Museum of Natural History

Washington DC, October 2024

The Cellphones: Unseen Connections exhibit in the Museum of Natural History displayed the use of technology in the 21st century. Using display techniques such as colorful graphics, comic displays on the walls, interactive minigames, posters, and audio throughout, this exhibit does a good job engaging its audience. By using so many different types of media, there is a type of media which works for everyone to learn efficiently. This exhibit explains that cellphone technology uses many rare Earth minerals used in creating cellphones. This causes environmental issues as we extract these minerals from the Earth. Using graphics to visualize the waste caused by cellphones, this exhibit shows that the proper disposal of cellphones is incredibly important for the environment. The technological impacts of cellphones allows society to stay connected across the entire world. This progresses the ability to communicate. However, due to this tool of communication, society has evolved to be reliant on communication via cellphones. We use our phones for sources of information, where it is important to know if the information you are consuming is either accurate, or misleading.

Climate Change in the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins offers many learning opportunities surrounding climate change, extinction, and the spread of human activity over time. The exhibit uses visual and interactive displays to showcase the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over time. Specifically, the charts of CO2 levels are good visuals to explain the impact humans have on our environment. An important display which can raise awareness on our future use of carbon emissions is the interactive components where visitors can explore different scenarios based on human actions (e.g., continued emissions vs. emissions reduction).The section also highlights how human expansion and activity have caused the decline or extinction of numerous species. This topic is often depicted using dioramas, taxidermy displays, or digital animations showing animals that were once widespread but are now extinct or endangered. Finally, this section shows how human population growth and the development of agriculture have dramatically transformed the environment. The museum shows large-scale maps or interactive displays to explain the spread of human populations over time, particularly focusing on the shift from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural civilizations. Artifacts such as early farming tools or depictions of early agricultural practices (e.g., plowing fields, animal husbandry) offer good visuals for this evolution. I believe this exhibit does a good job emphasizing the impact humans have on our environment by showing the evolution of human activity over a long period of time. The climate change section of this exhibit does a great job detailing how we contribute to the rise in global temperature over time via the greenhouse effect.

The next section I explored was the Climate Change & Human Impact in the Sant Ocean Hall. In this hall there were many videos to educate visitors about the ocean ecosystem. The first video I saw was the Ocean Acidification: Impact on Marine Life video. There, the video discusses the effects of rising CO2 levels on ocean chemistry, specifically focusing on ocean acidification. As more carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans, the water becomes more acidic, which disrupts the ability of marine organisms like corals, mollusks, and certain plankton to form calcium carbonate shells. This, in turn, affects the broader marine food web and ecosystems. The video highlights how humans can contribute to the rise in CO2 emissions and therefore accelerate the process of ocean acidification. While the data provided in this video was technical, it was presented in a clear manner for many visitors to understand. The second video I watched was the Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding video. This video focused on the impact of climate change on sea levels, particularly how melting glaciers and thermal expansion of seawater are contributing to rising ocean levels. The video highlighted the projection of future sea level rising and the major consequences surrounding sea level rise, such as increased flooding, habitat loss, and displacement of human populations. By using visuals like charts and graphs, as well as showing clear cause and effect relationships, this video was presented in a clear manner for visitors to understand. The "Global Ocean Video" presented on the "Science on the Sphere" format covers a broad range of ocean-related topics, including ocean circulation patterns, the role of oceans in regulating the climate, and the impacts of climate change on marine environments.The spherical "Science on the Sphere" format uses a globe-shaped display to project video content, which allows for an immersive experience. The globe shows ocean currents, temperature data, and sea levels in 3D, rotating to illustrate the global nature of the ocean's impact on the Earth's climate systems. While visitors unfamiliar with oceanography or climate science may not fully understand some of the more technical aspects of the data, the unique display gives an excellent visual context for the content being discussed.

Another exhibit I went to was the Paleoenvironmental Dioramas in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time. The Late Cretaceous Period (~75 million years ago) diorama explained a time where mammals didn't yet exists, and dinosaurs were roaming the Earth. CO₂ levels were much higher than today, estimated to be around 1,000–1,500 ppm (parts per million), compared to around 420 ppm in the modern atmosphere. This high level of CO₂ contributed to a warmer climate. This meant Earth had higher temperatures and much higher sea level than today. The second diorama I saw was The Pliocene Epoch (~3 million years ago). This time period falls just before the start of the Pleistocene (Ice Age) and marks a period when Earth’s climate was notably warmer than today. CO2 during the Pliocene was estimated to be around 350–450 ppm, which is very similar to current CO2 levels, though at the higher end of today’s range. The global average temperature during the Pliocene was 2–3°C warmer than today. This was a period when Earth's climate was somewhat warmer, but not as extreme as during the Cretaceous. Global temperatures were 2-3 degrees Celsius warmer and sea levels were roughly 10-30 meters higher. This is likely due to the melting of the ice caps. Both dioramas were effective in demonstrating the difference in climate compared to today. The visual representation of plant and animal life, combined with the high CO2, warm temperatures, and high sea levels, helps visitors understand the drastic contrasts between the past and present. These displays also are good representations of the impacts current rises in CO2 emissions could lead to in the future. The series of exhibits in the main hall explore past and current climate change, offering a combination of geological and fossil data to illustrate how Earth’s climate has fluctuated over millions of years. They help show the link between fossil records, geological evidence, and understanding modern climate change. Data from volcanic ash, fossils, ice cores, tree rings, and sediment cores are all used to create an understanding of historical climate change. These displays show clear connections between historical climates and the one we live in today. They help explain the scientific methods used to study Earth's history and how this knowledge can inform our understanding of current and future climate challenges.