National Museum of Natural History Excursion

October 20, Washington DC:

The first exhibit I explored was "Cellphones: Unseen Connections. Three different presentation techniques they used included comic strips, an interactive board game, and normal displays. All of these were effective ways to convey information. The comic strips used relatable scenarios and made it easy to read, especially for younger people. The board game was also good because the game aspect made it fun and kept me hooked. The normal displays, although a bit boring, are always an effective way of showing information. Throughout the exhibit, there are displays that show the materials that go into making cellphones. They show the raw materials and explain underneath their role in the structure of the cellphone. Every year, 246 billion pounds of carbon emissions are created. There is also a lot of waste from old cellphones, especially in areas without environmental regulations or the infrastructure needed to safely process the waste. In areas without the proper regulations and infrastuctures, people will go out and disassemble and repair secondhands phones, and collect and sell scraps that cannot be used. One technological impact of cellphones is the ability to make tasks easier and more accesible for everyone. One social impact of cellphones is the increase in the spread of misinformation and the ability to share ideas to a wider audience. The staff chose to convey these ideas through comic strips.

The second exhibit was "Climate Change" in the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins. Three topics discussed in this section are animal domestication, agriculture, and rising CO2 levels. From 1961 to 2004, the population of cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats increased from 2.7 to 4.1 billion and the number of domesticated fowls increased from 3 to 16 billion. To show this, the exhibit designers filled two columns with toy animals, showing the proportion of 2.7 billion to 4.1 billion. About a quarter of Earth's surface is now used to grow crops. To show this, they also filled a column, but with a bunch of seeds and grains. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is the highest since our species evolved. To show this, they showed a graph of CO2 levels throughout the history of Earth. I disagree with critics and I think that the exhibit does not de-emphasize the human impact on the environment and climate. The exhibit clearly shows many pieces of datat showing the impact of humans and even shows graphics and models to convey that.

The third exhibit was "Climate Change and Human Impact" in the Sant Ocean Hall. The two videos I watched were "TRASH TALK: How Does Marine Debris Impact the Ocean, Animals and Me?" and "Saving Sea Turtles". The first video basically states that debris in the ocean can kill or injure animals, damage important habitats like coral reefs, and affect humans by contaminating water, hindering boats, and costing us money to clean up. The second video explains how sea turtles would get caught in nets unintentionally and drown. To combat these problems, new nets were designed to prevent sea turtles from getting caught. I would say that the data is pretty understandable for a general visitor of the museum because the videos aren't too complicated and they are fairly short. On the Science on the Sphere, I watched a video called "Changing Climate, Chaning Ocean". It showed information about climate change, like rising temperatures, melting ice, ocean warming, and how ecosystems are affected. It used animations to show how things like ocean currents and weather patterns are connected around the world. The format helps people understand these big issues by showing the whole planet at once. While it’s exciting and educational, it can only be seen where the setup is available. Overall, it’s a good way to show how climate change affects the Earth and why it’s important to take action.

The final exhibit was "Climate Change" in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils. The first pylon I looked at was about Colorado 150 million years ago. Compared to modern times, the CO2 level was four times higher, the average temperature was 15-17°F higher, and the golbal sea level was about 330 feet higher. The second pylon I looked at was about Texas 279-272 million years ago. Compared to today, CO2 levels fluctuated from less than today to three times higher, average global temperature was 8°F lower to 12°F higher, and global sea levels were 130,260 feet higher. These exhibits are cool to look at but fail to hook people into reading the facts. They are just too small and require you to look very closely, which is difficult when there are a lot of people. Along the wall, there was information about the past climate of Earth. Using fossils, scientists were able to deduce that Earth used to be a lot hotter and CO2 levels were higher.