Nature on Display

The display that caught my attention the most was the butterfly garden. This display caught my attention the most because it allowed me to basically stand and walk through a small chunk of nature. The exhibit contained multitudes of butterflies, as well as other live creatures such as birds. I thought it was fascinating to watch how the butterflies and birds behaved as they would in their natural habitat up close, without them getting scared or fleeing away from me. The butterflies flying around right next to me is what caught my attention in the exhibit. I was able to learn more about the appearance, activities and food eaten by the butterflies more than I would have through another medium. I think I could have observed all of these things through another medium, perhaps through film and recording of the butterflies, but I think that the up close and personal experience with the butterflies really caught my attention more than any camera possibly could have. Besides that, it's very intriguing and fun to see and watch the butterflies up close, whereas in the outside world I may not have been able to observe them from that close without any sort of technology or equipment. The most enjoyable part about this display was when the butterfly landed on my hand. It was so amazing to feel and see one so up close. It was also really enjoyable to be seen not as a threat to the butterfly, but as an ally or a friendly figure that would not harm it.

Nature and Ethics

I did experience the same feelings as Leopold that we do need to be more appreciate of the nature and animals in the nature rather than just conquerers of the land in the frog exhibit. I felt a sense of sadness as I had to watch and look at these natural creatures that are trapped in habitat for human's enjoyment, while they should be out in nature living a real life. I found it very ironic that the museum had a sign in the frog exhibit that said something along the lines of how beneficial frogs are to our society and how they eat all of flies and insects for us, but the owners of this museum kept these "helpful" frogs trapped in small cages not allowing them to help our environment. This outraged me to see that this museum wants to inform everyone about how the frogs are beneficial yet they somehow feel the need to keep these resourceful frogs kept in cages all day. People would understand the same message and be able to see the frogs if the replaced the cages with videos or pictures of frogs instead of trapping living creatures in cages. Some other people seemed a little bit frustrated and disappointed at this exhibit, but most other people seemed to enjoy it unfortunately. The museum allowed people to connect with nature and the frogs by obviously looking at them in the cage, but they also had interactive games and videos for younger kids to watch educate themselves on about the frogs. This aspect was important because it taught more about the frogs and hopefully will bring a sense of nature and taking of nature to the people reading and paying attention to these things. Yes, I believe that the museum instilled some sort of ethical responsibility that Leopold talked about. This responsibility is revolved

Nature and the Human Spirit

The natural history museum helps us step out of our ordinary lives by showing us examples of nature and old images and visuals of primitive natives. The museum helped me step out of my ordinary life by showing me many different images of present and past nature. This nature and these images of nature aren't ones that I'm used to, so walking around in between a rainforest set or in front of some old looking huts and ancient homes help feel like I'm in a different place or time period. This also gives me a slight feel of what it may be like to be in this different time period or place, allowing me to step out of my ordinary life and experience something new. It helps me better understand the majesty of the ancient and natural world because I feel like I am experiencing the ancient and natural world. This experience allows me to know what it may feel like to be outside a rainforest or around a hut from 500 B.C. and give me a different feel than I am used to everyday.