Furthermore, we wanted to show the public that the Field Museum is a serious place of research, not just an old building with a collection of old artifacts. T he Underground Adventure is situated in the basement of the museum, which formerly housed workshops and storage space. As one would expect, the ceiling heights here are far lower than throughout the rest of the building. Thus, the space almost naturally lent itself to an underground experience. The exhibition is actually broken down into a series of environmental experiences.
Visitors first arrive at the exhibition lobby area.
As they line up to enter The Underground Adventure, key messages about soil's importance in our everyday lives are introduced graphically-soil's use, for example, in the manufacture of aluminum cans and the production of medicine, clothes and food. A stunning graphic treatment that displays shadowy images of grasses and trees from the prairie then takes visitors from the lobby to Base Camp, the exhibition's starting point. From here, they embark on a figurative journey from the museum to a Midwestern soil research station. As they descend, the below-ground view changes from pipes and concrete to rich prairie soil. Where visitors see the shadowy image of the prairie the excitement is soft.