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Inaugural Community Curators Exhibit Features Rare Specimens from Natural History Collection with Connection to Climate Change
Worcester, Mass. – January 13, 2020 Climate change impacts everyone. Every person, animal, organism and region. On Saturday, January 11, 2020, the EcoTarium museum of science and nature will present a new exhibit Community Curators: Local is the New Global that features rarely seen items from their natural history collection with a connection to the impact of climate change. Visitors are invited to discover the science behind climate change, how it is affecting different species, and what communities and individuals can do to reduce their own carbon footprints. The inaugural exhibit features four special guest community curators from Worcester: Paws, Paw Sox mascot (soon to be WooSox), Che Anderson, deputy cultural development officer with the City of Worcester, Selina Gallo-Cruz, Holy Cross College associate professor of sociology and anthropology and Xochitl Cruz-Gallo, high school student and community activist. They chose an item from the collection that not only speaks to them in a meaningful way, but also tells a unique story about climate change. One particular item chosen on display is a walrus head: obtained by polar explorer Admiral Peary, during an expedition of Greenland with the hunter Robert D. Perry in 1893.
“We are incredibly lucky to be one of the few institutions in the country with a vast natural history collection,” shared Lucy Hale, EcoTarium president and CEO. “They play a vital role in our understanding of biodiversity and the environmental impacts of climate change and evolution. The Community Curators exhibit presents an opportunity to offer a compelling connection between our history and what is affecting our world today.”
The Community Curators: Local is the New Global exhibit contains several interactive components, including a space for visitors to publicly contribute how they are lowering carbon footprints in their lives. Originated at the EcoTarium, Community Curators will continue as an annual exhibit to showcase a variety of more specimens from the natural history collection and involve the greater Worcester community with changing themes each January. Sponsored by Nitsch Engineering, the exhibit will run through March 8, 2020.