National Museum of Natural History
October 20, 2024
Exhibit 1: Cellphones: Unseen Connections
As you enter into the Unseen Connections exhibit, you are met with large “phone” screens that act as the introduction to the exhibit. When you stand in front of them, you meet one of the avatars that “lead” the exhibit, who then invites you to join a “group chat” with the other avatars.I thought that this group chat was an effective way to explain information because it allowed you to learn information in a less formal setting. Sometimes it’s hard to look at signs all day since it’s a lot of reading, but through this group chat you can read it in more of a conversational tone, and learn more information that is essentially spoon fed to you. In the group chat they also had the viewer answer a variety of questions, both personal such as “How many hours do you typically spend on your phone” and educational questions such as “What percentage of Carbon Emissions your phone lets out in its lifetime came from just its production.” I thought that this was an interesting way to force the viewer to think about the exhibit, rather than just absorb information. Additionally, in the exhibit there were multiple games to get people involved. One game in particular was a trivia game of sorts, where if you guessed the answers correctly you could move forward but if you didn’t guess correctly you either had to move back or stay in place. I thought that this was an effective way to explore the exhibit since, again, it makes the viewer think and actively recall information that was learned rather than just looking at the displays. Lastly, the exhibit presented information through brightly colored drawings and writings on the wall. One of the walls was dedicated entirely to a comic strip, where they gave information to the viewer such as the different ways new technologies bring new anxieties. I thought that this was an effective way to present information, since the bright colors naturally draw in the eye, and you feel more compelled to read a comic rather than a text-heavy sign. This definitely would draw in more kids to learn information as well, since they would be less likely to read a sign than a comic.
Throughout the exhibit, a multitude of displays were dedicated to the environmental issues of cellphone technology. The exhibit describes how everything in your cellphone is extracted from the Earth, and many of the minerals are mined in conflict-affected areas, contributing to serious human rights and environmental abuses. Additionally, the exhibit states that the materials used to make phones are toxic, dangerous, and difficult to dispose of. Much of this information is presented through diagrams and periodic tables, showing just what elements are in a cell phone. I thought it was interesting to see the elements that make up a device that I use every day, and it was very impactful to see timelines and diagrams showing just how environmentally unsustainable cell phone usage really is.
The exhibit doesn’t just talk about the negatives, however. It is important to note just how impactful the cell phone has been to global relations and technological innovation. One technological impact that was presented in the exhibit was the transition between the cell phone of the past and the smartphone of the present. This was presented through a wall full of pre-smartphone items displayed in a sort of makeshift timeline. It was interesting to see just how many functions a smartphone really has; as a person who hasn’t really seen much of a world without smartphones, it was very eye opening to see just how many functions a phone really has. Seeing the radios and flashlights lined up, I realized just how amazing the technology on a smartphone really is, and it is still exponentially improving. One social impact the exhibit discussed due to cell phones was how connected it has made us. 100 years ago it would have been impossible to imagine the ability to talk with people across the world with just the click of a button. However, now with cell phones this possibility is in everybody’s pockets, which has enabled a much more educated and connected world. This was portrayed through another, slightly smaller, wall of items that depicted different ways people shared cultures with each other. One other social impact depicted in this exhibit was how they can help people in more rural areas connect with one another. In the past it was very difficult to correspond with people due to long distances, but now with cell phones it is very easy to communicate with others in this nature. One thing that the exhibit specified was that this could help them run their businesses. These were mostly depicted through signs around the exhibit.
Exhibit 2: Climate Change in the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins
One thing the Hall of Human Origins exhibit presented was how human language and society developed. This transformation marked a significant shift in how humans interacted with each other and their environment. It depicted how cave paintings led to personal identities and eventually towards talking. This information was shown through different pictures of cave paintings as well as different signs around the exhibit. The Hall of Human Origins also presented the biology of how humans physically evolved from apes, to neanderthals, and eventually to homo sapiens. It focuses on giving this information through a series of different skulls and skeleton models, arranged in a timeline of evolution. There were also different areas that you could touch and feel the differences between the skull shapes, allowing a different perspective on both the slight and obvious differences. Lastly, it showed the development of tools, and how important it was in human evolution, enabling more efficient hunting and survival. Over time, the development of tools progressed from stones to more sophisticated weapons. This information was portrayed through displays of various artifacts, as well as signs and diagrams explaining what they were used for and how they were constructed.
