Visiting the American Museum of Natural History’s Hall of Biodiversity was a very exciting and insightful experience. Generally, when I visit the museum, I am simply a spectator, but during this visit I had the unique opportunity to be both a spectator and an exhibit surveyor. This activity showed me how people react to different exhibits and what techniques were especially effective or ineffective for educating the public about biodiversity, while surveying the exhibits named The Spectrum of Life and The Resource Center

The Spectrum of Life was a truly massive and impressive exhibit. It travels through the evolutionary history of the various kingdoms that inhabit planet Earth. From fungi, to plants, to mammals, there are models of all these species and how they function and their role in the environment. Along with models, there are videos continuously playing of real life examples of species, like worms or cartilaginous fish. Moreover, there is an interactive computer screen that takes visitors through the various names, pictures, and functions of these species. While going through the exhibit myself, I was truly amazed by how many models of mammals and insects were tacked up on the walls. However, I did not realize the computer screens were interactive until I saw someone else using them. While observing others in the exhibit, I witnessed a total of around 60 people travel to The Spectrum of Life. The majority of these people were children around the age of six or seven, traveling in a class group, with their teachers as mentors. There were three separate classes, but generally each class exhibited the same behaviors towards the exhibit. Since they were younger kids, they enjoyed watching the continuous videos and looking at all the models on the wall. Their general reactions were of amazement at all the different species that they had most likely never seen before. Some kids saw the giant scorpions and spiders and uttered phrases of disgust like “Ew!” or “Gross!” Teachers were explaining to the children whatever they asked, in a simplified manner. For example, one child asked about what a fungus was and the teacher went on to explain it is a sort of plant. The children didn’t really go through the interactive video, because it was created more for people of greater age. The classes generally stayed in the exhibit for about five minutes, before moving onto the ocean life exhibits. As for improving this exhibit, it could be slightly more user friendly. First off, the computer screens aren’t really interesting or intuitive. It would be more interesting if separate buttons were added next to each species group to provide some quick facts and information. The models were aesthetically pleasing, but small facts about them would also be beneficial. The entire exhibit is really geared towards older people who have either studied biology or those who are interested in learning more. Overall, it is a great exhibit and is really informative, but could definitely be improved in the ways mentioned above.

The Resource Center was also a very intriguing exhibit, but it wasn’t as populated as The Spectrum of Life. This entire section was about how nature provides valuable resources for humans and we should protect. There were sections dedicated to specific laws dealing with conservation and how certain human interactions can cause harm to the environment. Such interactions included nonnative/invasive species introduction, depletion of resources, and caused species to become endangered. However, there were also video segments about species, like various birds, are adapting to human caused disasters, such as the disastrous Chernobyl accident. The majority of the exhibit was full of posters and boards with maps, informative paragraphs, and some pictures on them. There were interactive videos, which were very interesting, considering the fact that they were real life examples. The entire exhibit was very well lit, in comparison to a lot of the other places in the hall, which provided for a better reading space. As for the number of people in the exhibit, it was as popular as the previous exhibit, only achieving a maximum of 20 people during the observation time span. The visitors were teenagers, around high school age, and were taking notes while going through the exhibit. They were probably researching resource conservation and needed more information about the topic and came to learn more about the topic. The people were going through all parts of the exhibit and watching all videos and reading most, if not all, of the information. They were there for the entire time that I was observing. All the information in this exhibit is very informative, but once again, it is aimed for a higher audience. It could be improved by making it more interactive and lively by placing sounds of various species or models of those species/resources they are talking about. Though the exhibit is generally geared towards older people, it still conveys a strong message about biodiversity and resource conservation.

The Hall of Biodiversity is a fine attraction and is very thoughtfully constructed, though it could be made even better. Some parts of the hall had very dim lighting, which made it very difficult to see the exhibit or see the descriptions of the exhibit. I understand it is done to simulate the environment being discussed, but a little more lighting would greatly improve the hall. Moreover, the hall contains a massive amount of information in word form, but not as many interactive parts. The hall could be greatly improved if sounds of creatures or more videos were included. For example, many people were attracted to The Spectrum of Life exhibit because it had an interesting video. That’s why, if small clips were placed near each exhibit, it would make the exhibit more popular. Also, sounds of birds or tigers would be very engaging and would appeal more to the younger audience. I truly enjoyed the Hall of Biodiversity, but with the preceding suggested improvements, it could be just as enjoyable to all age groups.