The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research

Level 3 l Advanced
1 Warmer
a. Read the paragraph below. It is taken from the article.
Sunlight is filtering through the turquoise waters, shimmering with the waves. Jellyfish float in graceful
downward zigzags like translucent baubles. Darting from left to right among clumps of swaying kelp
are fish speckled with bronze and streaked with silver.

b. Which country or area of the world do you think the article is about?
c. Read paragraph 2 of the article to find out.

2 Key words
Find key words in the article that match the definitions below. The paragraph numbers are given to
help you.

1. sea creatures that stick firmly to rocks and to the bottoms of ships ___________________________ (para 3)
2. not smooth or flat ___________________________ (para 4)
3. the variety of different types of plant and animal life in a particular region ___________________________
(para 5)
4. removing a chemical or mineral from something such as soil as a result of water passing through it, or being
removed by this process ___________________________ (para 6)
5. working with someone in order to produce something ___________________________ (para 8)
6. involving different subjects of study ___________________________ (para 9)
7. items that have been selected from among a large number of possibilities for other people to enjoy
___________________________ (para 12)
8. the best of its kind ___________________________ (para 12)
9. a conjunction used for introducing a comment that slightly changes or reduces the effect of what you said
before it ___________________________ (para 12)
10. help something to develop over a period of time ___________________________ (para 14)
11. officially said that something is true or correct and of a sufficient standard ___________________________
(para 16)
12. (of a new product or service) introduced ___________________________ (two words, para 16)
13. imagines or hopes for something that has not happened or does not yet exist
___________________________ (para 19)
14. full of life and energy ___________________________ (para 19)
D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

© Springer Nature Limited 2019. Macmillan Education is part of the Springer Nature Group.
M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research / Advanced
CA O
H
•P
The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research
Level 3 l Advanced
Sea change: the underwater
restaurant with a new approach to
marine research
An underwater restaurant in southern Norway is
both a tourist attraction and a living laboratory for
local marine researchers
Rachel Hall
26 April, 2019
1 Sunlight is filtering through the turquoise waters,
shimmering with the waves. Jellyfish float in
graceful downward zigzags like translucent
baubles. Darting from left to right among clumps
of swaying kelp are fish speckled with bronze and
streaked with silver.
2 This isn’t a scene from the tropics – it’s southern
Norway, and it’s the view from a recently opened
underwater restaurant, Under, that’s finding a
new way to educate people on the importance of
local marine life.
3 The restaurant is a 34-metre-long structure
semi-submerged in the ocean, designed by Oslo
architecture firm Snøhetta. It was only installed
in 2018 but is already being claimed by marine
life: seaweed is growing on the exterior, and sea
snails and barnacles stick to the windows.
4 According to architect Andreas Nygaard, this
was deliberate. The rough concrete was chosen
to encourage marine life to grow on it, while the
rugged coastline highlights the sea’s “drama”.
5 “We call the whole thing an eye into the coastal
ecosystem,” says Trond Rafoss, an associate
professor at Agder University and the in-house
marine biologist. “The biodiversity of cold waters
is not well known. We think the more people gain
knowledge of marine life, the more they will look
after our oceans.”
6 Rafoss thinks drawing attention to the
“colourfulness” of the northern seas will
motivate the public to understand the ways they
are affected by climate change. He cites the
leaching of agricultural chemicals into the ocean,
overproduction of food on land and how CO2
is causing ocean acidification. “But it can be
reversed,” he says.
7 The restaurant is vital for Rafoss’s research. It
receives funding from the Norwegian government
as an “underwater laboratory”, and Rafoss
regularly brings his master’s students in marine
© Springer Nature Limited 2019. Macmillan Education is part of the Springer Nature Group.
NEWS LESSONS / The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research / Advanced
ecology to find inspiration for research topics.
So far, research has looked at how to restore
marine ecosystems in harbour areas, along with
experimental studies on the extent to which
wrasse fish are capable of learning.
8 Without collaborating with a private business, the
university couldn’t have funded such a resource.
The relationship has also enabled Rafoss to
secure funding from the Norwegian government,
which paid for half of the project. “More and more
research funds are tied to the impact on society
and business,” he says.
9 Rafoss plans to use the restaurant as part of an
interdisciplinary research project into ways of
measuring how much people can learn about
science when they go on holiday or engage in an
educational leisure activity. He thinks experiences
can teach far more than written texts.
10 “When people go on holiday, they want to learn
something new in an enjoyable way,” he says.
“We’re interested in finding out about the type of
experiences that increase knowledge of natural
sciences among the public.”
11 Instead of providing written explanations in the
restaurant, he trains the waiters to inform diners
about what they’re seeing. While some visitors
have initially complained about poor visibility and
dirty water, the restaurant’s team have been able
to explain that the cloudy views are because
springtime is growing season for marine life.
12 Of course, this is not an experience accessible to
everyone: there’s only one option for the menu,
and it costs £199. But Stig Ubostad, one of the
owners, sees it as a “bucket list” destination.
Spending four hours tasting 18 courses of
carefully curated seafood with an unparalleled
view of life under the sea is undeniably a unique
experience, albeit one that few can afford.
13 The educational mission extends to the
restaurant’s menu. “We want to drag everything
from here into the kitchen and show the variety
of what we have here in the southern part of
Norway,” says the head chef, Nicolai Ellitsgaard.
There’s a focus on sustainability, using all the parts
of the fish, underappreciated species and bycatch.
14 Ubostad stresses that the research is a core part
of the business. “Under will be much more than
just a restaurant,” he says. “We want to foster
curiosity for the sea.”
D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA
M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O
CA O
H
•P
The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research
Level 3 l Advanced
15 There are cheaper ways for the public to engage
with the restaurant’s window into marine life than
booking a table. A camera will soon be set up
online so people can watch, take snaps of new
species they spot and provide names and times
as a “citizen science” project.
16 After being validated by a scientist, these
images will be fed into a machine learning
algorithm, which will teach the camera how to
recognize different marine life. It’s hoped that this
experimental technology will be rolled out across
the coast to monitor population levels.
17 Heidi Pettersvold Nygaard, an interior architect at
Snøhetta, says the building’s unusual structure
was designed to be accessible to everyone. “You
can stroll along the coastline and be part of the
experience,” she says. “You can see how it works
and sits in the landscape.”
researching how best to make visitors learn and
specifically how to engage young people. One
option they’re trialling is drone cameras on the
seabed. “Young people want things in real-time;
they want to explore on their own,” he says.
“We hope the centre will attract young scientists
to get more involved in research into
marine ecosystems.”
19 He believes the collaboration could work
elsewhere. He envisions “more people involved
in fighting for biodiversity”, thanks to its research
and education work. “The key thing for me is that
this restaurant concept can’t work without vibrant
nature,” he says. “If you can connect business
with a clean environment, that’s the main benefit
I see of all the hours I’ve spent here over the last
five years.”
© Guardian News and Media 2019

