The Museum of Science and Technology is starting to put together the largest, most expensive visiting exhibit the museum has ever hosted. It’s called Nature’s Machines and it's so large that five tractor-trailers were needed to bring it to the MOST. The 5,000 square foot exhibit was built at The Field Museum in Chicago, and its debut here is the first time an exhibit of this scale has ever been on display in a mid-market city. Chief Program Officer Peter Plumley says Syracuse should be excited.
"We are challenging Central New York citizens," Plumley said. "We have an exhibit that's for you. It's going to be great education. You don't have to travel to Chicago. You don't have to travel to New York City. We're bringing it here to show that the MOST can put on a huge science show."
Nature’s Machines uses its 50 specimens and 22 replicas to help answer questions about how nature thrives on Earth.
"How does life survive in all of these diverse environments? What mechanisms do they form, do they create to have an existence?" Plumley asked. "Not just animal life. It's also plant life, because plant life is important to animal life. How do we sustain ourselves. You need a food source, you need an energy source."
The displays give visitors an inside look into how everything from cheetahs to insects survive and adapt to their environments. And Plumley says the way they show this is very hands on.
“It's interactive where you can pretend you're a bird or a bat," Plumley said. "You learn aerodynamics. How much force can you get by moving a wing. We all know going out in the wind with a sheet of cardboard how much force is in the wind.”
Plumley hopes children and adults alike take what they learn at Nature’s Machines and use it to more closely observe the world around them.
“MOST is a pointer to the field," Plumley said. "We say that about most of our exhibits. This is what you can learn. If you go out in this area of the world, you will learn this. So, this exhibit is a pointer to every environment in the world.”
The exhibit opens Sunday September 25th at 10 a.m. More information is at most.org.
