The Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life highlights the drama of the undersea world and its diverse and complex web of life in a fully immersive marine environment. The hall is home to one of the Museum’s most celebrated displays—a 94-foot-long, 21,000-pound model of a blue whale suspended from the ceiling.

It was in the ocean about 3.5 billion years ago that the first life on Earth arose. Today, the planet’s oceans are home to an amazing diversity of life in a wide range of habitats, from tropical coral reefs to the frigid polar seas. Still, many parts of the ocean are poorly known, and less than 5 percent of the deep ocean has been explored. For every new species, there may be hundreds more yet to be discovered.

The 29,000-square-foot hall features models of more than 750 sea creatures, ranging from tiny green bubble algae to computerized glowing jellyfishes. The hall also includes high-definition video projections, interactive computer stations, hands-on models, 14 classic dioramas, and eight ocean ecosystem displays that transport visitors from the profusion of life in the Indo-Pacific coral reefs to the bioluminescent fishes in the eerie darkness of the deep sea.