Where would we be without the seas? Menus would be minus seafood. Pearls would truly be priceless. Supermarket shelves would be missing many of our favorite products.

Many ocean plants, animals, and minerals come almost directly from ship to shop, but other ocean items hide their true identities.

Scanner directions:

Click on the bar code
to find secret ingredients
from sea sources

Sample Product

Ice cream
SEAcret ingredient: Beta carotene
Source: Natural pigment from green algae
Effect: Puts the cream coloring into ice cream
Illustration © Bonnie Branner

Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan

gene carl feldman (gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (301) 286-9428
Judith Gradwohl, Smithsonian Institution (Curator/Ocean Planet)