Plankton
Discover what lies beneath the surface!
Essentially composed of organisms that are invisible to the naked eye, marine plankton plays a fundamental role in the ecology and climate of our planet. It is the basis of the marine food web and harbours exceptional biodiversity. Phytoplankton produces half of the oxygen that we breathe!

Micro Family - from 0,02 to 0,2 mm









Phytoplancton

Mixotrophe

Zooplancton

Unicellulaire

Pluricellulaire

Enveloppe externe

Pas d'enveloppe externe

Alvéolés

Straménopiles

Haptophytes

Rhizaires

Métazoaire

Archaeplastida

Autres
Les photographies illustrant les organismes sont la propriété de leurs auteurs respectifs. La liste des crédits est disponible ici.
Macro Family - more than 20 mm













Phytoplancton

Mixotrophe

Zooplancton

Unicellulaire

Pluricellulaire

Enveloppe externe

Pas d'enveloppe externe

Alvéolés

Straménopiles

Haptophytes

Rhizaires

Métazoaire

Archaeplastida

Autres
Les photographies illustrant les organismes sont la propriété de leurs auteurs respectifs. La liste des crédits est disponible ici.
Meso Family - from 0,2 to 20 mm













Phytoplancton

Mixotrophe

Zooplancton

Unicellulaire

Pluricellulaire

Enveloppe externe

Pas d'enveloppe externe

Alvéolés

Straménopiles

Haptophytes

Rhizaires

Métazoaire

Archaeplastida

Autres
Les photographies illustrant les organismes sont la propriété de leurs auteurs respectifs. La liste des crédits est disponible ici.
Nano Family - from 0,002 to 0,02 mm













Phytoplancton

Mixotrophe

Zooplancton

Unicellulaire

Pluricellulaire

Enveloppe externe

Pas d'enveloppe externe

Alvéolés

Straménopiles

Haptophytes

Rhizaires

Métazoaire

Archaeplastida

Autres
Les photographies illustrant les organismes sont la propriété de leurs auteurs respectifs. La liste des crédits est disponible ici.
Pico Family - from 0,0002 to 0,002 mm













Phytoplancton

Mixotrophe

Zooplancton

Unicellulaire

Pluricellulaire

Enveloppe externe

Pas d'enveloppe externe

Alvéolés

Straménopiles

Haptophytes

Rhizaires

Métazoaire

Archaeplastida

Autres
Les photographies illustrant les organismes sont la propriété de leurs auteurs respectifs. La liste des crédits est disponible ici.
Plankton TV
Find out all about plankton and its ecological roles with our fun videos !
Immersive 2D video
Immersive 3D video
Plankton bloom
DNA signature
Planktomania : Dive in!
Cell
Oxygen production
Food chain
Marine bioresources
Marine snow
Plankton diversity
Mobile Applications
Your turn to play !
Find out more about plankton straight from the couch, or during your next stroll through the city! Check out our mobile applications – absolutely free! – to have fun and learn more about plankton using virtual and augmented reality!
Planktomania AR
Partner applications
Want to learn while you’re out and about?
The Street Science application proposes scientific games in augmented reality to allow you to discover all of the secrets of plankton while being a tourist ! Will you find all of the pictograms hidden in the town?
To find out more, visit the Street Science site or download the app !
Resources
There’s something for everyone! From families to teachers or educators, discover and download – for free! – the educational materials created by Planktomania: Planktobox, immersive videos, 3D models, and even games!

Planktobox
Using 3D as well as augmented and virtual reality, this learning kit was developed in order to help everyone discover and learn more about plankton. It was designed for animators of educational and environmental associations, marine educators and teachers.

3D Models and games
Download all the educational resources developed by Planktomania (for free!) : 3D models for printing, documents, videos, illustrations, …
Planktomania resources are freely accessible under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA licence : Attribution, No Commercial Utilisation, Sharing in the Same Conditions.
The Project
Project partners :









Context
Make visible the invisible!
Essentially composed of organisms that are invisible to the naked eye, marine plankton plays a fundamental role in the ecology and climate of our planet. It is the basis of the marine food web and harbours exceptional biodiversity. Phytoplankton produces half of the oxygen that we breathe!
Despite this primordial role, plankton are not often addressed by teachers and animators because of the difficulty of seeing microscopic organisms. They tend to bypass this essential component of marine ecosystems because they don’t have access to the appropriate tools (notably microscopes).
Objectives
This innovative educational project aims to create tools for the discovery of the infinitely small via new technologies (augmented and virtual reality, 3D objects).
The main innovation is to avoid the constraints associated with the use of a microscope, which are often costly, bulky (a problem for portable animations), and difficult to use for the general public, youngsters, and sometimes the teachers themselves.
Planktomania tools target the general public, animators of educational and environmental associations interested by the development of scientific culture, and primary and secondary school teachers.
Currently there is no microscope that is suitable for observing all of the organisms in the plankton, from viruses to animal larvae… so dive into the planktonic universe thanks to 3D !