Event name: National Museum of Natural History Trip
Event time and place: October 20, 2024 at the National Museum of Natural History
A pylon from the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time with me inside it.
Cellphones Unseen Connections: Three of the techniques that I found the most interesting were the interactive phone game, the comics posted on the wall which were in theme, and the displays for minerals used in creating phones. The interactive phone game has two people racing by rolling dice, landing on areas to answer questions about phones, and then trying to reach the finish line. I think this was effective because it immersed you into learning and competing against your friend about phones. The comics posted on the wall featured different characters who had different personalities; for example, one of the comics, ‘New Technologies Bring New Anxieties,’ features a cat that goes through the centuries about innovative and at-the-time scary technologies. I think this is semi-effective at explaining its information as there were too many words on the wall, and I think condensing the information to be more easily digestible would make its point come across better. Finally the displays for minerals used in creating phones housed the history of its use, along with physical gadgets to show examples of where its used in making a phone. I think this was effective because I really like how there are physical objects to look at while you read about its history and uses. The exhibit talks about the materials used to create these materials using those displays. They house the different minerals and resources needed to create cellphones and explain each one’s purpose in making a phone. They talk about the environmental impact of the creation by how much waste they produce when mining for them, of the use by how much energy is needed to power it, and of the disposal by how little they are recycled. It tells these stories through displays, and words, discussing the origins and impacts each resource has on the environment. One technological impact of these tools that was presented in the exhibit was the life cycle of phones and making a more circular economy. This was presented on a wall with a graphic and paragraph describing the benefit of extending the life of our cell phones. One social impact of these tools that was presented in the exhibit was the ability to communicate with others due to how connected cell phones make us. They presented this through the use of a huge wall full of objects and descriptions of those objects and how phones affect them. Another social impact of these tools that was presented in the exhibit was the ability to represent oneself using emojis. This was presented on a wall with a large image of a student and the description from that student.
Climate Change in the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins: Three different topics discussed in this gallery are how we’ve expressed our identity over time, how we’ve stored information over time, and when we started writing. Our ancestors expressed their identity using jewelry and other personal adornments, which could represent their age, sex, or social status. Humans have influenced this by creating more objects to reflect their identity. The exhibit designers used images as well as physical artifacts like an ivory ornament, the oldest-known beads, and a carved bone disc to portray these changes. Our ancestors stored information over time by painting on cave walls, carving bones with tally marks, and engraving other items. Humans have influenced this by creating more sophisticated methods of storing information, such as languages to write down information on tablets, paper, and now computers. The exhibit designers used a carved reindeer antler with tally marks, an ishango bone with tally marks, and an engraved ocher plaque to represent these methods of storing information. Finally, our ancestors started writing around 8,000 years ago. They used symbols to represent words and concepts and developed these forms of writing over thousands of years. The exhibit designers showed a cylinder seal in lapis lazuli and a cuneiform clay tablet to show the different ways of writing humans have done. I agree with critics that this exhibit de-emphasizes the human impact on the environment and climate because it focuses mainly on the ways humans have evolved and grown, and less on how humans have influenced and used their environment. There is information regarding how humans used their environment as they need the environment’s resources to create anything and to survive, but there isn’t enough that talks about what humans have done to hurt or help the environment.
Climate Change & Human Impact in the Sant Ocean Hall: Two of the different videos I watched on the right side of this hall were ‘Fools Gold Fertilizes the Ocean’ and ‘It’s Easy to Help Whales.’ The data the first video provides is how micro bacteria feed off of iron pyrite from hydrothermal vents to get the iron they need to support life in the ocean. They also feed plants in the ocean which feed ocean life. This iron spreads far and wide from ocean life that feeds off of those micro bacteria and those that feed off of these ocean life. The second video advertises the Ocean Alert app, so that if we see a whale, we can report it in the app. These alerts will help prevent whales from being struck by ships in the ocean. I watched an entire sequence of the global ocean video, which is a large globe presentation with a narrator explaining the processes of the ocean and their importance to the world. It discusses the ocean conveyor belt, how heat from the air affects the conditions of the ocean, El Nino and La Nina, how burning fossil fuels affects the ocean, and more. It provided surface-level information about each of the topics, skimming through the scientific aspects of these for a more child-friendly explanation. The use of the globe was fantastic however; it was captivating and well thought out. The globe would display the currents of the ocean, or have a temperature map on the globe, or show how El Nino and La Nina interact with the ocean using arrows, or pop up photos of fossil fuels and their effects on the globe. There was good use of color and variety to display the information. I think that this could be better however, as they could either put in more scientific information, or make the narrator talk faster and have less gaps.
Climate Change in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time: There are many pylons scattered throughout this hall. I will talk about two of these pylons: ‘Lush Rainforests’ and ‘Floodplains Full of Life.’ For the first pylon, it is set 56 million to 53 million years ago in Willwood Formation, Wyoming. It was after the dinosaurs went extinct, with dense and lush forests flourishing in the warm, humid environment. The carbon dioxide level was up to 5 times higher than it is today. The temperatures were up to 14 to 25 degrees higher than it is today. The global sea levels were 650 to 720 feet higher than they are today. For the second pylon, it is set 67 million to 66 million years ago in Hell Creek Formation, Montana. It was a warm, humid climate with large floodplains and bodies of water to support a lot of life. The carbon dioxide level was up to four times higher than it is today. The temperatures were up to 16 to 17 degrees Fahrenheit greater than today’s average. The sea level was 650 to 740 feet higher than it is today. There is a series of exhibits describing climate changes past and present in this hall. One of these focused on the human footprint and how the human pressures on natural systems place many species at risk for extinction. Humans have altered 75% of the Earth’s land. This focuses on the present day of Earth's history. Another exhibit showed the fossils of different animals throughout human history. We domesticated cats which helped the cats, but they can adapt to many environments and wreak havoc on ecosystems. We harvest green sea turtle eggs and kill adults to prevent them from getting to our fisheries. Another of these focused on how we are forming our legacy. It is focused on the present day of Earth’s history, inviting us to act together to create a sustainable world by finding common ground and focusing on values. There was also a question posed to us based on how our domestication of animals, planting of crops, and developing of cities have all decreased biodiversity, changed ecosystems, and increased how many species face extinction, with it being “Will our actions turn this biodiversity crisis into another mass extinction?” I believe that these exhibits effectively explain how fossil and geological information can inform us about current and future climate change because they utilize different species fossils throughout the years to inform us of how much damage humans are doing to the environment.