As you walk through the exhibit space in the science wing these days you’ll come face-to-face with critters of the deep. They’re not real of course, but rather the creations of eighth grade science students.

During a unit on oceanography, each student chose a sea-dwelling phylum from the animal kingdom to research. They were responsible for creating a poster about the phylum; choosing an animal from the phylum about which to write a narrative that explained the animal’s habitat, diet, and other characteristics; and create a model of the animal they chose.

It is these models that are on display in the science wing. You’ll find all kids of creatures lurking, including yellow tube sponges, starfish, green moray eel, and many more.

If you can’t see the models in person, take a virtual journey through the seas by visiting the Flickr gallery.