Life in water

Life on earth once started as life in water, the water that now covers two thirds of the earth's surface.

In this exhibition we want to tell the story of these huge habitats from the open sea to streams to under your own dock.

Water, light and nutrients. These three building blocks, so remarkably simple, are the foundation of all life in nature. Together they have created an immense variety of species of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria.

Water an unusual element

A water strider is an insect that can walk on the surface of the water without any problem. Why is this? Why does it not sink? Ordinary water is an element with unusual characteristics. Strong forces invisible to us bind the water molecules together. This is why water can rise up into nearly 100-m tall trees or carry a feather-light water strider on its surface and also why lakes and seas never freeze solid.

Salmon the eternal wanderer

Salmon reproduce in swift rivers and this is where their young are born. They migrate towards the sea in order to eat and grow. An inner force, led by a phenomenal sense of smell, will eventually guide the salmon back to its native river. So the salmon wanders between river and sea, generation after generation.

Giant from the deep

The ocean is many thousands of meters deep. What hides in the depths of this cold and dark world? This is where the giant squids live. They are hard to catch and this is why we know very little about them. Only a few specimens can be found in museums around the world. In the summer of 1997 a giant squid was caught in the North Sea. You can now see this 5 metre long squid in the Swedish Museum of Natural History. It is a rare visitor from a rather unknown world.