Impressions of the Museum
The Los Angeles Country Natural History Museum was very expansive in terms of the space occupied and the sheer number of exhibits that were on display. I did not expect to see so much in terms of exhibits! The museum’s interior décor stood out for its balanced blend of exhibition space, natural space and color. The clarity of the display texts also stood out. They were very legible and each sign aligned perfectly to its exhibit.
Ocean Science Fact or Concept Discovered at the Museum
Upon interacting with an attendant who was in charge of the polar bear exhibit, I learned that the animal spends part of its life on both land and marine bodies – especially the polar oceans. Before the visit, my knowledge on bears was that they live on land and especially forested areas. I did not know that there existed a bear species that prefers both land and water bodies as its home. This was a new fact to me. I also realized that the rising ocean level due to the melting ice caps pose a great concern to the future of polar bears. Their arctic habitat is under real threat from the rising ocean levels as more ice melts into the surrounding water bodies. I learned that the rising ocean level as the results of the melting ice in the Polar Regions poses a threat to the existence of other arctic animals besides the polar bear. This includes the arctic sharks. Just like in land, I also realized that marine life is also categorized according to region. The museum contained specimens of tropical animals – which I learned is a term that refers to the marine life that is found in the water bodies that lie within the tropics. Another fact in ocean science that I learned while at the museum was the extent of the biodiversity of ocean life. The marine laboratory that is located at the basement contained multiple rows of well over 500 million marine species. Lastly, I learned that not all fish can be consumed by humans. Some are poisonous and can be harmful to humans.
The Exhibits
The exhibits that attracted my attention the most were the dinosaur’s skeletons. The size of the skeletons reveal the gigantic nature of the species. Dinosaurs are considered to be the largest creatures that inhabited the earth at one point in history. The hanging manner in which the skeletons had been displayed even made the exhibits more intriguing. The basement marine laboratory and its extensive exhibits was also enthralling. The laboratory was home to endless rows of shelves that held one species of marine life or the other. I learned that there is more to marine life besides fish. I found the manner in which the marine exhibits had been preserved to be very enthralling. The multiple species were placed in tightly locked glass bottles that were filled with alcohol. The alcohol was meant to preserve the critical physical features of the species, including their scales, fins and eyes. The preservation method for the exhibits was so effective and most of them looked alive.
New Displays and Designs to Make the Museum More Interesting
New displays and designs that would make the museum more interesting to visitors would be the integration of technology in the some of the exhibition aspects of the museum. Although it is largely a historical museum, it does not mean that it should be averse to the modern methods of using technology to bring past events into life. The technology that I have in mind is the use of holograms. Holograms make use of light that is projected from different angles to create a three dimensional life size figure. The three dimensional figures contain all the major attributes of live creatures including motion. It is the modern method of projection and it is already used extensively in biological life sciences, especially in the study of medicine. In a museum setting, the hologram figure of the various animals can be created and let lose to literally ‘roam’ around the museum. Instead of viewing only the large bony skeletons from the dinosaurs, visitors will instead be interacting with three dimensional hologram images of the creatures. The giant squid in the basement can also be enacted using a hologram. Visitors can therefore interact with a semblance of live ‘exhibits’. This will enrich the visitors’ experience because it will be almost surreal.
Summary
The visit to the museum was a great learning experience. It was one of the memorable moments where learning becomes enjoyable as it was blended with the fun element. Interaction with the actual exhibits and the very knowledgeable museum attendants was very enriching. Prior to the visit to the museum, my knowledge on extinct animals was only limited to the animals that used to live on land, and not marine life. I have since learned that marine life is also susceptible to being extinct just like the species that dwell on land.
