Copyright Nature

Exhibits

Nature Theatre

In Nature Theatre visitors will be able to watch a film, preferably at the start of the exhibition. The film shows beautiful images from nature, emphasizing nature’s amazing ingenuity. Enormous octopuses from the deep sea display their mysterious play of colours, well-organised ants build shelter and find food, chimpanzees search for medicinal plants and swing drunk through the trees, bats effortlessly catch insects in the dark. Small and large birds fly and glide and bees and other insects remain suspended in the air.

Links will be shown between nature’s solutions and human solutions. References are made to other parts of the exhibition. The point is made that the mechanism by which nature is thought to have survived over millions of years is called evolution. Strong points of nature are that it runs on sunlight, fits form to function, recycles everything, rewards co-operation and taps the power of limits. Looking at nature we see the results of millions of years of evolution. All living creatures have become adapted and acquired the most effective behaviour and the best physical form with which to survive. Of the myriad species that did not succeed, only fossils remain.

Discovered by Nature

The second part of the exhibition will be open space where visitors will be able to walk around and examine exhibits. They will be drawn to familiar and less familiar natural inhabitants: birds, bears, octopuses, spiders, trees, monkeys, insects, bats and other fauna and flora. This interactive part of the exhibition is made up of ten islands, each island featuring an animal or plant species. Each island will tell a story in words and images, using (museum) objects and interactive elements, of how nature provides ideas for our ‘inventions’. It will also make clear how many of ‘our’ ideas have before long existed in nature. The front of each island will focus on interesting general information on manner of living, behaviour, physiology and the way different plants and animals appear. Sometimes interesting similarities in behaviour between man and animal will be shown. The front has a natural appeal, the emphasis lying on nature’s beauty and ingenuity. The back of each island will show that the animal or plant was either a source of inspiration for or shows similarities with objects or techniques in the past and the present. The visitor can find out how products work by taking part in interactive elements in the exhibition. The back Has a technical appeal, the emphasis lying on the similarity between human products and natural products. The theme ‘protection’ will run as a thread through the different islands and show how animals and plants protect themselves against danger. This theme is suitable for children to do an exploration tour of the exhibition.

Ten plants and animals

This part of the exhibition will show nature in all its shapes and processes, with the help of ten plants and animals:

Squid
Subjects on this island: general information on squid, camouflage and self defence; jet propulsion in squid and rockets; the Nautilus and the submarine; the sucking discs.
Bears
Subjects on this island: general information on bears; teddy bears; polar bear fur; the Inuit and the polar bear; the polar bear’s paws and snowshoes; bears in native American culture; famous bears.
Monkeys
Subjects on this island: general information on monkeys; similarities between humans and chimpanzees: chimpanzee politics; video dating and the gorilla; monkeys and alcohol; monkeys and food gathering; zoological pharmaceuticals.
Humans
Subjects on this island: general information on Homo sapiens; physiology of the human body with regard to walking upright; humans and self defence; a helmet based on anatomy skull + brains; the ear and the vocal chords as source of inspiration for the telephone; similarities between the eye and the camera.
Seeds and fruit
Subjects on this island: general information on seed and fruit; how seeds and fruit protect themselves; how seeds and fruit spread; burdock and Velcro; dandelions and parachute; pollen and golf balls.
Spiders (instead of beetle)
Subjects on this island: general information on spiders; the spider’s web; arachnophobia; camouflage; [spider’s web] and nylon; spider “dragline silk” as an inspiration for ultra strong long-lasting, elastic materials; Spiderman; spider and wheel; water spider and its diving timer.
Tree
Subjects on this island: general information on trees and leaves; tree-trunks and age; photosynthesis as an inspiration for a new generation of solar cells; leaves as an inspiration for efficient folding up of equipment.
Bats
Subjects on this island: general information on bats; orientation and hunting using echolocation; Batman; Dracula; echolocation, ultrasound, seabed research (sonar), a vacuum cleaner that can find its own way; or a cane for blind people: the ‘bat cane’; the bat wing as source of inspiration for surfboard and hang- glider sails.
Bees
Subjects on this island: general information on bees; differences between bees, wasps, bumblebees; bees and alcohol; bee vision; compound eyes as source of inspiration for multi-detection arrays; honeycomb structure as basis for strong and ultra light constructions.
Birds
Subjects on this island: general information on birds; how do birds fly; birds, humans and aroma therapy; how birds protect themselves against parasites; how birds form a source of inspiration for building planes, in the present and in the past.

The Quest

The third part sketches a vision of the future, in which people look at nature to find solutions for problems that our society currently has to contend with. Modern science enables us to learn more than ever about animals and plants, and the ingenious ways in which they survive.

Millions of people across the world are studying nature and new things are constantly being discovered. The earth’s climate can be studied with the help of satellites, and on a smaller scale minute processes and structures in cells and stones can be seen with microscopes. Long ago people observed animals and plants and tried to imitate what they do and use these benefits to their advantage. Companies and research institutes are currently focusing on ‘what is needed’ and are likewise searching for answers in nature. There are many processes and materials in nature which can help us co-exist in a sustainable and prosperous way in the long term.

This part of the exhibition examines things which are important to us all: among others food, drinking water, shelter, mobility and health. This is done with the help of multimedia presentations, hands-on investigation, objects and pictures to illustrate ideas. How does nature solve these issues? Revolutionary ideas in which science is currently involved are explained. Examples of applications in modern science will be shown to explain that there are a lot of possibilities.

The six themes

Food and drinking water
To explain how nature is a source of inspiration for more effective and sustainable methods of agriculture and food supplies. To explain how important water is in nature, how nothing is wasted and what we can learn from this.

Subjects are: Brief history of agriculture and drinking water; Determine common agricultural problems; What advantages does nature offer? ; nature-inspired agricultural methods; the Namibian beetle as example for the extraction of drinking water in the desert.
Shelter
To show that nature is a brilliant architect which combines beauty and functionality in its creations. This can be seen in the structure of trees, plants and skeletons, among others. To show how designers have been inspired by nature and the possibilities for the future.

Subjects are: Strength of skeletons, trees and plants as inspiration for architecture; Famous buildings inspired by nature; BLOB-architecture and organic shapes.
Mobility
To show how animals move and orient themselves in different terrains: in the air, through the water and on uneven terrain. Demonstrate how we have applied this knowledge and what the possibilities for the future are.

Subjects are: Faster through water and air; Walking robots; Orientation
Materials & substances
To show how nature is capable of creating all kinds of smart, multifunctional materials with limited raw materials and at room temperature. Describe how we have applied this knowledge and how this can lead to new handy, environmentally-friendly substances and materials.

Subjects are: Fractals and chemical processes; silk as an inspiration for revolutionary synthetics; gecko tape to stick without glue.
Knowledge
To explain how natural information systems like the brain work and how we use this information in computer technology and self-learning systems.

Subjects are: The computer and neural networks; applications of biological algorithms in computer programs.
Health
To show that studying nature can help improve health care and the possibilities for treating and curing diseases.

Subjects are: Mussel glue on the operating table; anti-freeze in butterfly and fish helping organ transplants; a shark which can go hours without oxygen could help minimizing brain damage with stroke patients; user friendly prosthetics by studying the human body and other bodies; regeneration in amphibians, can we do that to?