‘Unseen Oceans’ dives deep into mysterious creatures at Museum of Natural History

With the opening of the “Unseen Oceans” exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, you’ll find creepy, often glow-in-the-dark creatures of the depths right in the middle of Manhattan.

This interactive exhibit, which opens March 12, will put you hundreds of feet underwater without ever needing a wet suit. You’ll discover new and little-known marine species and meet the scientists behind those discoveries.

As the “last great frontier left on our planet,” so aptly put by the museum’s president Ellen Futter, delving into the exhibit is like walking on another planet. There’s so little we know about the sea that new discoveries seem alien to us.

In recent years, with the advent of new technology and news of global warming, there seems to be an uptick in interest, Futter said, adding that we are now in the “golden age of marine exploration.”

Given the new technology, including a glovelike grabber and new remotely operated underwater vehicles, it’s no question that in five years, we’ll have discovered “a lot more creatures,” according to John Sparks, the exhibit’s curator.

In preparation for “Unseen Oceans,” Sparks was in a submersible off the coast of Brazil and his crew bumped into some sea sponges, which immediately lit up. No one had ever seen those before, he said.

So before you venture into the depths, here’s a look at what you’ll do in “Unseen Oceans.”