[iris-bulk] new exhibition, Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters

[IRIS]

Colleagues,

Development is under way for a new exhibition, Nature Unleashed:  
Inside Natural Disasters, which will open at The Field Museum in  
Chicago in May 2008 before traveling to museums and science centers  
around the country. IRIS has been in discussion with The Field Museum  
about how to serve as a resource for this exhibition, which will  
explore the science and stories behind natural disasters and the  
challenges we face in living on a dynamic planet.

One of the things the developers hope will distinguish this  
exhibition from other exhibits that have explored this topic at other  
museums is the use of real objects to help us tell stories and forge  
personal connections. While The Field Museum is drawing on its own  
collections for a small number of artifacts and geologic specimens,  
most of the objects of the type they are seeking will have to come  
from non-traditional sources.

On behalf of The Field Museum, I'd like to send out an inquiry for  
any leads on objects that might fit the bill. Unless you specify  
otherwise, the objects would be considered loans--lenders would get  
them back after the exhibition tour is complete. Currently, the tour  
is scheduled to run until May 2012, with the possibility of an  
extension.

Here are a few examples of the types of things the exhibition's  
developers are looking for:

*Objects that communicate the force and magnitude of a event*, such  
as: a segment of railroad tracks mangled by an earthquake; a stop  
sign bent in two by a hurricane; a car door torn off by a tornado

*Objects that help make a personal connection to an event*, such as:  
a cot from the New Orleans Superdome; handmade missing person flyers;  
damaged toys; a clock stopped at the moment of a tornado's touchdown

*Objects that bring the reality of a historic event into focus*, such  
as: a fragment from a building damaged in the 1906 San Francisco  
earthquake; an original historical account of the eruption of  
Krakatoa; ash from the Mount St. Helens eruption

*Objects that illustrate how people responded to a crisis*, such as:  
A ready-to-eat disaster relief meal, Coast Guard rescue equipment

*Objects that show the science of how we understand and live with  
these events*, such as: a tsunami or tornado warning siren, a  
seismograph


If you have any leads, contacts, ideas, or inspirations, please  
contact Rachel Post at rpost at fieldmuseum.org or 312.665.7329. On  
behalf of The Field Museum, I thank you for your help.

-- 
Lora Bleacher
E&O Outreach Specialist
IRIS Consortium
www.iris.edu
202-682-2220
lora at iris.edu

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.iris.washington.edu/pipermail/bulkmail/attachments/20070613/b04b0055/attachment.html