World of Algae Day

We are bringing an exhibition of algal pictures from the British Phycological Society, displays and activities about algae and seaweeds, Patsy Dyer (storyteller)and the Virtual Landscape Theatre (Our Future Seascapes) all into one space to celebrate the opening of the Festival of the Sea.

Plankton Power  - Using fat algae to fuel a greener future - Just one of the many displays by SAMS scientists at the World of Algae Day  See samples of algae under the microscope and  find out about photobioreactors.

Storytelling
Patsy Dyer will tell tales from around the world e.g. Hawaii, Scotland, Italy with fascinating facts and history about seaweeds. There might also be the chance to play some 'seaweed games' with a younger audience.

Times: 10.30 - 11.00; 11.15 - 11.45; 1-1.30 pm; 1.45 - 2.15 pm.

This event is joint funded by SAMS and the Live Literature Fund, which is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland and managed by Scottish Book Trust.

The Exhibition
Algae are both the simplest and the oldest of all plants.  Their fossil remains have been found in rocks over 500 million years old.   They represent about three-quarters of all the plants recorded from Britain and Ireland and are responsible for about half of all the primary productivity on our planet.  The smallest algae are less than a thousandth of a millimetre long, whilst the largest seaweeds may have fronds over ten metres long.   However, because most algae are either microscopic or live submerged in water (or both), most people rarely notice them.   This exhibition unlocks this hidden world, celebrating some of the extraordinary diversity of algae found around the world.  These are not just curiosities of natural history: they play an important role in aquatic ecosystems and in the maintenance of life on Planet Earth.

Hilda Canter-Lund (1922 - 200#) was a freshwater biologist based at the Freshwater Biological Association in the Lake District.  She was interested in the microscopic algae that live suspended in lakes, and in the even smaller fungi that parasitize these.   In addition to her scientific studies, however, she was also an excellent photographer whose photographs were featured in many books on natural history.   On her death, the British Phycological Society, a scientific society dedicated to the study of algae, established the Hilda Canter-Lund Prize in her honour.   Over the past three years this has attracted entries from around the world and we are pleased to present the short-listed entries, along with some of her original prints, in this exhibition.