Event name: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Event time and place: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC on December 2, 2023
The Cellphones exhibit was extremely interesting, and the multiple presentation techniques helped see cellphones from multiple perspectives. The element presentation, for example, was an interesting way to convey all the materials and minuscule parts that go into phones that are often overlooked. The history of the cell phone was also critical, as it showed the magnitude to which cell phones revolutionized the world and everything in it. The giant cellphone was also interesting, I viewed it as a metaphor into how huge technology has advanced but in all I think this specific media was rather ineffective. The exhibit also delved into the environmental issues of cellphone technology, specifically how harmful it can be to our world. The exhibit showed multiple graphs and charts explaining how large the carbon footprint of manufacturing cell phones is. It goes on to explain how creating “a single cellphone created about 123 pounds of carbon emissions.” This exhibit was very effective as its contrast to the rest of the exhibits made it stand out. The exhibit also talks about the technological and social impacts of cellphones through comics which I thought was super interesting and engaging. One technological impact is how much of the technology created is catered to one specific group of people, and anyone outside that group may have issues using the technology. Some of the social impacts is the increased spread of misinformation and also the use of technology as a catalyst for social movements.
The climate change exhibit is an extremely thorough and extensive portion of the museum which details climate change and its effects on the world and the organisms in it. The exhibit talks about the ocean floor and how the deeper we dig, the further back we can see and learn about. The exhibit also talks about evolution and extinction of many species. Some critics state that they believe this exhibit de-emphasizes humanity's impact on climate change, and I would have to agree. While the exhibit does touch on human impact, I don't think it is mentioned how much humans have a role in climate change.
The exhibit about climate change and its effects on the ocean was one of my favorites. The video titled “The Science of Super Corals'' talks about using corals to gauge the effects of possible scenarios. For example, with climate change the oceans will become acidic, so by placing corals into acidic waters scientists are able to see their effects and thus the potential effects climate change will have on the entire ocean. This video is extremely digestible and does a great job at explaining advanced science to the general public, or museum visitors. The second video I watched is titled “Our Blue Planet.” This video delves into the huge impact the ocean has on our lives and our planet. It explains how much of the ocean is undiscovered and urges the continued scientific interest in exploring it. This video is also extremely informative while also being easy to comprehend and keep up with. The Global Ocean Video was extremely interesting and the media used to portray it was captivating and educational. The video explains the history of earth and the importance of the ocean on climate, food, and oxygen. It also explains the importance of phytoplankton, which are at the heart of the ocean's food web. The video ends by explaining how energy comes from the sun through phytoplankton which in turn gives energy to the entire oceanic ecosystem.
The Climate Change Deep Time exhibit was by far my favorite exhibit I explored. The showcases were beautiful yet incredibly important and I think it did a terrific job explaining the exigence of climate change. The pylons were fascinating as they offered a look into our past while also being informative. “A Time Of Warmth” was one I saw which showcases Kentucky 125,000 years ago. The CO2 was about ⅔ of what it is today, while the temperature is about the same and sea levels were up to 29 feet higher. The other pylon I explored was “A Time Of Ice” which also showcased Kentucly but 22,000-20,000 years ago. Here, huge ice sheets changed North America's landscape which supported heavily furred animals that lived on short shrubs, etc. During this period, CO2 was about 1 ⁄ 2 of what it is today, average global temperature was 9 degrees fahrenheit lower, and sea level was 410 feet lower than it is today. Scientists use mummified remains and fossils to geta glimpse into what life was like in our past. Using this data scientists can inform us about current and future climates.