Nature on Display
My favorite exhibit in the FMNH was the frog exhibit. This exhibit was particularly appealing to me because there were dozens of frogs to see with many colors, unique habitats, etc. The exhibit captured my attention when I saw that most of the people in the musuem in the frog exhibit and the fact that there were so many frogs to see. While walking through the exhibit and seeing all of the frogs, I learned that poison dart frogs are the most poisonous species on earth and the Goliath frog is the biggest frog on earth. Seeing the frogs in person was a much more educational and enhancing experience compared to just reading them in a book or seeing them in the internet. This made my experience more enjoyable.
Nature and Ethics
The FMNH allowed me to experience nature as Leopold recommends through the butterfly rainforest exhibit. I saw butterflies mating, eating bananas, and landing gracefully on water and people. I felt at peace with the world and my emotions and felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. After I finished walking through the exhibit, I fell more in love with nature and the power that it possesses to move people. Like me, everyone in the exhibit was in complete awe at the beauty of the rainforest and the elegant nature of the butterflies fluttering around. The exhibit helped people connect with nature better by being able to observe the butterfloes close up and in person. My experience in the rainforest reinforced my ethical belief that humans have an obligation to protect nature around them. Every human should do something in their lives, whether it be picking up trash or constructing a nature park, to preserve the beauty of nature around us.
Nature and the Human Spirit
In the above pictures, I visited a Calusa Indian exhibit. What was most interesting to me about this exhibit was the fact that Calusa Indians were a very spiritual, yet fierce and violent group. It is an irony that can only be explained by the fact that the Indians were willing to fight for what they believed in. This exhibit helped me step out of my ordinary life because I learned so much and saw so many things that I probably would have never learned if I didn't visit the musuem. The Calusa exhibit focused on the history of Indians in Florida and how Indian groups thrived and took advantage of Florida's waters. It is interesting to think about the various fishing, boating, and mending practices have been passed down from early Floridian Indian groups. Life is largely about inheritance and responsibility. The exibit taught me more about the mystery and majesty of the universe by giving me a medium so that I could think about how the nature that surrounds me every day was grown and harvested by old Indian groups. It makes me appreciate more in life.