There is a coral reef in the Marston Science Library, and it’s made entirely out of crocheted scarves.
UF is preparing to host its own crocheted coral reef exhibit in April 2011 until October 2011 as a front-glass display in the library, according to Denise Bennett, librarian at the Marston Library.
The exhibit is modeled after the worldwide Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project, created by Margaret and Christine Wertheim, of the Institute for Figuring in Los Angeles in 2003.
Jessica York, a staff member for Smathers Library East, learned about the project at a retirement party where the tables were decorated with coral pieces.
She did not know how to crochet, but she’s been working on her green spiral for about seven weeks.
“It’s an excellent way to learn to crochet,” she said. “Corals are not uniform. You can mess up because it’s not like a scarf for your loved one.”
The Institute for Figuring helps express and promote the concept of the coral reef by having its exhibit travel around the world. Because the exhibit usually goes to large cities such as Dublin or Sydney, UF decided to build its own.
So far, only art museums and the Smithsonian Institution have done their own exhibits. UF is the first university to do one.
The project, Bennett said, brings art, science and geometry together. The exhibit complements the “Elegance of Science” exhibit currently being displayed at Marston.
Bennett is very excited to share the exhibit with the university. The UF exhibit is different from the other exhibits, she said, because it focuses on what is unique to Florida and the Caribbean.
One of the Floridian pieces is a staghorn coral which is like a bush, she said. There are also some bleached corals which will serve to display man’s impact on the environment.
