Bill and I recently visited the "Evolving Planet" exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago. It was a huge exhibit, taking up much of the second floor, and most of the interpretation (in my never-actually-professional opinion) was quiet good. The exhibit walked the visitor through the evolution of life on earth. Rooms were set at different points of time with tons of wicked cool fossils and some "sets" with models of trees and enormous bugs of past eras.
Six mass extinctions marked signification transitions of types of life on earth. While the meat of the info could lead you to believe mass extinctions were good (mammals thrived when dinos died...) the visuals (like dramatic red lighting) made those parts of the exhibit eerie. (Ahh! Meteors are falling!!!)
On each interpretive sign there was a time line since...well the beginning of time on earth, with each era in a different color and mass extinctions in red. So, we knew there would be an environmental message at the end regarding the sixth, and current mass extinction. I had high hopes for a solid, actionable message.
Here is what we found. Why is the current extinction happening?
How are humans killing everything? Garbage, densely populated areas which destroy habitat, greenhouse gases and, apparently, the logging industry.
The statistic to shock you into action:
Finally, the self-promoting feel-good message:
That was pretty much it. Three signs in a little nook. But then, the best part. When visitors walk
just around the corner, just outside of the exhibit saying that
transportation, garbage and (reasonable people could infer) conspicuous consumption are killing species in the same vein that led to the extinction of dinosaurs, giant sloths and some pretty funky looking fish, you find this:
I literally took this photo
standing next to the sign about how awful humans are. Any guesses as to the contents of the store? Recycled tote bags for groceries? Wind turbines? Perhaps "adopt an endangered species" packets? "More Fun, Less Stuff" bumper stickers?
Nope.
Plastic dinosaurs made in China. Puzzles made in China. Dinosaur robots, presumably made in China. Tons of short-life, basically disposable stuff made in a polluted country and shipped across a very large ocean.
Mind-boggling.
I tried to find a museum interpretor to help me understand this seemingly hypocritical disconnect (as well as a scientific question about mass extinctions), but couldn't. Apparently these sort of staff leave for the day around 3, though the museum is open until 6. I searched for over a solid half hour and asked multiple security and information employees to help me find someone to talk to and they helpfully said I was asking too late in the day.
So I am left to guessing about the museum's intent. Here are the two thoughts I come up with:
1)
Money from museum sales supports conservation programs, like those on the last sign, which purchase and protect land.My problem with that is this: if humans are causing the mass extinction, purchasing land seems to address a symptom and not the actual problem of unsustainable long-distance consumption. It would seem a
futile effort in the long run, unless human consumptive behavior is significantly altered.
2)
The museum needs the money from gift shop sales to cover operating costs which make exhibits like "Evolving Planet" - and its message about environmental destruction - possible.Having worked at a large conservation non-profit, I totally get the fundraising thing. However, if a goal of the exhibit is to get visitors to think about, and ultimately act to change their unsustainable habits and they still want to buy destructive, polluting crap less than 20 seconds after leaving the part of the exhibit that tells them not to, I'd say your interpretation is not very effective and
no one is getting your message.
So, here is my question to the Field Museum that I am left to posting here because no one was available at the actual museum.
Why not raise money in a way that supports, rather than undermines, your mission? Have a huge ole gift shop with things that will make people feel good about not buying crap.
Start with a big, self-righteous sign about why you don't sell plastic crap made in China. Sell flower seeds for window boxes, or small trees. Treats for birds made by the local YMCA afterschool program? Organic dog biscuits with local ingredients made by local old people? I'd even be ok with books about sustainable living. Show visitors how to actually change their consumption and have fun doing it.
Otherwise, I am left thinking the museum is full of crap and the sixth mass extinction has nothing to do with me.
