Event name: NMNH Exhibits, including "Cellphones: Unseen Connections"

Event time and place: Natural Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., October 20, 2024


Montana, c. 66 million years ago
After arriving at the museum, I first went to the Sant Ocean Hall. At an interactive video station titled “The Changing Ocean,” I watched two videos: “Cause a Sea Change: Save Sharks,” and “Deep Ocean Creatures.” The former described conservation efforts towards preserving sharks, like strict controls on fishing, which are helping preserve the biodiversity of our oceans. The latter described the discovery and study of several deep sea organisms, including the Hymenaster, Bolsoma, Freyastera, Caulophacus, and Pythonaster, which are all either sponges or sea stars. The first video used easy to understand graphics such as pie charts and diagrams, and the second relied primarily on unedited footage of the creatures discussed. Each of these methods worked well to convey the information presented to all visitors. After this, I watched a video on the “Science on the Sphere” globe display which discussed global ocean currents. The three levels of currents were displayed in sequence, and the roles they play were described. The format of the spherical video was effective in showing the currents, because visitors can see the movement of them around the whole globe as they act in reality.

After the Sant Ocean Hall, I went to the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils, which included several dioramas displaying Earth’s past. The first one I saw depicted what is now Wyoming, 66 million to 50 million years ago, when CO2 levels were five times higher, average global temperature was 14-25 degrees fahrenheit higher, and global sea level was 650-720 feet higher than today. The second one I saw depicted what is now Montana, 76 million to 66 million years ago, when CO2 levels were four times higher, average global temperature was 16-17 degrees fahrenheit higher, and global sea level was 650-740 feet higher than today. These exhibits are effective because the scenes they depict are so radically different from the environments that we are all familiar with today, emphasizing the grand changes the Earth has experienced over time. Another section of the hall discussed past and present climate change. Scientists are able to ascertain the time period that an organism lived during by the sedimentary layer where its fossil is found. Certain trends, such as several organisms disappearing from the fossil record at the same time, plants containing more insect bites, and mammals becoming smaller, coincided with suspected increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This allowed scientists to observe the effects of past climate fluctuations. Any visitor who takes the time to watch the videos and read the plaques at this exhibit gain a much better understanding of how we can observe the effects of climate change in the past.

In the “Humans Change the World” section of the Koch Hall, many human-caused changes were described. One occurred after the discovery of farming and herding; humans began to radically change ecosystems, and this more effective method of survival allowed us to settle down and cause other changes. Another change is skyrocketing CO2 levels caused by human deforestation and burning of fossil fuels. Finally, the increasing density of human populations has allowed many diseases to flourish. This information was mostly conveyed using line graphs and written statistics. Some critics of the hall believe it de-emphasizes the human impact on the world and its climate. I do not agree with this, because there is a whole section dedicated to the subject, but it is possible that many visitors will not see that part of the hall.

After leaving the David H. Koch Hall, I went to the temporary exhibit “Cellphones: Unseen Connections.” There were many different types of media used to present the information there; one was a series of scaled-up cell phones that displayed a live video of whoever stood in front of it, displaying facts related to the exhibit as text messages on the screen. Another was a simulated text conversation that visitors could participate in by scanning a QR code, which really functioned as a quiz/poll about cell phone usage. A third, using a virtual board game, taught users about what to do in different cell phone related situations. Each type of media was very effective because the formats themselves were a part of the message. The exhibit also includes environmental considerations, such as a display that shows the different elements used in the fabrication of cell phones and their parts. It includes displays which describe the finite nature of these resources and the price of extracting them, often at the expense of poor communities and underdeveloped nations. It includes photographs which display large piles of e-waste littering the natural landscape of several different poorer countries. The exhibit also showed several effects of cell phones, including the development of 5G, which has the potential to revolutionize our society with increased connectivity. Social impacts were also shown, including the greater spread of misinformation and the wider impact of social movements. These changes were displayed via a series of comic books painted on the walls.