Nina Floaty & Berry Ground
Meet Nina
Meet Berry
These two guys became the mascots of the AKMA Project and Ocean Senses and are loved by kids and adults. They put a smile on
everyone’s faces and will, together with their foraminifera friends and other deep-sea animals, take us on a dive into the wonderful
world of foraminifera that live in the Arctic Ocean. Both Nina & Berry, and also their foraminifera friends, have personalities
which are based on what we know about foraminifera today thanks to micropaleontology.
Scientist Giuliana Panieri and Illustrator & Artist Jane Zimmermann bonded immediately when they have met
the first time, over their passion for small creatures and jumped into a fun adventure to create Nina and Berry.
Berry`s character is based on the foraminifera species Melonis barleeanus, which is a benthic species that can not float and just lives in or on the seafloor.
He is very down to earth, grounded and questioning everything. He is very knowledgeable about plants and animal species that lived on the seabed millions of years ago.
Nina`s character is based on the foaminifera species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, which is a planktonic foraminifera that floats in the ocean.
She is curious, erratic, brave and also a little naive. She knows everything about the ocean temperatures and currents.
Nina & Berry Friends
Reo and Phax are based on the foraminifera Species Reophax which is an agglutinated species.
Ruby is based on the
foraminifera Species Globigerinoides ruber
which is a planktonic species.
Bott is based on the
foraminifera Species Botellina labyrinthica
which is an agglutinated species.
Kennie is based on the
foraminifera Species Hantkenina
which is a planktonic species.
Nina & Berry also turned into 3D characters, which makes them even more tangible than they are on paper. These guys have become a fun tool to teach science and create stories about our oceans in schools and also haven’t left Giuliana’s side since 😉 From taking part in research trips on ships, with pilots in the cockpit of a plane to attending scientific conferences.
If you want to learn how to create Nina & Berry from clay or playdo, then download the instructions from our Activity Box `Nina & Berry Modelling Instructions`
