Treasures of New York: American Museum of Natural History

Summary

Highlights

• The American Museum of Natural History is a 150-year-old New York treasure. 🗽
• Theodore Roosevelt's early life and passion for natural history inspired his later conservation efforts. 🌿
• The museum once housed Theodore Roosevelt's own taxidermy specimens as a child! 🦅
• The process of crafting dioramas combines science with art to create life-like displays. 🖌️
• Innovative conservation efforts continue to breathe new life into the museum's exhibits. 💪
• The museum's educational programs offer degrees in science and encourage lifelong learning. 📚
• Technology meets tradition with mobile apps and interactive displays enhancing visitor experiences. 📲

Key Takeaways

• Dive into the treasure trove that is the American Museum of Natural History! 🏛️
• Learn about the indelible link between Theodore Roosevelt and this world-renowned museum. 🎩
• Explore the meticulous art of crafting life-like dioramas, a lost art in many ways. 🎨
• Understand how this museum is both a historical archive and a cutting-edge research facility. 🔬
• Witness the restoration efforts that keep the exhibits vibrant and educational for new generations. 🌟
• Discover the unique educational programs and digital innovations that make the museum a contemporary marvel. 📱
• Feel the importance of storytelling in conservation and educating the public about the natural world. 🌳

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 03:00: Introduction to the Museum The chapter opens with a description of a unique and vibrant place: the largest daycare center in the world. The atmosphere is lively and bustling with children, highlighting the joyful and energetic environment that sets the tone for the rest of the chapter.
• 03:00 - 10:00: Teddy Roosevelt's Legacy The chapter titled 'Teddy Roosevelt's Legacy' highlights the significance of the Museum of Natural History as a pivotal institution dedicated to the understanding of the natural world and the universe. The museum is celebrated as a home to habitat dioramas and a great library of life on Earth, underlining its crucial role in the American conservation movement spearheaded by influential patrons like Teddy Roosevelt. The narrative emphasizes the museum's prestigious status akin to 'the Harvard of the natural world,' where one can have close encounters with natural wonders such as a moose.
• 10:00 - 25:00: Museum's Collection and Exhibits The chapter titled 'Museum's Collection and Exhibits' focuses on the significance of dioramas in the museum experience. Visitors are invited to step into these 'time capsules' and experience a sense of transcendence as they explore the museum's offerings. Described as both a toy store and a fun house, the museum provides a unique and engaging experience. The program, associated with the Museum of Natural History, credits its realization to generous support from contributors, with Tom Brokaw introducing the segment.
• 25:00 - 45:00: Diorama Restoration Process The chapter titled 'Diorama Restoration Process' highlights the significance of the Natural Museum, which has been a vital repository of life-related artifacts for almost 150 years. This museum is portrayed as a treasure trove that narrates the story of life through its specimens. One of the key features mentioned in this context is the museum's extensive collection of dinosaur bones, which is described as the largest. This introduction sets the scene for discussing the specific processes involved in diorama restoration, although those details are not included in this excerpt.
• 45:00 - 60:00: Modernization and Conservation Efforts The chapter titled 'Modernization and Conservation Efforts' focuses on the efforts made to modernize and conserve different aspects of the environment and heritage. It emphasizes the importance of education and family, as highlighted by the author's habit of bringing children and grandchildren to appreciate great dioramas. Additionally, the chapter touches upon the legacy of the 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who played a significant role in the history of conservation and the museum. Roosevelt's contributions are tied to a broader ethos of building the country for the long term, rather than just for immediate gains.
• 60:00 - 65:00: Conclusion and Legacy The Conclusion and Legacy chapter takes the reader on a journey through time, highlighting the ultimate significance of Teddy Roosevelt and the cherished institution that is the American Museum of Natural History. This chapter invites readers to rediscover this New York City treasure, emphasizing its standing as a global landmark. The narrative concludes with an illustration of second graders embarking on an enlightening exhibition at the museum, symbolizing the ongoing legacy and educational impact it has on future generations.

