I was lucky enough to attend the media preview today for the new exhibit hitting The Museum of Nature. Opening at The Canadian Museum of Nature on September 28, NATURE UNLEASHED focuses on four types of disasters—Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Hurricanes, and Tornadoes.
Scroll down further in the post to find out how you can win free passes!
THE EXHIBIT
The exhibit is very, very well done. I was impressed by the entire thing and actually spent a good hour in there, reading the walls, looking at the items on display and trying out the interactive features. You probably need a good hour or two to focus just on this exhibit as there is so much to see and read.
When you first walk in, the feeling of the exhibit is very earthy. There are metal bars and metal siding holding up most of the exhibits and everything is in really great shades of oranges, blues, etc. It sets the tone as you walk through and learn about Earth’s power. The items they have on display are fantastic and really made me step close to take a good look. Items from the homes of Katrina victims, from a Kansas tornado and from a volcano – items that actually were covered over with lava.
The image above is of their “Build Your Own Volcano” feature. This is a really cool feature where you can build your own volcano by choosing how much gas and how much “goo” you want in your volcano mixture. When you are done, you push the button and a volcano is simulated on the big screens with the volcano you just created. It is a very hands-on part of the exhibit and perfect for kids!
In this exhibit, visitors can check out the earthquake simulators to see how plates in the ground shift during the vibrations caused by the earthquake. It is also a very hands-on exhibit that is perfect for children and a much more fun way to teach them about these natural phenomenas. Although I didn’t get too crazy in the earthquake shaking demos or stomp on the ground to see how powerful my seismic activity could be (I was wearing heels!), I thought that these exhibits in particular would be really exciting for children (and non-heel-wearing adults too!).
Be sure to also check out Tornado Alley, which is essentially a nearly round bank of screens that you stand in and you watch as a tornado passes over a camera (placed in a field by storm chasers) and you get to experience what it would be like if you were standing right in the middle of the tornado as it passes. Very cool!
The exhibit will be open from September 28 until May 5, 2013 so make sure to check it out!
WHAT WILL I SEE?
Museum visitors can simulate what happens when standing inside a roaring tornado; trigger an underwater earthquake and simulate a tsunami; create a virtual volcano; touch and examine real rock and lava specimens that relate past geologic events; learn about the shifting effects of tectonic plates; discover how people adapt to living at risk; and be inspired by the resiliency of disaster survivors.
WHAT’S NEW?
For its stop at the Canadian Museum of Nature, the museum has added a display about the 1998 Ice Storm that walloped Ontario and Quebec, as well as a timeline of significant natural disasters in Canadian history.
WIN FREE PASSES
The Canadian Museum of Nature has provided us with two passes (each good for two people) to the new exhibit – Nature Unleashed. To win, you simply need to comment below telling me why you’d like to go and see the new exhibit and who you would bring with you!
Giveaway will close on Sunday, October 5, 2012 and winners will be announced on our Facebook page and here on this blog post.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF NATURE
The Canadian Museum of Nature is Canada’s national museum of natural history and natural sciences. It promotes awareness of Canada’s natural heritage through signature and travelling exhibitions, public education programmes, on-going scientific research, a dynamic web site and the maintenance of a 10.5 million-specimen collection. A founding member of the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, the museum is working with partners to expand its national service and presence.
Thank you to the Canadian Museum of Nature for inviting me to the media preview of this exhibit – I can’t wait to check it out with my family!
All images from the installation at the Field Museum in 2008, Chicago.
Credit Field Museum, copyright 2008.
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