American Museum of Natural History in New York to Open New Building
2023-05-03
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1This week, the American Museum of Natural History in New York is going to open its new building.
2The structure is designed to connect visitors with their place in the natural world.
3Small ants walk along a glass bridge in the new museum area, The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.
4Whales move along the walls in an immersive video.
5And the building's natural curves - inspired by canyons in the American Southwest - are meant to show how all of it is connected.
6The $465 million center, nearly ten years in the making, is set to open to the public on May 4.
7Architect Jeanne Gang spoke at a recent media event about her design.
8She said she asked herself how the space could add to peoples' natural interest in learning.
9"This led us to look at geological landscapes, where one can see how the natural forces actually shape the material, shape our world," she said.
10The Gilder Center is already home to more than a half million small creatures, part of an insect exhibition with 18 species.
11It includes an indoor garden where visitors can see hundreds of moths and butterflies.
12The goal is to get people "up close and personal" with the bugs and highlight their importance to the natural world, said museum entomologist David Grimaldi.
13He added that insects have a bad reputation because of the very small percent of them that bite or spread diseases.
14But most insect species present no danger to humans and are a necessary part of the environment, Grimaldi explained.
15Brightly colored butterflies fly around the garden, while large beetles eat old fruit.
16And then there are the ants.
17The museum shipped in around 500,000 leafcutter ants to build a colony in the insectarium - or insect area.
18The small ant workers collect their leaves from one glass area, then walk across a skybridge to grow their fungal food in glass areas along the wall.
19The ants needed some help getting used to the space.
20Scientists had to hold "training" exercises to show them where to go, said Cheryl Hayashi, the museum's science chief.
21A new interactive show presents the ways our lives are mixed with the lives of other beings.
22"Invisible Worlds" puts visitors in different settings.
23These scenes show the proteins in human DNA and neural connections in the brain.
24Then viewers see the New York City skyline or the top of a rainforest.
25"Through DNA, you are related to all life on Earth," a speaker declares.
26The Gilder Center is also designed to bring the scientific process to the front, said museum president Sean Decatur.
27More than 4 million specimens from the museum's collections are now being housed in the Gilder Center.
28Some are on show behind big glass windows.
29This "Collections Core" shows off a number of objects, from megalodon teeth to Mayan bricks to spools of spider silk.
30Building trust in the scientific process is more important than ever, said Ellen Futter, the museum's former president who oversaw most of the Gilder Center's creation before retiring in March.
31"That is the vision: To help visitors see and understand our world more deeply," Futter said.
32"To appreciate that all life is" connected.
33"To trust science and to be inspired to protect our precious planet."
34I'm John Russell.
1This week, the American Museum of Natural History in New York is going to open its new building. 2The structure is designed to connect visitors with their place in the natural world. 3Small ants walk along a glass bridge in the new museum area, The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation. Whales move along the walls in an immersive video. And the building's natural curves - inspired by canyons in the American Southwest - are meant to show how all of it is connected. 4The $465 million center, nearly ten years in the making, is set to open to the public on May 4. 5Architect Jeanne Gang spoke at a recent media event about her design. She said she asked herself how the space could add to peoples' natural interest in learning. "This led us to look at geological landscapes, where one can see how the natural forces actually shape the material, shape our world," she said. 6The Gilder Center is already home to more than a half million small creatures, part of an insect exhibition with 18 species. 7It includes an indoor garden where visitors can see hundreds of moths and butterflies. 8The goal is to get people "up close and personal" with the bugs and highlight their importance to the natural world, said museum entomologist David Grimaldi. 9He added that insects have a bad reputation because of the very small percent of them that bite or spread diseases. But most insect species present no danger to humans and are a necessary part of the environment, Grimaldi explained. 10Brightly colored butterflies fly around the garden, while large beetles eat old fruit. 11And then there are the ants. The museum shipped in around 500,000 leafcutter ants to build a colony in the insectarium - or insect area. The small ant workers collect their leaves from one glass area, then walk across a skybridge to grow their fungal food in glass areas along the wall. 12The ants needed some help getting used to the space. Scientists had to hold "training" exercises to show them where to go, said Cheryl Hayashi, the museum's science chief. 13A new interactive show presents the ways our lives are mixed with the lives of other beings. "Invisible Worlds" puts visitors in different settings. These scenes show the proteins in human DNA and neural connections in the brain. Then viewers see the New York City skyline or the top of a rainforest. 14"Through DNA, you are related to all life on Earth," a speaker declares. 15The Gilder Center is also designed to bring the scientific process to the front, said museum president Sean Decatur. 16More than 4 million specimens from the museum's collections are now being housed in the Gilder Center. Some are on show behind big glass windows. 17This "Collections Core" shows off a number of objects, from megalodon teeth to Mayan bricks to spools of spider silk. 18Building trust in the scientific process is more important than ever, said Ellen Futter, the museum's former president who oversaw most of the Gilder Center's creation before retiring in March. 19"That is the vision: To help visitors see and understand our world more deeply," Futter said. "To appreciate that all life is" connected. "To trust science and to be inspired to protect our precious planet." 20I'm John Russell. 21Maddie Burakoff reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22__________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24museum - n. a building in which things are collected and shown to the public 25immersive - adj. providing or characterized by deep absorption or immersion in something 26inspire - v. to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create 27architect - n. a person who designs buildings 28entomologist - n. a scientist who deals with the study of insects 29specimen - n. an animal or plant collected as an example of a particular kind of thing