The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh offers a free premiere of "Beneath the Blue" at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 17.

"This stunning high-definition production transports you, via submersible, to the center of an ancient ecosystem that lives thousands of feet below the surface of the Gulf Stream waters," says a museum spokesman. "You will also hear unique details from scientists featured in the film, including Steve W. Ross, associate research professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Center for Marine Science; Martha S. Nizinski of the Smithsonian Institution's Systematics Laboratory; and Jeremy Potter, ocean exploration expeditions coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

From 2002-05, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences educators partnered with researchers from several agencies to study life on the continental shelf, an area of the ocean floor 60 to 100 miles off the North Carolina coast.

With a 200-foot research vessel as their home base, these explorers would dive as deep as 3,000 feet below the water's surface inside a cramped submersible. Photographer Art Howard joined the team from 2003-05 to document the project as well as to capture images of the deep-sea inhabitants in their natural surroundings, a valuable tool in helping researchers understand relationships among species in this remote habitat.

According to Liz Baird, the museum's director of school programs and a four-time member of the deep-sea exploration team, "Beneath the Blue" plays a vital role in helping the museum continue its mission of helping everyone understand our planet below the ocean's surface.

"I can't bring everyone out to sea with me," Baird says. "But I've always wanted to help people feel like they are. Art Howard's incredible photography accomplishes that goal."

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, located at 11 West Jones Street in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state through exhibits, research, collections, publications and educational programming.

Visit the museum online at www.naturalsciences.org.