Sneak peek at Cal Academy's new 'Twilight Zone' exhibit in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Get ready for a trip to the Twilight Zone - that is a spectacular part of the ocean rarely seen by people. And it's now featured in a first-of-its-kind exhibit in Golden Gate Park. The exhibit opens on Friday, but ABC7 News got an early look.

Coral polyps, tiny animals, are being projected on a 12 foot wall using micro time-lapse video.

Crews are still tweaking. But by the time you get there, the new exhibit,
"They put out these long strands that are sticky and they use those to catch plankton," said Shepherd.

Fish for the exhibit were brought up in a special chamber that allows them to decompress at the surface. Once they arrive at the Cal Academy, they're held in a quarantine tank for a month. Finally, it's moving day.

The parade of precious animals moved out in not-so-fancy containers to their new home in the Twilight Zone exhibit. It all happened fast, but every step was carefully planned by expert biologists. One guy is already a staff favorite.

"It doesn't really have a common name," said Shepherd. "We were jokingly calling it the super freaking mind blowing rainbow fish."

The exhibit also features high tech interactive exhibits simulating scientific scuba dives and showing how some creatures use light to communicate; all part of a dazzling display of the diversity of the deep.

The Twilight Zone exhibit opens Friday at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.