Upcoming Exhibitions at
Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Pittsburgh, PA… Carnegie Museum of Natural History is pleased to announce its schedule of upcoming exhibitions. All information has been confirmed as of April 7, 2010 and is subject to change.

Whales|Tohorā
FINAL WEEKS: Closes May 2, 2010
R. P. Simmons Family Gallery

Interactive, immersive, and featuring the latest in international cetacean research, Whales|Tohorā is an experience that brings adults and children eye to eye with some of the world’s most elusive creatures. Whales|Tohorā showcases many amazing and rare specimens, including two massive, fully articulated sperm whale skeletons measuring 58 feet and 36 feet in length. See life-sized and scale models of whales common to the South Pacific, real museum collections such as skulls of rare beaked whales, and authentic cultural artifacts, weapons, and adornments made from whale bone. The exhibition explores the intricacies of whale biology, as well as New Zealand’s journey from a whale-hunting powerhouse to a champion of whale conservation and ecotourism. Visitors encounter whales through video portholes, a walk through the life-sized replica of a blue whale heart, and immersive projections of a fascinating underwater world.

Lord of the Crane Flies
Through April 19, 2011
Third Floor Exhibition Foyer

For nearly 30 years, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology Chen Young, PhD, has researched and studied crane flies: what they are, where they live, their critical role in our ecosystem, and how they indicate the health of the environment we share. Through photographs, illustrations, specimens, and video, Lord of the Crane Flies highlights Young’s work and walks us through the lives of these misunderstood long-legged creatures.

Pittsburgh Adorned: Classic to Contemporary
Orr’s Jewelers, presenting sponsor
June 12–October 17, 2010
Wertz Gallery: Gems & Jewelry in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems

More than 60 exquisite pieces from private local collections and Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History celebrate the many passions—including love, status, and even politics—that jewelry evokes. The exhibition explores design trends of the past 200 years and features works by Alexander Calder, Barry Kieselstein-Cord, and David Webb, as well as contemporary local designers ROY and Ronald McNeish. The exhibition is presented by Orr’s Jewelers.

The Materials section of the exhibition includes historic and contemporary examples crafted from the three materials most associated with Pittsburgh—glass, steel, and aluminum—as well as from the gold and gems traditionally associated with jewelry. The Designers portion of Pittsburgh Adorned presents the big names associated with jewelry, including artists better known for their work in other fields. The Style and Meaning section explores major trends of the past 200 years and the depth of symbolism that jewelry embodies—whether overtly or by the circumstance of its creation or acquisition.

Life: A Journey Through Time
June 19, 2010–January 9, 2011
R. P. Simmons Family Gallery

Frans Lanting is renowned as one of the greatest nature photographers of our era. Lanting’s epic photographic project Life: A Journey Through Time, guided by recent scientific insights, interprets Earth’s developmental journey through 64 stunning images ranging from primordial landscapes to microscopic specimens in museum collections. The exhibition celebrates our planet with educational and inspiring stories of Earth’s amazing biodiversity.

The photographic journey begins with the transformation of single-celled organisms into more advanced oceanic life forms, and the transition of these early creatures to life on land. Before our eyes, plants and animals spread across the continents. Locations include some of the harshest and most remote on the planet, such as the Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka, Russia, where active geologic displays mirror the cataclysmic events that spawned our planet.

Lanting also delved deep into museum collections to study and photograph patterns of microscopic organisms and human anatomy, in an attempt to identify similar patterns on a larger scale across the surface of the earth. The exhibition is narrated by the photographer’s personal essays about his experiences with imagery, and text from the book of the same name that documents the project.

RACE: Are We So Different?
Spring 2014
R. P. Simmons Family Gallery

RACE: Are We So different? is a groundbreaking exploration of the experience of living with race in America. The exhibition weaves together personal stories of living with race along with expert discussions of the history of race as a concept, the role that science has played in that history, and emerging research that challenges the foundations of what we perceive as race. Interactive multimedia components, historic artifacts, iconic objects, and compelling photographs offer visitors an eye-opening look at a topic that is fundamental to our shared human experience.

Developed by the American Anthropological Association in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota, RACE: Are we so different? is the first nationally traveling exhibition to tell the story of race from biological, cultural, and historic points of view. These diverse perspectives merge into an unprecedented examination of race and racism in the United States.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is ranked among the top five natural history museums in the country. It maintains, preserves, and interprets an extraordinary collection of 20 million objects and scientific specimens used to broaden understanding of evolution, conservation, and biodiversity. More information is available by calling 412.622.3131 or by visiting the website at www.carnegiemnh.org.

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