Museum visitors explore the deep and immerse themselves in underwater world

Visitors to the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle will be able to explore the depths of the ocean and travel through an interactive 'underwater world' at new exhibition Immerse: Exploring the Deep. 

Culture and Arts Minister John Day, who will officially launch the exhibition tonight, said this would be the first Australian exhibition to show to the public the technology that humans have developed to enable them to work underwater.

"Since hard-hat diving was introduced to the pearling industry in the 1860s, Western Australia has been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to developing tools and equipment to work underwater," Mr Day said.

"The activity of people that work beneath the surface has for a long time been a mystery.

"This exhibition will reveal what it is like to live and work in an underwater environment, opening up people's imaginations to challenge what is possible and encouraging our next generation to consider interesting and diverse career paths.

"Underwater technology is used in a variety of fields ranging from the oil and gas industry, to investigating the flora and fauna of the world's oceans and river systems and even to understanding maritime history through exploring shipwrecks."

The centre piece of the exhibition is a remotely operated underwater vehicle that will be on display in a purpose-built tank, allowing visitors to simulate what it would be like to work underwater.

Immerse: Exploring the Deep will be on show at the WA Museum - Maritime from September 3, 2011 until March 2, 2012. Entry to the exhibition is free.

The exhibition has been developed by the Western Australian Museum and the Perth branch of the Society of Underwater Technology. The exhibition has been made possible through support from Woodside and a number of other leading companies in the resources and exploration sector.