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Biodiversity 911
Arthur Stamoulis
Move over Houston Medical, ER and Scrubs; there's
a new show in town. Biodiversity 911: Saving Life on Earth,
an exciting new exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia,
takes the concept "playing doctor" to a whole new level.
Produced in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, this traveling museum exhibition begins with visitors receiving a "doctor's badge," "list of rounds" and "a prescription for how to care for the environment." From there, they move on to hospital-themed displays all designed to teach children about the complicated, but crucial, concept of biodiversity.
"Given society's current concern for healthcare, changing the museum into a bustling environmental hospital helps convey to visitors how seriously the natural environment needs our care and concern," says Lori Klein Brennan, director of communications for the Academy.
Kids move between six separate display areas, covering the fundamentals on forests, fisheries, soil, toxics, climate change and wildlife trade. The interactive exhibits teach visitors basic lessons like "healthy soil is made up of living organisms" and "trees provide habitat for wildlife and help produce oxygen." They also explain steps that individuals can take to help protect the environment.
"Exciting hands-on activities help show children and adults alike the serious issues facing the health of the environment, as well as what they as individuals and families can do to help protect it," Klein explains.
 Another
highlight of the exhibition is a film on a biodiversity hospital by
the creators of Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit.
Characters like Bernie Kowalski, a pile of depleted topsoil "suffering
from a mild case of root loss and erosion," and the shrimp sisters
Muffy and Marcy Vandervilt, "survivors of a large fishing net tragedy,"
explain some serious issues like deforestation and overfishing in
a fun, light-hearted and easy-to-understand way.
The overarching point of this "environmental hospital" theme is two—fold.
First, it clearly demonstrates that the planet is facing an environmental
emergency-an emergency of life and death proportions for many species.
But the exhibition's second point is perhaps even more important:
people have the power to care for the Earth and to fix its problems.
Both are lessons that the next generation must learn well. Thankfully,
Biodiversity 911 goes a long way towards getting them there.
The exhibit ended its stay in Philadelphia in early September,
but is still making its way around the country. To learn about Biodiversity
911's tour to other cities, visit www.biodiversity911.org.
All photos are © The Academy of Natural Sciences. Used by permission.
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