Nature on Display

I found myself appreciating nature the most while exploring the Frogs! A Chorus of Colors exhibit. The room itself is darker than most and the frogs individual habitats look like chunks taken out of the Amazon rain forest. Each habitat was bright with light and had twists of branches surrounded by damp shrubbery. One thing that cannot be understood without seeing the frogs in person is the trick of their defense. Described on large boards is the potency of just a drop of frog poison but beneath the glass were seemingly benign frogs. From the point of view of a predator, it is easy to mistake a frog as friendly food.

Nature and Ethics

The larger than life underwater exhibit definitely made me feel more part of the "biotic community." The size of the creatures in the exhibit reverse the typical roles between human and nature interactions. Instead of us looking down upon a small oceanic creatures, it is huge fish and other creatures looking down upon you. Through this exhibit you are able to see more detail in the creatures and have a greater overall appreciation of them. In addition to that, there is a painted sunset that is just reminiscent of the beauty of a real sunset. As an onlooker it made me think about how the beauty of a sunset cannot be replicated by paint. It is something to be seen and appreciated in person.

Nature and the Human Spirit

Definitely an unordinary exhibit, the Butterfly Rainforest gives any viewer an upclose look at a dazzling array of lepidoptera. Typically when viewing butterflies outside they are often in a distance and moving so quickly there is no time to even appreciate them. Within the butterfly rainforest there is such an abundance of butterflies that if one escapes your gaze another is sure to come by. In addition to that, there are optimal resting places for the butterflies that allow us to see them in rest and notice the iridescent colors of there wings and complexity of their bodies. By studying the butterflies we are able to better see that they too are elaborate creatures and not just something to cast aside.