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Denise King is the senior exhibit developer in the San Francisco Exploratorium's Department of Life Sciences. She was trained in biology and engineering at the University of Santa Barbara and San Francisco State University. Denise builds and designs complex life support systems for public display at the Exploratorium and other science institutions around the world. Denise is currently working on projects involving experimentation with bioluminescent bacteria.

>> project description

For Technebiotics, Denise set up various window-sized habitats filled with water collected from salt ponds located in the southern part of San Francisco. The bacteria living in these waters fed from the light shining into the museum and presented a stained glass view of these organisms' realm. Bacteria naturally occurring in each variety of pond water glow beautifully when exposed to oxygen but quickly turn dark again once the oxygen levels in the surrounding media drop.  An air system controlled by the viewer was available to pump oxygen to the bacteria.  The valves could be opened and closed to create swirling, churning patterns of colored light.

Creating your own bioluminescent tank is a very involved project, but with access to a proper lab and a good bit of time it?s not out of the question. If you already have a fairly advanced understanding of biology, this might be a great experiment to try. Detailed procedural information can be found by downloading the Photobacteria document (pdf).

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Bioluminescence Website