Treasures of New York: American Museum of Natural History Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 >>> THIS IS THE LARGEST DAY CARE CENTER IN THE WORLD. IT'S WONDERFUL THE PLACE IS CRAWLING WITH CHILDREN.
• 00:30 - 01:00 >> WHERE ELSE COULD YOU GET CLOSE TO A MOOSE LIKE THIS. >> ONLY IN A WORLD RENOWNED INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO KNOWLEDGE, THE NATURAL WORLD AND THE UNIVERSE. >> WE HAVE A GREAT LIBRARY OF LIFE ON EARTH IN OUR COLLECTION. >> A PLACE WHERE THE AMERICAN CONSERVATION MOVEMENT WAS SPEARHEADED BY A GREAT PATRON. >> THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IS LIKE THE HARVARD OF THE NATURAL WORLD. >> HOME TO THE HABITAT DIARAMA.
• 01:00 - 01:30 >> DIARAMAS ARE THE LIFE BLOOD OF THE MUSEUM. >> STEP INSIDE THE TIME CAPSULES WITH US. >> THE FIRST TIME I STEPPED INSIDE, I WAS TRANSCENDED. >> IT'S A TOY STORE. IT'S A FUN HOUSE. >> THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSZ BY WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF -- NOW FROM THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, HERE IS TOM BROKAW.
• 01:30 - 02:00 >>> FOR ALMOST 150 YEARS, THE NATURAL MUSEUM HAS BEEN A GIFT TO THE WORLD. IT IS A TREASURE. IT IS THE STORY OF LIFE ITSELF. WITHIN THESE HALLS ARE SPECIMENS. IT CONTAINS THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF DINOSAUR BONES OF
• 02:00 - 02:30 ANY PLACE ON EARTH. IN EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY. I LIKED TO BRING MY CHILDREN AND NOW MY GRANDCHILDREN HERE SO THEY CAN PRESS THEIR FACE AGAINST THE GREAT DIARAMAS. OUR 26th PRESIDENT, THEODORE ROOSEVELT JR.'S LEGACY IS TIED TO THIS MUSEUM. HE WROTE, WE ARE NOT BUILDING THIS COUNTRY OF OURS FOR A DAY,
• 02:30 - 03:00 IT IS THE LAST THROUGH THE AGES. SO COME ALONG NOW ON THE ULTIMATE FIELD TRIP AS WE REIMAGINE TEDDY ROOSEVELT AND REDISCOVER THIS TREASURE OF NEW YORK CITY AND THE WORLD, THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. THESE SECOND GRADERS ARE EMBARKING ON AN EXHIBITION.
• 03:00 - 03:30 >> ARE YOU EXCITED TO BE HERE AT THE MUSEUM TODAY? >> I THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF FUN. >> YEAH. >> IT'S WONDERFUL THE PLACE IS CRAWLING WITH CHILDREN. I LIVED NEAR IT FOR A LONG TIME. I REMEMBER ON A RAINY SATURDAY, ONE SAYING, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE LARGEST DAY CARE CENTER IN THE WORLD. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH BABY STROLLERS GOING THROUGH THE EXHIBITS. >> WHY DON'T YOU FOLLOW ME. >> HEADED INTO THE DARKNESS TO EXPLORE BEAVERS AND BEARS.
• 03:30 - 04:00 >> EVEN ON A SUNNY DAY, IT'S VERY CROWDED WITH KIDS. IT'S A WONDERFUL THING. IT'S WHAT'S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN WHEN A GREAT LANDMARK IS USED AND CONNECTED TODAYLY LIFE. IT'S NOT JUST A THING. >> THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, THE LARGEST SUCH MUSEUM IN THE WORLD IS ALSO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST
• 04:00 - 04:30 RESPREKTED SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS SPANNING FOUR SQUARE CITY BLOCKS, COMPRISED OF EXHIBITION HALLS, IT HOUSES 32 MILLION SPECIMENS AND ARTIFACTS INCLUDING DINOSAUR SKELETONS, MINERALS AND METEORITES, JELLYFISH, BUTTERFLIES AND A 94 FOOT BLUE WHALE. IT IS ONE OF NEW YORK CITY'S MOST BELOVED PLACES.
