Good Life: Nature By: Matt Freedman

Photographs taken by Matt Freedman on January 25th, 2017 at the Florida Museum of Natural History

Nature on Display

Museums are made with distinguished exhibits to appeal to different perspectives of the visitors. This section of the museum especially stood out to me. The photo demonstrates a native Floridian Indian tribe performing a ritual service. I lived in New York all my life, and am unfamiliar with the native people of Florida. The set up of this exhibit was flawless. It was a dark cave like site that invited you in with chants and drum sounds. As soon as you stepped into the exhibit, the figurines were life like and you felt enraptured in the moment. When I was observing this ritual service, I felt the intensity and feelings that the natives did at the time of the performance. If the exhibit was not set up in this hyper realistic manner, I would not have gotten the same feeling and understanding of how this tribe worked and performed their traditions. I found it extremely enjoyable to be involved in such an interactive exhibit. The lay out of this museum made it almost impossible for you to be bored because there were so many factors that applied to all of a persons senses and allowed them to get involved.

Nature and Ethics

Leopold wanted us to admire the world and not just take it for its economic value. I had never visited a butterfly rainforest before, so I was pretty excited to see what it was about. I've never even heard of a butterfly rainforest. While walking through I feel a sense of excitement and I was shocked at how breathtaking it really was. I felt like I was brought back to my childhood of playing with bubble outside but instead i got to play with butterflies. The butterfly rainforest was magical. There are so many different species that. I loved learning about all the new species I had never even heard of. It was so calm and relaxing just watching the butterflies roam around. Life felt easier in this environment. The best part of being in the rainforest, was looking around at the other people there. There were many elderly people, some young couples, a mom and her baby and obviously other goodlife students. Every type of person in the rainforest was happy and made their own connections to the butterflies. While in the rainforest you could touch the butterflies, that was the only rule, I felt like it was so simple yet so challenging. The butterflies were hypnotizing and would interact with you on their own. This rainforest allowed me to do just as Leopold wanted. I was able to love and admire everything around me and be so grateful of what I experienced.

Nature and the Human Spirit

This is the ocean exhibit. The ocean is one of the most fascinating and mysterious places in the world, as it is nearly impossible to have explored all of the ocean as well as know every species that lives there. I love exploring the ocean and find it to have interesting creatures. I have read about things such as the giant squid and the great white shark and have always been interested in exploring the ocean. I was in awe at how encapsulating the exhibit was and how big the models were of the crab and other creatures. This exhibit helped put nature and life in perspective for me. Each species in the world has its own place and purpose. I think it is interesting if you think about the world in the grand scheme of things. The museum did a great job at allowing me to step out of my ordinary life and really explore with these realistic and fascinating exhibits.

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