Tropical Rainforests: A Disappearing Treasure (Exhibition)

Exist Dates

1991 March 8 - 1991 June 2

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract

Exhibition. Opened in March 8, 1991 and closed June 2, 1991. Located in Section 3, Floor 3 in Gallery 3 at the American Museum of Natural History. "Tropical Rainforests: A Disappearing Treasure" was an exhibition that explored the diversity of life and the threats to the delicate ecology of the world's rain forests.

Summary

"Tropical Rainforests: A Disappearing Treasure" was an exhibition that explored the diversity of life and the threats to the delicate ecology of the world's rain forests. The exhibit examined the biological diversity of some of the lushest environments of the world, including Madagascar, the Congo Basin, the Amazon Basin and the dense jungles of Borneo. The exhibit demonstrated the complex interdependence of life in the rain forest and also examined the cultures of the peoples who live there. Case studies were presented of the immediate consequences and long-term global results of rain forest destruction. A special section developed by Robert L. Carniero, a then-curator of Anthropology at the Museum, examined the agricultural methods of indigenous peoples and placed the human relationship to the rain forest in a historical context. The exhibit was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions Service in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund. Funding was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Special Exhibition Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the James Smithson Society, the Smithsonian Institution Education Outreach Fund and Wm, Wrigley Jr. Company Foundation. The exhibit was on view in Gallery 3 of the American Museum of Natural History from March 8 through June 2, 1991.

Individuals and institutions involved in the creation of the exhibition: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services; The World Wildlife Fund; Robert L. Carniero; AMNH Department of Anthropology.

Sources

American Museum of Natural History Press Release, December 20, 1990. Departmental Records, 101; American Museum of Natural History Library Archives.

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History. Gallery 3.
Location of exhibition.

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