• 04:30 - 05:00 ALMOST EVERYONE WHO GREW UP IN THE NEW YORK CITY AREA REMEMBERS THEIR FIRST TRIP HERE. WHAT VISITOR CAN FORGET THAT FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH T-REX OR THIS EIGHT FOOT BROWN BEAR. >> HOW ABOUT THE BIG CLAWS? I THINK THAT'S USEFUL FOR GETTING FOOD, RUNNING UP HILLS. >> IT IS A 1.6 MILLION SQUARE FOOT TREASURE TROEF. >> WE HAVE THIS LIVE ON EARTH IN OUR COLLECTION.
• 05:00 - 05:30 >> IT IS PERHAPS THE NOISIEST LIBRARY IN NEW YORK. >> EVERYONE TAKE ONE STEP BACK. I NEED ALL THE ROOM I CAN GET. >> AWESOME! >> SO, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU KNOW WHAT PART OF THE BEAR THIS >> WOW! >> IT'S A GREAT INTELLECTUAL TOY STORE, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. IS. IT'S A FUNHOUSE. >> OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND INSTITUTION DEVOTED TO COLLECTING, STUDYING AND
• 05:30 - 06:00 CONSERVING NATURE HAS TAKEN BOLD STEPS TO CONSERVE AND MODERNIZE ITSELF WITH THE RESTORATION OF THE HALL OF MAMMALS AND THE MONUMENT TO THE MAN CONSIDERED THE PATRIARCH OF THE MUSEUM. DURING THE NEXT HOUR, WE GO BEHIND THE GLASS TO WITNESS THE RESTORATION OF THESE ICONIC DIARAMAS. WE GO BEHIND THE SCENES FOR A LOOK AT THE SPECIMEN'S RARELY SEEN BY THE PUBLIC.
• 06:00 - 06:30 AND WE'LL INTRODUCE YOU TO THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT WHO PLAYED AN INVALUABLE ROLE IN THE MUSEUM'S EARLY DAYS, WHOSE VISION LIVES ON IN THESE HALLS. >> WHY DO WE HAVE A STATUE OF A PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, WHY DO WE HAVE HIS STATUE IN A SCIENCE MUSEUM? WHY IS HE IN A SCIENCE MUSEUM? >> HE WAS A NATURALIST. >> VERY GOOD. HE WAS A NATURALIST. HE WAS A SCIENTIST. HE LOVED EXPLORING NATURE LIKE I'M SURE YOU DO.
