Showcasing science’s role in addressing plastic in oceans

A traveling, international exhibition, Ocean Plastics Lab(above), is on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., through June 17 to highlight the role of science in understanding and combating plastics in the world’s oceans. Nick Rome (right) of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, a group of academic and industry organizations, demonstrates that polypropylene—the blue pieces suspended in the tube—float in water, while polystyrene (red) and polyethylene terephthalate (white) sink. The exhibition is an initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education & Research and the German Marine Research Consortium and is supported by the European Commission.