Nice nashers! Visitor Kate Hall comes face to face with a whale jawbone. © Tyne and Wear Museums.

Visitors to the Hancock Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne will come face to face with real life Disney characters and mythical sea monsters at Treasures of the Sea.

On show until September 11 2005 the exhibition is part of the SeaBritain North East series of events and features live orange and white clown fish - the inspiration behind the animated character Nemo.

Clown fish usually make their homes in sea-anemones and feed on scraps left behind by the anemones which paralyze food with their poisonous tentacles.

Steve McLean, curator of the Hancock Museum, examines some of the specimens on show. © Tyne and Wear Museums.

Another unusual fish on display is the puffer fish which can inflate its body with water as a defence mechanism.

“Treasures of the Sea is an exciting opportunity to see some of the most unusual and beautiful animals to be found in the world’s oceans,” said Steve McLean, curator of the Hancock Museum. “Visitors will also be able to learn about sea folklore including the mystical powers of the narwhal tusk which was thought to belong to a unicorn.”

A narwhal tusk is on display at the Hancock Museum but in the past would have been a very valuable and prized possession. In the 16th century Queen Elizabeth paid £10,000 for a narwhal’s tusk, about the same cost as an entire castle.

“There will even be a chance to see a cast of a giant cod caught by fishermen in the North Sea in April 2004, which weighed in at 66 lbs,” Steve told the 24 Hour Museum.

Visitor Kate Hall and her new friend - a puffer fish. © Tyne and Wear Museums.

Other items on show range from the huge - a whale’s jawbone - to the just plain odd - pickled octopuses and a hand carved mermaid.

Treasures of the Sea has been funded as part of the International Festival of Rivers and the Sea – part of a £12 million series of festivals and events across the North East.

SeaBritain 2005 North East is co-ordinated by the North East Regional Museums Hub, which is funded by Renaissance in the Regions, a Museums Libraries and Archives Council initiative to raise the profile of regional museums.

Alastair Smith is the 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Writer in the North East region. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.