National Museum of Natural History: Analyzing New Cell Phone Exhibit and Much More!
Event time and place: National Museum of Natural History 10:00am - 1:00pm
1.) They presented information through various types of media. The main things they used were videos, newspapers, and music.
2.) Unfortunately, there is a lot of e-waste caused by cell phones which are usually bought and thrown away quite often so it creates a large environmental impact. Lots of raw materials from the earth that are finite are used with seemingly no thought about the consequences. They often aren’t disposed of properly, typically ending up in landfills. It shows this with pictures of people in third world countries collecting electronic waste and breaking it down.
3.) A technological impact is artificial intelligence. A social impact is anxiety/nervousness.
4.) The first topic that humans influenced is agriculture/cultivating food, where they began planting and farming different types of food for sustenance. The second topic demonstrated is animal domestication, once again using them for resources such as milk and leather. The third topic is how humans grew the population and took over many different places on the earth.
5.) I agree that it doesn’t properly show the devastating effects our presence has caused on the earth. It talks about how we use resources but doesn’t talk about the consequences in depth enough for me personally.
6.) The first video was “Deep ocean creatures” which shows how creatures can survive in the depths and some of the plants/organisms that they feed on. I think it would be a little difficult to understand for a general visitor because they use a lot of different terminology. The second video was “Great pacific garbage patch”. This video describes what the garbage patch is as whole. It explains how it’s made up of microplastics that don’t break down. I think this is easier to understand because it applies to all of us since everybody throws things away and uses plastic.
7.) Some of the things explained in this demonstration were tectonic plates and pangea, how the earth used to look, ocean movement patterns, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the oceans power to change. It provides a lot of information on how the earth has moved and changed over time. The sphere was used as if it was the earth rotating and demonstrating how it has changed over time which made it easy to visualize.
8.) The first pylon is from 76 million to 66 million years ago. It depicts floodplains in Montana where a tyrannosaurus hunts. CO2 was 4 times higher, temperature was 16-17 degrees higher, and sea level was about 700 ft higher. The second pylon is 157 mil to 145 mil years ago. It is in Colorado and depicts a river bank with many species surrounding the river. The CO2 was four times higher, the temperature was 16-17 degrees higher, and sea level was about 330 ft higher. These exhibits are simple yet effective at showing the different times the earth has gone through.
9.) Data as far back as 500 million years ago is discussed by using the average temperature of each year. It shows how the earth was much warmer back then but fluctuated a lot about 350 million years to 250 million years ago. They do also show how the earth is becoming warmer at a much more rapid pace then previously. I believe it effectively shows this with fossilized leaves, dinosaurs, and even trees. It shows the extreme change we’re going through at this time in the Earth’s life.
My friend Donnie the Dino and I at the museum. Not sure why he didn't smile for the picture.