The temporary exhibit uses a few different techniques to explain the origins, history, and impact of cellphones. The different types of media that I saw being used are text, pictures, interactive screens, and comics. Each of these methods effectively conveys information in a unique way, catering to different learning styles. The exhibit also shows the environmental issues associated with phone manufacturing and disposal, focusing on the nonrenewable materials used in their creation and the environmental impact of their use and disposal. About half of the exhibit had samples of every precious material that goes into phones and explains their purpose. The technological impact that was shown was the ability to connect to anyone on the planet, and part of this was shown in the evolution of tech wall they had. There were also a lot of stories told about the social impact of phones via comics and text which talked about bias, anxiety, and spreading violence (violent videos). The exhibit uses interviews, stats, and graphics to tell these stories.
The Human Origins exhibit covers topics such as the timeline of human species, the development of tools and food (and society), and the direct effect of humans on 85% of the land. However, some critics argue that this exhibit de-emphasizes the human impact on the environment and climate, which I agree with as it was a small tucked away section at the end. I didn't think that this exhibit was that effective, there were a lot of extrapolated situations with ancient humans (like those copper sculptures describing a story that COULD have happened). It pulls away from the actual facts they have, and makes the exhibit seem more fictional than it should be.
The Changing Ocean section provides interactive video stations that discuss various issues. For the videos, I watched "Sharks and Fear" and "Fuel for the Storm". The shark overfishing video talked about how outside of the U.S., too much shark fishing occurs, specifically shark finning. In the U.S., shark populations have been on the rise, which is good news. The "Global Ocean Video" discusses the origins of the ocean and the ocean food web (all depends on phytoplankton) using a globe projector, which made it an interesting presentation and could have been easily understood by people of all ages.
The last area I visited was the Fossil exhibit, specifically focusing on the climate change sections. Two of the climate pylons that I found were 65-50 million years ago, and 24-15 million years ago. For the first one, it was based in Wyoming and stated that CO2 levels at that time were 5 times higher than today. Also, temperatures were 14-25F higher, and the sea level was 200-220m higher. For the second one, it was based in Nebraska and stated that CO2 levels were 50% higher than today. Also, temperatures were 5-12f higher, and sea levels were 100m higher. You can clearly see the correlation between CO2 levels, temperatures, and sea level in this exhibit.