“I’m delighted that Dr. Ian Walker and the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) team working alongside the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS), have created these exhibits to showcase the great stories behind some of Bermuda’s conservation projects and the people who have devoted so much time and energy to making them happen”, said Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Walter Roban, JP, MP, following the ribbon cutting ceremony held last month officially opening the new exhibit entitled “A Tale of Two Islands”.
“These exhibits will engage our children to help them learn about our unique natural treasures and inspire them to get involved in protecting our environment.”
The new exhibits tell the stories of Nonsuch Island — the Living Museum, and Trunk Island — the Living Classroom. The exhibits use a graphic novel style to portray Bermuda’s conservation efforts, past and present, visually designed in a way that appeals to children and adults alike.
Nonsuch Island, off St. David’s Island, is the home of the Cahow Recovery Project, the protected breeding ground of the Bermuda sea petrel, or Cahow. In Harrington Sound, Trunk Island is the centre of the BZS’s conservation and education efforts.
Prominent stories told by the exhibit include:
- The rescue of the Cahow from the brink of extinction, led by Bermudian conservationist Dr. David Wingate;
- The translocation of the Cahow to Nonsuch Island by Jeremy Madeiros;
- American naturalist and marine biologist William Beebe’s pioneering, deep-sea exploration off Nonsuch Island in the 1930s; and,
- The story of Trunk Island as a place where native and endemic species are being re-established and where thousands of children learn about Bermuda’s fragile environment.
Ruby Fresson, a British illustrator featured in many leading publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The New Yorker and GQ Magazine, drew the exhibit’s vivid, cartoon-style illustrations. Linda Weinraub of Studio Fluent was the exhibit designer and content co-developer who worked closely with the BAMZ staff to help bring the exhibit to life.
The opening also heralds the return of BAMZ’s touch pools. These popular features enable children to interact with Bermuda’s marine life, including molluscs, sponges and sea cucumbers, to name a few. The newly designed larger pools are easier for educators to work with students around them and allow bigger groups of children to enjoy them simultaneously.
Dr. Ian Walker, Principal Curator at BAMZ, explaining the exhibit, said, “The idea for the exhibit came about six years ago when I saw an example of Ms. Fresson’s work in the New York Times Magazine about Dr. Beebe’s dives in his “Bathysphere” diving vessel. The attractive, child-friendly layout that told one of Bermuda’s great stories of scientific discovery instantly appealed to me, and I could visualise it as part of an exhibit at BAMZ.”
“Ruby Fresson is a world-class artist. Her capacity to evoke atmosphere, nostalgia and narrative is phenomenal, and we are lucky she said ‘yes’. Also, this exhibit would not have been possible without the vision, talent and attention to detail of our exhibit designer and co-developer, Linda Weinraub of studio Fluent, who has spent countless hours refining and bringing our vision to life.”
Together with BAMZ and BZS staff, the team produced and refined the narrative for the exhibit, fabricated the display and installed the interactive elements, overcoming the challenges and delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Weinraub said, “I feel very fortunate to have worked with the whole amazing BAMZ team. Their creative vision, imagination, exhaustive research and writing, and so much more were the genesis and drivers behind the project.”
Ms Fresson said, “As an illustrator, it is unusual to be contacted by an aquarium curator and asked to draw on the walls! But what a fascinating and enriching experience it has been. I have learned much and loved working with Ian and Linda to bring this story to life.”
This project would not have been possible without generous donations to the Bermuda Zoological Society provided by Diana Bergquist, the Green family, and Cyril Rance & family in memory of Beryl Schoch. We are extremely grateful for their support.
Additional funding was provided by the Government of Bermuda and the Bermuda Zoological Society.
The exhibit is open to the public, with the touch pools available at select times, as it is essential that appropriate staffing is present to monitor the handling of the animals on display.