Life in One Cubic Foot
May 11 to August 4
“Life in One Cubic Foot” follows the research of Smithsonian scientists and photographer David Liittschwager as they discover what a cubic foot of land or water—a biocube—reveals about the diversity of life on the planet.
A biocube—the tool at the heart of the exhibition—is a 1-by-1-by-1-foot framed cube that organisms from the surrounding environment can enter and pass through. Biocubes featured in the exhibition were placed in environments across the globe to learn what forms of life, both known and unknown, could be found in the cube during a 24-hour period. In addition to exploring life through the exhibition, visitors are also invited to participate in citizen science and uncover the biodiversity in their backyard by creating and monitoring their own biocube.
“Life in One Cubic Foot” explores life from exotic environments, like the coral reefs of French Polynesia and the alien mid-water ocean off the coast of California to the more familiar locales, like New York City’s Central Park. Hundreds of different organisms ranging in size from the head of a pin to the full size of the biocube are featured in the exhibition through collages of photographs, models, interactive elements and exhibition videos.
Biocubes in the exhibition were not only used by scientists to explore what is already known about life on Earth but also to spotlight how much biodiversity remains for aspiring scientists to discover. Scientists estimate that there are more than 1 million species still unknown or unnamed by scientists. Environmental changes, like climate change and other man-made forces, are taking their toll on life around the world, both discovered and unidentified. Global efforts to understand the impact of these changes and answer questions about how to manage the complex dynamics of wildlife and natural resources will be improved as gaps in the tree of life are filled.
After seeing how scientists use the concept of one cubic foot to understand the diversity of life in the field, visitors can learn how biocubes can be used to uncover life in more familiar places. They are invited to build their own biocube and contribute to citizen science by studying and sharing discoveries from their neighborhood habitats. Visitors can explore the National Museum of Natural History’s website to watch a video about biocubes and learn how to build, deploy and study their own biocube. They may also share their findings with the greater scientific community.
Prehistoric Visions
June 29 to December 1
Prehistoric Visions surveys the deeply rooted relationship between art and Vertebrate Paleontology. Since humans first began finding fossils, art has been used to document and interpret what these remnants could be. Integral to this are the artistic renderings of these specimens and their potential lives. From drawings of bones to full reconstructions of extinct animals, from a quarry map made in the field to an entire reimagined environment, “artist visualization plays an inextricable role in the discipline of paleontology,” explained Dr. Lungmus, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the museum.
Early depictions of prehistoric animals were often based on theories describing these creatures as slow, unintelligent, and often violent. Imagery has evolved as continued fossil discoveries and increased understanding of modern animals significantly shifted these perceptions. Paleontologists continue to hone theories of ancient animals’ posture, behavior, feeding habits, colorations, movement patterns and other aspects of their lives, perpetually collaborating with artists to create new visions of life in earth’s ancient past.
This exhibit features one-of-a-kind pieces by students participating in the OU School of Visual Arts. The students created works inspired by fossils from the Vertebrate Paleontology Collection at the Sam Noble Museum as they learned about the various aspects of scientific illustration and interpretation. Many of these fossils were originally found in Oklahoma and the American Southwest.
This exhibition was co-curated by Hailey Prestofillipo, Professor of Drawing, Sohail Shehada, OU Associate Professor of Figurative Sculpture, and Tess Elliot, OU Associate Professor of Art, Technology & Culture, and Jacqueline Lungmus, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and Assistant Professor of Geosciences, and co-sponsored by the OU School of Visual Arts and the Sam Noble Museum.