Wild Blue Planet

This new permanent exhibit gives us a snapshot of the Earth. Visitors use the latest computer technology to explore the resources and environmental issues of the Earth's continents.

At six computer stations, visitors can explore 12 topics: six continents of the world, plus environmental resources or issues like biodiversity, fresh water, oceans, atmosphere, energy and agriculture. There are laser disk presentations, challenging games of concentration, spectacular images from space, and contemporary world music at each station, giving visitors an in-depth scientific and cultural lesson on each of the continents.

Participants can choose a video presentation from among several in each of the 12 categories. In the Africa section, for instance, one can opt to learn about a geographical region or feature of Africa, such as the Sahara, or South Africa. Under the agriculture topic, one can choose to learn about the production of food, wood, fragrance, clothing, energy or medicine.

Interacting with the exhibit individually or in groups, visitors can delve into the subjects as deeply as they wish. According to exhibit designer Michael Krayzel, each of the 12 topics has nearly an hour of programming. Participants can stop at any point, depending on the amount of time they wish to spend at the exhibit, and the amount of information they wish to access.

A control desk with closed-circuit TV allows a facilitator to communicate with the participants during group visits. The facilitator can send information into the various computer stations and ask participants to find answers to certain questions.

The computer software for Wild Blue Planet was designed by the Houston Museum of Natural Science, with other elements of the exhibit created by Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The exhibit was funded in part by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, with additional support from Corbis Corporation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

—Kathryn M. Duda

Coming This Fall

What's New On the Earth? is an exhibit that will keep visitors abreast of the latest scientific events here on planet Earth. The "vital signs" of the planet will be monitored, with up-to-date information on weather conditions, world time, agricultural reports and scientific discoveries.