AMSTERDAM: The world’s first “interactive microbe zoo” opened in Amsterdam on Tuesday, shining new light on the tiny creatures that make up two-thirds of all living matter and are vital for our planet’s future.

The $13 million Micropia museum is near Amsterdam’s Artis Royal Zoo, whose director came up with the idea of exposing an array of living microbes in a “micro-zoo” 12 years ago.

Zoos have traditionally tended to show just a small part of nature, namely the larger animals,” Haig Balian said.

“Today we want to display micro-nature,” said Balian, who believes the importance of microbes in our daily lives has been underestimated ever since Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observed the microscopic creatures in the 17th century.

Microbes are often associated with illness, through viruses, bacteria, fungi and algae, but they are also essential for our survival and will play an increasingly important role in humanity and the planet’s future, Balian said.

“Microbes are everywhere. Therefore you need microbiologists who can work in every sector: in hospitals, food production, the oil industry and pharmaceuticals, for instance,” he said.

Every adult human body carries around 1.5 kilos of microbes, and we would die without them.

Published in Dawn, October 1st , 2014