NATURE ON DISPLAY

The Butterfly Rainforest exhibit was the most appealing to me. The indoor part of the exhibit displayed tons of butterflies, some small and some massive! No matter the type of butterfly, each one was unique and beautiful. The bright colors caught my eye on multiple occasions. Once going outside and exploring the live butterflies, I realized that experiencing the exhibit in person is the only way to capture the full essence of a butterfly garden. Each of the senses are taking in stimuli. The eyes see the natural light, flowers, greenery, and butterfly wings. The ears hear the waterfall flowing, birds chirping, and the leaves bristling in the breeze. The nose smells the dewy air and the fruit laid out for the butterflies. The skin brushes against leaves as I walk by and I can feel the life of the exhibit in the air. I enjoyed how bright everything is in the exhibit. The colorfulness of the sky, greenery, flowers, fruit and butterflies made my morning. Also, the way that the butterflies flutter around, so lively, almost mirroring the colors, really makes you stop and watch in admiration.

Butterflies eating fruit, picture taken on my iPhone at 11:04 AM at the FLMNH

NATURE AND ETHICS

As I walked through the exhibit, I couldn’t help but smile and laugh in awe of the nature I was taking in. At one point in particular, I came across an elderly couple sitting on a bench in the exhibit. The man was wearing a white hat and had his head turned toward his wife. I noticed a butterfly, resting calmly on the back of his hat and told him. He softly giggled, I asked him if I could take a picture and he granted me permission. After I snapped the picture, he asked me if it was still there and I told him it was, while his wife sat next to him smiling at both him and I. The beauty of this moment was so pure, and it seemed as if the couple were not mere visitors, but a part of this exhibit. They were enjoying their morning together, and nature fit so perfectly in between. To take away the beauty of experiences like this would be removing the opportunities for moments like these that make life enjoyable. This exhibit reinforced my desire to explore and reserve nature.

Butterfly, picture taken on my iPhone at 11:05 AM at the FLMNH

NATURE AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT

As humans, we tend to forget that we were not the first to inhabit this Earth. We get caught up in our lives, our technology, our materialistic ideals, and our social interactions. Places such as the Natural History museum allow us to take a step back and let nature take charge. Nature is the focal point, and it doesn’t even have to try in order to make a lasting impression. We may try to fix up our appearance, our homes, or our morals, but nature is most beautiful when left completely alone. As imperfect beings, we can learn from Natural history museums that some things in life are meant to be flawed, left alone, and unbothered, because it adds to its beauty and mystery.

I met one of the butterfly keepers while walking through the exhibit, and he demonstrated a type of enthusiasm that could only be attained by working in such close proximity to the butterflies. He spoke with excitement, and explained in depth about the simplest observations he had made. He is an example of one immersed in nature, and people like him are rare to come across these days.

Flowers, picture taken on my iPhone at 10:59 AM at the FLMNH