Release: 96-32
February 14, 1996

NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program has awarded a $500,000 grant to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History to support planning for a new museum exhibition hall titled "Forces of Change."

"Forces of Change" will feature a series of regional case studies demonstrating the ways in which the Earth's environment is changing and how humans affect or are affected by these processes. Initial case studies on the Antarctic polar region, the Hawaiian islands, the Chesapeake Bay estuary, and the Great Plains grasslands will offer museum visitors interactive, state-of-the-art displays on how natural forces influence their daily lives.

"NASA is excited to have the opportunity to work with the Museum of Natural History in communicating the results of the most recent studies of the global environment through an inventive forum that blends scientific research and educational outreach," said Dr. Robert Harriss, Science Division director for Mission to Planet Earth.

Additional programming in the form of books, film and lecture series, CD-ROM packages, and classroom materials will be developed in conjunction with each case study. The exhibition will continually challenge visitors to learn more about the world in which they live and to think about their roles in shaping that world, according to Acting Museum Director Donald J. Ortner.

"This generous grant from NASA enables the National Museum of Natural History to advance a ground-breaking exhibition which fully realizes our charter mission to be dedicated to understanding the natural world and our place in it," Ortner said. "We plan to create an exciting exhibition series to help visitors better understand the interdependencies between humans and the environment."

The "Forces of Change" project is being developed with extensive consultation among scientists, anthropologists, and educators at the museum. Many other experts from outside the museum, including artists, photographers, environmental engineers and maritime historians, will also be involved in the project to ensure a thorough and balanced discussion of the topic, Ortner said. "A date for the anticipated opening of the hall will be announced after the completion of the planning process."

NASA's Mission to Planet Earth is a comprehensive science research enterprise designed to observe the Earth's land, atmosphere, and oceans from a global perspective using satellites, aircraft, and ground-based measurements. Such studies will yield improved weather forecasts, better tools for managing agriculture and forests, information for ocean-related industries and coastal planners, and, eventually, an ability to predict how the Earth's climate will change in the future.

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