Lanternfish are one of many animals that light up the ocean with their glowing bodies.
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What on Earth?
The bizarre love life of the anglerfish
Watch a fish curator get up close and personal with one of the deep sea's most unusual partnerships.
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Risking life and limb for venom
Some of our scientists go to extreme lengths for their research, diving into deep and dangerous underwater caves.
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British wildlife
Night life: how to spot insects in the dark
What nocturnal insects will you find where you live?
