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17 to 23 March 2004 The theme of the display this year was the twilight zone – an underwater adventure into the depths of the ocean. As we moved “deeper” into the sea, we noticed how the temperature, oxygen saturation and light penetration changed. We also got to meet some of the interesting fish and invertebrates that live at these great depths. Technology and science go hand in hand and one of the ways in which we make use of technology in the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme is by deploying the submersible, the Jago to study the deep canyons in the Greater St Lucia Park, Kwazulu-Natal. The model of this submersible was on display and proved a popular talking point. Last, but not least we also had a look at the flagship fish of the programme, the Coelacanth. The life-size model of this fish generated the most wows ! These are a few of the comments: ‘Is it really this size?’ ‘Will it eat me?’ ‘I didn’t know that the coelacanth got so big’ ‘Can we eat them?’ Scifest 2004 was visited by a large number of schools from all over the country and we are sure that those who dived with us, really enjoyed the experience.
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