Florida Museum of Natural History the experience

This is my journey through the Florida Museum of Natural History; it is my first experience of an almost full immersion in nature, and hopefully, it will not be the last time that I will be so close to nature. Throughout my journey, I saw many fruits of our land, America, from giant mammoths to tiny butterflies; my experience has broadened my outlook of nature and natural history to another.

Nature on Display

The Butterfly Rain forest exhibit captures both my heart and my mind. Never before have I been so close to the creations of nature. Throughout the walk-way looping around the forest, I saw the different stages of life, the creation of a cocoon and the birth of a butterfly. To me, this first experience in seeing births in nature at such a close distance upright outdo any textbook preferences of births. No amount of words or images could have conveyed the same feelings as my actual life experience of the rain forest. The way the butterflies fluttered around the exhibit seem so majestic; the movements of the butterflies parallel with a deep enlightenment to me. For an instant, I had felt as light as the butterflies. Perhaps one day I too would be able to fly toward my dreams.

Nature and Ethics

The above exhibit on Native Americans really opened up my myopic outlook on the world. Prior to getting mesmerized by this exhibit, I have never had a thought on where my food came from or what kind of journey it has to travel before I can finally eat it. I did not have a sense of mankind's relationship with nature at all. However, through the above display, I really came to understand that humans do indeed depend heavily on nature's food chain in order to survive. The piled up shells in the exhibit not only represent the nourishment provided by nature but also the cultural practice of Native Americans; through the display, I finally understood the importance of cultural preservation that were mentioned in numerous texts and works. It would really be a shame if a beautiful culture were to be destroyed. Furthermore, the display riveted a sense, a duty, to maintain our environment in a state that will not result in decay and disparity. Due to scientific advances, humans nowadays can be considered as outsiders of the food chain, but we still depend on nature to provide us nourishment;hence, it is only our divine duty to preserve what feeds us.

Nature and the Human Spirit

On a normal daily basis, I would be in class learning about the different disciplines associated with engineering. Compared large rooms with no windows and artificial lights, the environment at the Florida Museum of Natural History creates a completely different feeling. Though most of the museum is indoor, unlike the classrooms, there are only glass panels and personal imagination that separate the visitor of the museum from the scope of the displays. As materialistic as most humans are in the present day, the most materials are still harvested naturally; harvesting natural materials can sometimes cause harm to the natural life that live in those environment. Before coming to the Florida Museum of Natural History, I never fully understood how precious nature and its creations are; however, the sights of old fossils as well as living beings instilled deeply in me a revelation of life, the truth behind creations. All life is precious

Made with Adobe Slate

Make your words and images move.

Get Slate

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a Copyright Violation, please follow Section 17 in the Terms of Use.