18 A new neighbouring public-engagement centre First published in The Guardian, 26/04/19

will also be set up in 2019. Rafoss is still

3 Comprehension check
Answer the questions using information from the article.

1. What is the name of the restaurant, where is it, and how much of it is underwater?
2. What are the aims of the restaurant project?
3. What do you know about the eating experience in the restaurant?
4. Who should you ask if you want to learn more about what is going on outside the windows?
5. Where does the funding for the restaurant come from?
6. If you can’t afford to go to the restaurant, how can you find out about the marine life around it?

4 Opinions
Read and discuss these opinions from the article. Do you agree or disagree with them? Justify your
answers, and give examples from your own experience where possible.

When people
go on holiday, they
want to learn
something new in an Young
enjoyable way. people want things
in real-time; they
Experiences want to explore on
can teach their own.
far more than
written texts.
D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

© Springer Nature Limited 2019. Macmillan Education is part of the Springer Nature Group.
M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research / Advanced
CA O
H
•P
 The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research
Level 3 l Advanced
5 Discussion
• Does this restaurant appeal to you? Why? Why not?
• How likely is it that you will ever go there?
• Have you ever been snorkelling, diving or on a glass-bottom boat?
o If so, where were you, and what did you see?
• What’s the most unusual or interesting restaurant or café you have ever been to?

6 Bucket list
bucket list noun [countable] informal
a list of the things you want to do before you reach a certain age or before you die

a. Work in small groups. Brainstorm things you would like to include on your bucket list.
e.g. stand on the top of a mountain, drive along a particular road, learn to ride a horse, eat
something particular
b. Make a list of ten items that you all agree on.
c. Compare your lists with other students. Say which of the things you plan to do first.

7 Citizen science
Discuss how you think the citizen science mentioned in this article works. Who is likely to take part in it?
How could you encourage people’s interest in it?
Find other citizen science projects. Which ones are you most interested in?

D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

© Springer Nature Limited 2019. Macmillan Education is part of the Springer Nature Group.
M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research / Advanced
CA O
H
•P
The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research
Level 3 l Advanced
KEY

2 Key words 7 Citizen science

1. barnacles Teaching tip: Here are a few of the many websites that
2. rugged contain citizen science project information.
3. biodiversity www.nationalgeographic.org/idea/citizen-science-projects/
4. leaching
www.euroscientist.com/citizen-science-around-world/
5. collaborating
6. interdisciplinary science.nasa.gov/citizenscientists
7. curated www.zooniverse.org/
8. unparalleled
9. albeit
10. foster
11. validated
12. rolled out
13. envisions
14. vibrant

3 Comprehension check

1. It’s called Under. It’s on the southern coast of

Norway. It is semi-submerged.
2. to find a new way to educate people on the
importance of local marine life
3. There is only one option for the menu, and it costs
£199. The dining experience lasts four hours and
consists of 18 courses of seafood.
4. the waiters, who have been specially trained to
inform diners about what they can see while they
are eating
5. Half comes from the Norwegian government; the
rest from private business.
6. Cameras are going to be set up online, which will
enable people to watch what is going on around the
restaurant, take photos, identify sea creatures and
participate in a citizen science project.
D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

© Springer Nature Limited 2019. Macmillan Education is part of the Springer Nature Group.
M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The underwater restaurant with a new approach to marine research / Advanced
CA O
H
•P