NMNH Excursion
Dec 8:
I visited the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC with a classmate as part of a self-guided excursion. During our visit, we explored several exhibits focused on technology, climate change, and human environmental impact.
The “Cellphones: Unseen Connections” exhibit uses multiple presentation techniques to communicate its information, including oversized interactive displays, visual timelines, object walls, and cartoon-style illustrations. These methods are effective because they make complex technological and social issues easy to understand and visually engaging. The exhibit explains that many cellphone materials, such as tantalum and lithium, are extracted through environmentally and socially harmful processes. Tantalum is a conflict mineral linked to human rights abuses, while lithium mining requires large amounts of water and disrupts ecosystems. These impacts are shown through mineral samples, photographs of mining sites, and explanatory panels. The exhibit also discusses cellphone impacts beyond the environment. One technological impact is the hidden global infrastructure of fiber-optic cables and data centers that allow instant communication. Socially, cellphones are presented as tools for documenting violence, especially against marginalized groups, and as sources of anxiety surrounding new communication technologies. These ideas are conveyed through interactive visuals and illustrated narratives.
On the second floor, the Earth Information Center presents climate data using clear and accessible displays. One exhibit shows region-specific climate impacts across the United States, such as wildfires in the Northwest, drought in the Southwest, storms in the Southeast, and flooding in the Northeast. Another interactive NASA display, “Eyes on the Earth,” allows visitors to explore global climate data using a rotating 3D Earth model. Overall, this exhibit is effective because it combines scientific data with visuals that make climate change feel relevant and understandable.
In the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins, the “Humans Change the World” section discusses human-driven species extinction and agricultural expansion. The exhibit shows how extinction rates increased as humans spread globally and how agriculture now occupies over one-third of Earth’s land, displacing ecosystems and contributing to climate change. These changes are portrayed through timelines, charts, and visual comparisons. I do not agree with claims that this exhibit minimizes human impact, as the data and visuals clearly demonstrate the scale and speed of human-driven environmental change.
The Sant Ocean Hall addresses climate change through interactive media. At “The Changing Ocean” station, the videos Deep Dive: Greatest Hits and Fool’s Gold explain NOAA research using unmanned submersibles to study deep-sea ecosystems and the role of iron pyrite as a nutrient for marine life. The information is understandable due to clear narration and visual evidence. The “Human Connections” wall highlights issues such as ocean acidification and climate change, encouraging concern by linking these problems to human actions. In the nearby Ocean Focus Gallery, the artwork Concrete Jungle by Jessica Beshears uses digital collage to connect environmental sustainability with social inequality, emphasizing how climate solutions intersect with human systems.
In the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time, paleoenvironmental dioramas such as Floodplains Full of Life and Lush Rainforests depict periods with higher carbon dioxide levels, warmer temperatures, and significantly higher sea levels than today. These exhibits are effective because they visually compare past and present climate conditions. Additional climate displays explain how fossils, rock layers, and carbon dioxide reconstructions are used to understand Earth’s climate history and predict future change, clearly demonstrating the relevance of geological data to modern climate science.