Specimen of banded iron, 2.7 billion years old, in the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth at the American Museum of Natural History in New York Sulfide chimneys from the Pacific Ocean's Juan de Fuca Ridge on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York HoPE keeps reminding us that evolution and ecology are about relationships between the physical and biological worlds. Continents are born at oceanic hydrothermal systems, which release much of Earth's internal heat and give birth to major ore deposits. With a rich supply of reactive metals, hydrogen sulfide as an energy source, and protection from numerous incoming bolides during Earth's first few hundred million years, hydrothermal vents also may have harbored first life. HoPE's focus on feedback loops culminates with a section on global warming and the role of one of Earth's youngest and most destructive species, Homo sapiens . When curator Mathez started thinking about HoPE, he got several colleagues together to brainstorm.
HoPE addresses the questions with experiences that satisfy just about any taste.
There's plenty of text for traditional museumgoers who like to read their way through, and enough trendy multimedia to please the Star Wars crowd. Even the most sophisticated digital demon will ooh and ahh at the shimmering Earth rotating above a granite, amphitheater-like well in the center of the hall. Press your finger to a monitor and see what happens to climate if atmospheric carbon dioxide skyrockets. Press another for the latest on how Earth's crust interacts with a viscous mantle to move continents. One way to do it is to highlight the people involved, so exhibit organizers showcased working scientists as curious, enthusiastic explorers of the natural world.