They're expecting huge crowds at the exhibit. And on Wednesday morning workers were putting final touches on a show that will take us into the minds and eyes of animals around the world. It's part of a National Geographic project that placed cameras on critters.
"Crittercam is based on a twenty five year study on the observation of animals. Essentially it's cameras attached to different parts of an animal's body and tells us what animals do behind closed doors," said Alvaro Ramos, director of exhibits, Peggy Notebaert Museum.
And under the surface of our mysterious seas. There it is right in front of you - what it's like to swim like a sea lion. The cameras are light weight and they are just temporary attachments that ultimately float back up to the surface with no harm done.
"These particular instruments are designed to be as innocuous and unobtrusive to the life of the animal. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to get all the cool images we have," said Ramos.
These videos are obviously a treat for us. We get to go where we've never been before but for scientists it's much more than that. It's unlocking mysteries.
"We know about their feeding habits, about their mating habits, about how far they travel for whatever migratory purposed," said Ramos.
It really is going to be a great show. You can see what it's like to be a critter. And then there's Cooper cat photographer.
Cooper doesn't know it but when he's let out to wander. His automatic camera records his adventures.
"Cooper takes pictures every two minutes with his collar camera. Cooper lives in Seattle and he's very talented," said Ramos.
And maybe he is talented. Just take a look at some of his work.
The new exhibit runs until April 11. For more information, please visit www.naturemuseum.org.
