Excursion Report

National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
December 2nd,2023
The exhibit Cellphones: Unseen Connections displays the history and current impact of cell phones on society. There were many types of presentation techniques that they used to get their message across. One technique was using display cases. A certain display case showed various materials that were used to create cellphones and technology. Gold is used in circuits in SIM cards to conduct electricity while silicon is used as the backbone of chips in people's phones. This technique was effective since I was able to actually see the materials being used to construct the phone. Another technique was an interactor, where you were able to interact with their technology by just standing in front of it. This was pretty effective too since you can see their information graphically being displayed making it more interactive and interesting as well. Another presentation technique they used was a timeline to display the evolution of phones throughout history. This was really innovative since you’re able to see the progress of phones over the years and how it evolved with technology.
However, the evolution of phones has caused detrimental effects on the environment. The materials used to create phones have been exploited and the disposal of phones has caused toxic materials like mercury and lead to contaminate our environment. The exhibit also displays how cell phones have caused technological and social impacts. A technological impact shown is how phones allow access to a greater amount of information for everyone through the internet, social media, etc. A social impact shown was how any person who has a cell phone can talk and connect with whoever is around the globe. Due to this, this has caused another significant social impact where it’s changed the way people interact with each other. The exhibit displayed these impacts through various texts and presentations as well.
In the Human Origins exhibit, there were three topics discussed on how humans influenced them significantly over time. One topic was Agriculture, which stated that about “a quarter of Earth’s surface is used to grow crops”, and most of the world's population only relies on four main crops, these being wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes. Another topic was Animal Domestication, where from 1961 to 2004, the population of domesticated animals such as pigs, cows, goats, etc. increased from 2.7 to 4.1 billion, and the population of domesticated birds increased from 3 to 16 billion. Even though there are billions of domesticated animals only 14 species of animals account for 90% of livestock production. The final topic shown was technology which gave a timeline of the great moments in food technology. In 95000 BCE the grain storehouse was created, in 500 BCE the Iron Plow was invented, then in 63 BCE it was the water-powered grist mill, and in 1928 it was sliced bread. To show how humans have significantly impacted each area there was a display case for each topic that showed the before and after represented in small toys that reflected the current ratio to display how drastic these changes are. Through the discussion of these three topics I believe that this exhibit does de-emphasize the human impact on the environment and climate since it doesn’t state anywhere how humans have changed the climate due to these developments rather it just states how humans have progressed without telling the consequences it has created.
In the Ocean Hall exhibit these were two videos I watched that discussed discoveries in the ocean. The first video was called “Deep dive discoveries” where scientists found numerous species when exploring the deep waters of Hawaii. They found a polychelid and the special one scientists were interested in was a large sea sponge. The second video, “Deep dive greatest hits” discussed important facts that goes on in the ocean floor such as how it contains important habitats like coral reefs, and how scavengers dwell on the bottom and fight for dinner over dead animals that float to the bottom. The data and information presented by the videos is definitely understandable by the general audience however some people might get confused on the scientific names the species were called by. The “Science of the Sphere” was a video provided on a globe-shaped screen. It provided information on various subjects such as the El Nino and La Nina cycles where these cycles brought droughts to some areas while heavy rains to others. Hurricanes, cyclones, and floods were also discussed, and how these natural disasters will get worse due to rising temperatures caused by anthropogenic factors. Another important topic shown was how fossil fuels have caused rising carbon dioxide levels which trap heat in the atmosphere and how pollution is causing ocean acidification which is causing shells to disolve which is detrimental to ocean life. The spherical format definitely captivated the audience more since it was a unique way of displaying information, I considered this format useful since you could see the latitude and longitude lines when it discussed weather cycles throughout Earth so I was able to get a better understanding of where the cycles occur and why.
In the Fossils exhibit there were paleoenvironmental dioramas that represented mini reconstruction of life environments. One diorama I saw represented Morrison formation in Colorado 150 million years ago where large dinosaurs lived alongside rivers and were surrounded by ferns in a warm climate. The atmospheric carbon dioxide was up to 4 times higher than today, the global temperatures were 15-17 degrees Fahrenheit higher than today, and the global sea level was about 330 feet higher than today. Another diorama I saw displayed Arroyo formation in Texas around 279-272 million years ago where there were numerous ferns and seed plants like conifers, but there were only a few large herbivores instead most large animals were carnivores. In this diorama The atmospheric carbon dioxide was up to 3 times higher than today, the global temperatures fluctuate where it would be 8 degrees Fahrenheit lower and 12 degrees Fahrenheit higher than today, and the global sea level was about 40-80 meters higher than today.
There were also climate change exhibits that showed how humans have changed the climate. The human footprint discussed how humans leave a “footprint” due to large-scale agriculture, burning fossil fuels for energy, and maneuvering waterways. These all put pressure on the natural system one of them being the global climate since greenhouse gases will be released trapping excess heat into our atmosphere. Scientists can discover past ecosystem changes in lake bottom sediments. They drill a core of lack bottom sediments and analyze the layers and their contents. They can learn how old each layer is, how fast the layers accumulated, and whether the local climate changed or not. Then they determine how these local changes are linked with global climate shits.

Last modified: 18 Dec 2023