• 06:30 - 07:00 >> AS THESE KIDS ALREADY SEEM TO KNOW, THE SOUL OF THE INSTITUTION IS INSEPARABLE FROM ONE OF THE EARLIEST SUPPORTERS, THEODORE ROOSEVELT. >> THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 26th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES >> THAT IS THE 20th CENTURY FOX MOVIE "NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM." OF AMERICA. THE REAL THEODORE ROOSEVELT WAS A NATURALIST, A COLLECTOR, A TAXIDERMIST, A WRITER, EXPLORER, POLITICIAN AND OUR 26th
• 07:00 - 07:30 PRESIDENT. EARLY AND AVID PATRON. HE IS FONDLY REFERRED TO AS OUR FIRST CONSERVATION PRESIDENT. >> WE HAVE NEVER HAD SOMEBODY LIKE THAT IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHOSE GREAT PASSION WAS THE NATURAL WORLD. IN AN ERA WHERE PEOPLE WERE STILL PRIMITIVE IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLANET, ROOSEVELT SAW EARTH AS ONE PULSING, BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM THAT ALL THE RIVERS AND THE SEAS WERE CONNECTED INTO ONE
• 07:30 - 08:00 >> BORN TO A WEALTHY FAMILY IN MANHATTAN, TEDDY'S PARENTS WERE THING. THEODORE ROOSEVELT SR. AND MIMI. TEDDY JR. WAS FREQUENTLY HOUSE BOUND. >> THERE ARE NO PICTURES OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT AT THE AGE OF 3 OR SO. IF THERE WERE, WE WOULD PROBABLY SEE A FRIGHTENING INVALID OF A
• 08:00 - 08:30 AT THE AGE OF 3, HIS DOCTORS DIAGNOSED HE WOULD BE UNABLE TO BOY. LIVE LONG. FINALLY, HE GOT TO AGE 6 OR 7 WHEN HE BEGAN TO READ. >> HE LOVED ADVENTURE STORIES ABOUT GREAT ANIMALS. >> THIS LITTLE BOY USED TO LUG AROUND A GIGANTIC BOOK OF
• 08:30 - 09:00 MISSIONARY TRAVELS BY DAVID LIVINGSTON. >> ACCOUNTS OF LIVINGSTON'S EXOTIC AND FAR AWAY ADVENTURES IN AFRICA. EXCITING TALES FILLED WITH DISCOVERY AND DANGER. >> THAT'S WHEN HIS FASCINATION WITH LIVING ANIMALS BEGAN. SOMEHOW, IT'S A COMPLIMENT TO HIS WEEDY, PHYSICAL HE FANTASIZED, LIFE OF ADVENTURE, LIFE IN THE OUTDOORS. CONSTITUTION.
• 09:00 - 09:30 HIS LOVE OF NATURE WAS VERY MUCH A DESIRE TO ESCAPE THE NARROWNESS OF HIS BACKGROUND AND THE NARROWNESS OF HIS CHEST AND THE NARROWNESS OF HIS ILL HEALTH. >> TEDDY BECAME AN AVID COLLECTOR OF ANIMALS, BIRDS, HE LEARNED THE BASICS OF TAXIDERIY TO PRESERVE THEM ALL. BUGS. >> MANY SPECIMENS, BIRDS AND ANIMALS.
• 09:30 - 10:00 SOME OF THEM HE STUFFED WITH REMARKABLE SKILL. HE DREW THEM, WROTE ABOUT THEM. >> IN HIS NOTEBOOKS, HE LOGGED EVERY BIT OF HIS COLLECTION. BY THE AGE OF 9, TEDDY PUBLISHED THE NATURE OF INSECTS AND HIS >> AS A BOY, HE ACTUALLY CREATED WHAT HE CALLED THE ROOSEVELT COLLECTION GREW.
• 10:00 - 10:30 MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. >> CREATED IN HIS BEDROOM IN HIS HOME. IT WAS IN 1869 THE CHARTER WOULD BE SIGNED. >> THIS IS THE ACTUAL CHARTER OR COPY OF THE CHARTER TO THE MUSEUM DATED APRIL 16th, 1869. ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS OF THE MUSEUM WAS THEODORE
• 10:30 - 11:00 ROOSEVELT SR., THE FATHER OF THE SENATOR. >> YOU HAVE THE LEADERS IN NEW YORK CITY AT THAT TIME. THEY WANT A GREAT MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK JUST AS THERE IS ONE IN LONDON. THEY CONCEIVE OF IT BROADLY AND WITH GREAT INHIBITION. >> IT WOULD BECOME YOUNG TEDDY'S PLAYGROUND. >> HE WOULD COME DOWN HERE, WONDER AROUND, STUDY.
