Garde Arts Center Hosts Crittercam Inventor Greg Marshall 3/19

This March, experience life from an animal's point of view during an evening with Crittercam inventor Greg Marshall at the Garde Arts Center on March 19 at 7:30 p.m. The event is part of the new "Faces of Our Planet" series, created by Sea Research Foundation, National Geographic Society and the Garde Arts Center to reveal the mysteries and discoveries of the world's human, animal and geographic faces.

The five-part series consists of film, live performance and multimedia presentations - all at the nationally-recognized Garde Arts Center. Greg Marshall's presentation, titled "A Wild Point of View," marks the third event in the series.

Marshall, a biologist and National Geographic filmmaker, will share his view of the world through the Crittercam, a device he invented in the 1980s while snorkeling in Belize. As he observed a small suckerfish that had attached itself to a shark, he imagined the fish's unique perspective and came up with the idea of attaching a small video camera to an animal that would shift the point of view from researcher to subject.

Since then, the Crittercam has revolutionized marine biology while producing never-before-seen glimpses into the animal world. Marshall and his team have refined the device seven times, making it smaller, lighter and more powerful and expanding its use to more than 30 marine species, from great white sharks and sperm whales to emperor penguins and seals, as well as land animals. Crittercam footage has been seen in numerous films, including "March of the Penguins."

Suitable for ages 10 and up, Marshall's presentation will cover the invention and evolution of the Crittercam and will include video clips that show the world from an animal's perspective. Marshall will also reveal how the Crittercam has changed scientists' and researchers' understanding of animals and the threats they face in the wild.

Marshall will appear at the Garde Arts Center at 325 State St., New London, CT 06320 on Friday, March 19 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. General admission is $24, and is $20 for Mystic Aquarium members. VIP tickets are $54 (includes admission to pre-show reception with Greg Marshall at 6 p.m.)

For a complete list of ticket options, including discount packages, visit the Garde Arts Center Box Office at 325 State St., New London, or call (860) 444-7373 ext.1. Single tickets are available at the Garde Arts Center Box Office and online at gardearts.org. Special pricing is available for students, groups and Mystic Aquarium members. 

Future "Faces of Our Planet" events include presentations by Arctic photographer Paul Nicklen on April 16 and famed oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard on May 14. For more details on these events and the entire series, visit searesearch.org or call (860) 572-5955.

Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration and Immersion Learning are divisions of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a private, non-profit 501(c)3 organization. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration.

Founded in 1985, the Garde Arts Center was created to save and transform the historic Garde theatre into a non-profit regional center for the performing arts and education in the heart of downtown New London, serving greater Southeastern Connecticut, a region rich in geographic, economic, ethnic and cultural diversity. The Garde owns and operates the recently restored 1,450-seat Garde Theatre, a historic movie/vaudeville house built in 1926 and the new 130-seat Oasis Room.

National Geographic Live is the live events division of the National Geographic Society, featuring live concerts, films, and dynamic presentations by today's leading explorers, scientists, filmmakers, and photographers covering a wide range of topics including: exploration and adventure; wildlife and habitat conservation; natural phenomena; and relevant issues such as climate change. Proceeds from speaker series ticket sales help fund future National Geographic initiatives in field research, exploration, and education. For more information visit www.nglive.org.

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