In the 19th century, the ocean was a mystery to scientists. In Haeckel’s lifetime, huge advances in underwater technology helped progress knowledge in the scientific field. Through watching the film, I learned that there are over 5,000 types of Radiolarians and Haeckel helped discover about 4,000 of these over the course of his lifetime. Haeckel was a medical student who was drawn to the mystery of the ocean, particularly cells and microorganisms. It wasn’t until later that he discovered a passion for painting landscapes. Through this discovery, Haeckel was conflicted between the “charming, wild and romantic” world of art and the “serious, cold, and rational” natural world. This conflict is something that particularly interested me as I too feel conflicted between my creative side and scientific side. As a student on the pre-med track, classes such as this one allows me to embrace my artistic side. After watching this film, I realized there has been a strong connection between art and science since the Enlightenment when romantics used the natural world as their muse for poems and paintings. Through Haeckel’s work with radiolarians, he was able to marry the two worlds of art and science. Additionally, he challenged Darwinian theories of evaluation and spirituality as Haeckel believed in a world undivided between matter and spirit and denied the immortality of souls. As someone with my own religious beliefs, I don’t necessarily agree with Haeckel’s theories and ideas. However, his work in sculpture has allowed me to understand how art can help us gain a better understanding of scientific topics. More specifically, creating these 3D structures gives us an understanding of how detailed and complicated one-cell organisms are and gives us an appreciation for the complexity of nature.