• 11:00 - 11:30 HE SAW THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AS THE HARVARD OF THE NATURAL WORLD. >> THE MUSEUM ENCOURAGED IN TEDDY A LIFELONG DEVOTION TO THE INSTITUTION AND A PERSONAL PASSION FOR EXPLORATION AND CONSERVATION. ROOSEVELT'S LEGACY WOULD EXTEND WELL BEYOND THE MUSEUM AND NEW YORK TO ALL CORNERS OF AMERICA. AND ULTIMATELY TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
• 11:30 - 12:00 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY WAS FIRST LOCATED IN 1869 IN A SECTION OF THE ARSENAL BUILDING ON FIFTH AVENUE. TWO YEARS LATER, THE CITY OF NEW YORK OFFERED THE MUSEUM A 19 ACRE PARCEL OF LAND ON MANHATTAN'S UNDEVELOPED UPPER WEST SIDE FROM 77th TREAT TO 81st. >> THE SIGHT OF THE MUSEUM ACTUALLY PREDATES CENTRAL PARK.
• 12:00 - 12:30 IT'S AN ENORMOUS FOUR BLOCK LONG SQUARE THAT ACTUALLY WAS ORIGINALLY CALLED MANHATTAN SQUARE. >> DESIGNED BY ARCHITECTS, THE MASTER PLAN WAS TO CREATE A SERIES OF BUILDINGS THAT WOULD FILL THE ENTIRE TRUCK. >> IT WAS AN ENORMOUS BUILDING WITH COURTYARDS AND MORE WINGS AND MORE COURTYARDS AND MORE WINGS AND STILL THE BULK OF THAT
• 12:30 - 13:00 ENORMOUS FOUR BLOCK SITE. >> IN 1874, PRESIDENT GRANT LAID THE CORNER STONE FOR THE FIRST PHASE. THAT BUILDING OPENED TO THE PUBLIC THREE YEARS LATER. PRESIDENT HAYES AND ROOSEVELT IN ATTENDANCE.
• 13:00 - 13:30 THE ORIGINAL BUILDING STILL STANDS BUT OBSCURED BY NEWER WINGS. BUILT SLOWLY AND IN SECTIONS, THE MUSEUM PLAN WAS CONTINUED WITH AN EXTENSION TO THE FIRST BUILDING. A GRAND ENTRANCE ON WEST 77th STREET. IN A STYLE WE CALL ROMANESQUE. KIND OF AMERICAN ADAPTATION OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE.
• 13:30 - 14:00 >> THE REST OF THE CASTLE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT. THE 77th STREET ENTRANCE WAS COMPLETED AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY, A TIME WHEN THE MUSEUM WAS DEEP IN DEBT. WHEN THE TIME CAME TO RESUME CONSTRUCTION, THE 20th CENTURY WAS WELL UNDER WAY AND TASTES HAD CHANGED. >> THEY WERE NOT SURE THEY WANTED TO BUILD IN THAT ARCHITECTURAL STYLE ANYMORE. IT FELT TOO ASSOCIATED, REALLY, WITH THE 1880s, IN PARTICULAR.
• 14:00 - 14:30 THE MUSEUM WANTED TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. >> IN 1924, FIVE YEARS AFTER THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S DEATH, THEY COMMISSIONED A MEMORIAL TO THE LATE PRESIDENT. A NEW MUSE UM BUILDING WHICH WOULD SERVE AS THE MAIN ENTRANCE ON CENTRAL PARK WEST. THE MANDATE, TO CREATE A MONUMENT WORTHY OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, THE MUSEUM'S GREATEST PATRON.