One critique this hall often encounters is that the exhibit de-emphasizes the human impact on the environment and climate. I don’t necessarily agree with this, while humans may have made significant changes on the environment, I don’t think this necessarily needs to be a focus in this exhibit either. The purpose of this exhibit is to show how humans developed, rather than what their development impacted. Additionally, the exhibit does cover a bit of how humans interacted with their environment, such as how diseases spread as well as how agriculture has changed land use. However, I do understand where some of the critics are coming from, but I think this information is portrayed in different areas around the museum.
Exhibit 3: Climate Change & Human Impact in the Sant Ocean Hall
After the Hall of Human Origins, we headed to the Sant Ocean Hall where we watched a few short, educational videos. The first video we watched was called “What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?” where we learned about how giant garbage patches form in the ocean due to currents bringing them all together. The garbage patches are not stuck together, rather they are large areas of separate pieces of garbage, making cleanup efforts extremely difficult due to the size and the different depths the garbage is floating at. It mostly focused on how prevention is the most important way to fix this issue, simply by not adding to it. The second video we watched was called “No Sunlight, No Problem.” This video focused on a variety of different deep ocean animal species in Hawaii. Scientists are still discovering more species every day, which was fascinating to learn about. I would consider this data to be very understandable by a general visitor to the museum. The videos featured simple and understandable language, as well as pictures and diagrams that allowed for the viewer to follow very effectively.
We then went to the Science on the Sphere theater, which essentially was a giant floating globe showing a long rotation of different videos. We stayed through pretty much all of the videos, but I thought the explanation on the formation of the Earth as we know it was the most interesting, since you could basically watch it in real time. We were able to watch how water started forming on earth, how land started forming, and how the supercontinent Pangaea broke apart into the continents we know today. I thought this format was extremely interesting and useful, since we were able to watch everything unfold on a 3D globe, which made it way easier to visualize how the Earth changed over millions of years. Seeing the landmasses shift and the oceans form in real-time really helped put everything into perspective. It was kind of like watching Earth evolve right before our eyes, which felt pretty cool.
Exhibit 4: Climate Change in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time
Throughout the Hall of Fossils, there were quite a few different pylons featuring miniature reconstructions of life and environment at different points in time. The first pylon we looked at was called “Lush Rainforests,” which depicts a rainforest from 56-53 million years ago in the Willwood Formation in modern day Wyoming. The signs around the pylon state that during this period, CO2 levels were five times higher than they are now, global temperatures were 14-25°F warmer, and sea levels were 720 feet higher. We also visited the “Grasslands Far and Wide” pylon. This pylon showed the Harrison Formation in modern day Nebraska from 24-16 million years ago. In this time, CO2 levels were double what they are today, temperatures were 5-12°F higher, and sea levels were 330 feet above current levels. I feel that these dioramas are extremely effective ways of providing information. Since they are out in the open and kind of random, they draw the eye, and children and adults alike will be able to appreciate the little models if not for the information than just for the visuals. However, if the viewer takes the time to read the information, they also will learn a lot, with the simple models and labels drawing attention to the key details.
We also observed the exhibits describing climate changes past and present. For example, in the Devonian period, CO2 levels and sea levels were high, but temperatures were lower. In the Permian, the sea levels, CO2 levels, and temperatures were much lower than now, marking the end of the Paleozoic Ice Age. Then, during the Cretaceous, temperatures and sea levels were much higher, though CO2 levels were only slightly elevated compared to today. These kiosks used a timeline with maps and bar graphs to show sea levels, temperature, and CO2 changes over time. I thought that this was an effective way to display the information, since the information was clearly presented and didn’t require any complicated interaction. However, the kiosks, while informative, could benefit from a simpler, more direct approach to make the information more accessible and easier to digest. It was difficult to find the fossil and geological information without clicking through a little bit. It might be a bit more effective to display this information on a sign rather than an interface.
Me, Cat, and Kathleen with Giant Testudo Overlord