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TWILIGHT ZONE LATEST

The Deep, Hull's £52 million Millennium Commission lottery project will be opening its Twilight Zone on March 19th 2005. This exhibition, which explores life in the twilight zone of the ocean is the largest of its kind in the world. Giant japanese spider crabs, nautilus, wolf eels and giant pacific octopus are just some of the weird and wonderful inhabitants on display.

BACKGROUND

The Deep is the world's only submarium, telling the story of the world's oceans using a unique blend of interactives and stunning aquaria. The Twilight Zone enhances the visitor experience of this award winning visitor attraction which has already welcomed over 1.6m visitors since opening in March 2002.

For further details, please call 01482 381000.

GRIFF VISITS THE DEEP

The Deep, was recently shown in BBC2's Restoration programme, July 27th. Stunning footage of the Deep including aerial shots of the show's presenter - Griff Rhys Jones on the nosecone were used in the programme featuring buildings from the North.

Restoration programme makers Endemol UK, (also makers of Big Brother) specially selected The Deep to kick off the North of England programme as they felt it represented The North's current vibrant renaissance.

Presenter of the show Griff Rhys Jones commented:

"I am very excited about the new series of Restoration, the first was an enormous success and I am thrilled to be on board again for the second. The Deep is not only a unique and spectacularly designed building in its own right but represents so much more. It was a pleasure to experience it for myself."

BENEDICT ALLEN EXPLORES THE DEEP

Benedict Allen, the explorer,author,TV presenter, and filmmaker made a special visit to The Deep whilst in Hull for Hull's Humber Mouth Literature Festival in June.

The Polar Gallery reminded him of his lone trek across the Arctic with his 'ice dogs' and Deep Blue 1 brought back vivid memories of his Amazon adventures.

Benedict commented: "I found myself taking part in a real journey of exploration - and it was so much more enjoyable than so many of my treks through the middle of nowhere! It was a real treat to venture into the Deep, look right through the bodies of the pulsating blue jelly fish, look eye-to-eye with sharks, and simply marvel at such gracious sea creatures as the sea horse. This was THEIR world, not ours, and I felt privileged to have been allowed to dive down through the heart of it. The exhibition is wondrous - I emerged feeling like I'd been a visitor to a distant, deep, and magical realm. It was a telling reminder of how much more of the planet there is to explore."

To find out more about Benedict Allen please go to www.benedictallen.com

NEW DISPLAYS UNVEILED AT THE DEEP

The Deep, Hull’s £45.5m Millennium Commission lottery project has unveiled two new displays in time for Easter. Holoshark - a unique shark hologram and the Young’s Discovery Corner.

Holoshark is a unique life-size hologram display featuring a grey reef shark, one of The Deep’s key species. Colin Brown explains,

"If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like inside a shark, this is your chance to find out! Holoshark enables you to get under the skin of this apex predator. All this can be done by manipulating a moving image of the shark that appears to swim in space just before your eyes. This cutting edge display pushes the boundaries of both interactive displays and veterinary science. The closest way to describe the effect is to think of the hologram system Tom Cruise operates in the hit science fiction film, Minority Report."

The idea behind Holoshark was conceived by the Deep’s exhibition design team.The software was developed by Mindwave Media in conjunction with The Deep’s science officer, Graham Hill and curator Dr David Gibson.

Located near to Holoshark is a second new exhibit – The Young’s Discovery Corner. The Discovery Corner is a fantastic educational attraction that has been specially designed to provide visitors with an opportunity to get up close and personal with some of Britain’s most intriguing rock pool creatures. Seaside species such as spider crabs, sea urchins, beadlet anenomies, spiny starfish and whelks are all housed in a number of exciting touch pools for kids and adults alike to experience.

DEEP PHASE 2 TO GO AHEAD
The Deep, Hull's £45.5m lottery project is today announcing that it has now been awarded the funding required to go ahead with its £6.5m extension plan. Funding includes £2.385 of Millennium Commission lottery money, £1.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and £500,000 from Citybuild, Hull's Urban Regeneration Company (URC). These grants combined with money from The Deep itself will now enable The Deep to go ahead with plans to build an ambitious Phase 2 scheme which include a unique display on the Twilight Zone and enhanced educational and visitor facilities.

Deep Chief Executive, Colin Brown said,

Deep Chairman Cllr David Gemmell said,

"I'm highly delighted that the all the funding has been agreed to provide funding for our exciting Phase 2 development. The Deep has already proved its worth and this extension will enable us to provide a better quality service to our visitors. The Twilight Zone will provide an excellent platform for lifelong learning, environmental research and a better understanding and appreciation of life in our oceans and the need to conserve it for future generations".

Millennium Commissioner Richard Caborn MP, Minister for Sport and Tourism stated,

"The Millennium Commission is very pleased to be able to support this project. The Deep is an excellent example of an urban attraction that has spearheaded regeneration in the whole region in a very short time. By extending its facilities and developing The Twilight Zone, I believe it is making a key step towards sustaining tourism for the long term economic benefit to both the citizens of Hull and the region as a whole."

THE TWILIGHT ZONE DISPLAY
The Phase 2 concept has been designed by Terry Farrell and Partners and Bird Johnson Associates to ensure that the iconic nature of the building is enhanced. The attraction will remain open to the public whilst the building work is being carried out. The Deep currently explores a number of different marine environments and yet there is an area of the ocean below this sunlit zone where light struggles to penetrate. It is an area of intense cold and of strange alien creatures. It is a place so strange that even scientists refer to it as the twilight zone, it is the biggest living space on the planet and yet we know little more about it then the surface of the moon. Despite this ignorance we continue to trawl deeper and deeper into this delicate ecosystem. The Deep exhibition will explore many of these environmental issues.

Building work will begin on site in early January 2003. The new display and associated facilities are expected to open to the public in the summer of 2005. The attraction will remain open to the public throughout.

DEEP PHASE 2 IMAGES
Low Level View	Aerial View

INTO THE DEEP
The popular Yorkshire Television series "Into The Deep" produced by Peter Cook, shown last summer is available on video from The Deep shop, price £12.99.

It can also be ordered from our online shop