• 14:30 - 15:00 >> TO SYMBOLIZE THIS SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL OUTDOOR ASPECTS OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S LIFE. THE IDEALS, PURPOSES AND PLANS OF THE MUSEUM TO WHICH THEODORE DEVOTED HIS LIFE. >> ROOSEVELT, THE BOY COLLECTOR HAD GONE ON TO GREAT THINGS. >> IT WAS A GRAND PROJECT, A GRAND ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT DEDICATED TO MEMORIALIZING A GRAND PRESIDENT, THE GOVERNOR OF
• 15:00 - 15:30 OUR STATE. >> TO FIND A GRAND ARCHITECT, THE STATE HELD A DESIGN WHAT WE NOW SEE ON CENTRAL PARK WEST MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE COMPETITION. THIS. OR THIS. >> THE DESIGN WINNING THE COMPETITION FOR THE SELECTION OF AN ARCHITECT FOR THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL. THAT WAS JOHN --
• 15:30 - 16:00 >> ARCHITECT JOHN RUSSELL WHO LATER DESIGNED THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. >> POPE IS A MAKER OF MONUMENTS AS MUCH AS A MAKER OF BUILDINGS. HE LOVED, SORT OF GRAND AND GRANDIOSITY. >> POPE'S WAS MONUMENTAL. >> IN ADDITION TO DESIGNING THE BUILDING, POPE DESIGNED THE
• 16:00 - 16:30 EXTENSIVE PLAZA, FROM THE BUILDING, FACING CENTRAL PARK, WHICH IS REAMED WITH THE BAR RELIEF OF WILDLIFE. >> THE BUILDING WAS FINALLY FINISHED IN 1936. FOUR YEARS LATER WITH THE INSTALLATION OF A BRONZE STATUE,
• 16:30 - 17:00 THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL WAS COMPLETE. MEANWHILE ON 81st STREET, ANOTHER WING OF THE MUSEUM WAS THE BUILDING THAT WAS DESIGNED TO LOOK BEYOND EARTH AND INTO GOING UP. THE HEAVENS. THE HIDDEN PLANETARIUM DESIGNED BY NEW YORK ARCHITECTS WAS NOT
• 17:00 - 17:30 AS MONUMENTAL AS THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL. IT HAS A MODERN DECK COE FEEL. IT WAS STILL EVOLVING. >> I THINK WE ARE LUCKY IT EVOLVED OVER A LONG TIME IN SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAYS BECAUSE IT BECOMES SORT OF LIKE A REAL CITY, ALMOST. YOU CAN FEEL THE LAYERS OF TIME THERE. >> ALL THE WHILE THERE WAS AN EVOLUTION OF ANOTHER SORT GOING ON INSIDE THE MUSEUM. >> FOR ME, DIARAMAS OF THIS ARE THE LIFE BLOOD OF A NATURAL
• 17:30 - 18:00 HISTORY MUSEUM. THERE'S NO OTHER WAY OF PUTTING IT. >> THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1880 AND 1930 IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF EXPLORATION OF THE MUSEUM. THE MUSEUM WAS AFFILIATED WITH OVER 85 EXPEDITIONS. >> AT THAT TIME, REMEMBER, THERE WERE NO JET AIRCRAFT.
• 18:00 - 18:30 YOU HAD TO GO BY SHIP ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OVER TO LONDON WHERE YOU OUTFITTED YOUR EXPEDITION AND CRUISING FROM THERE, THROUGH THE MEDITERRANEAN, THROUGH THE RED SEA, THE SUEZ CANAL AND THE EAST COAST OF AFRICA, LAND IN MUMBASA. AT THAT TIME, THE RAILROAD EXISTED TO NAIROBI. WHEN YOU WERE ON FOOT AND HIRED PEOPLE TO CARRY YOUR EQUIPMENT.
• 18:30 - 19:00 >> ON THESE EXPEDITIONS THAT SOMETIMES LASTED YEARS, EXPLORERS COLLECTED THOUSANDS OF SPECIMENS. THE ENTHUSIASTIC AMERICAN AUDIENCE BACK HOME WAITED PATIENTLY TO SEE WHAT THEY HAD FOUND. >> PEOPLE AT THAT TIME WERE FASCINATED AS THEY ARE TODAY BY
• 19:00 - 19:30 THE WORLD AROUND THEM. IN ORDER TO HAVE IT, IT HAD TO BE COLLECTED AND BROUGHT HOME. >> BROUGHT HOME BECAUSE SCIENTISTS HAD NO WAY TO RECORD WHAT THEY SAW IN THE FIELD. >> THERE WAS NO REALLY SOPHISTICATED MOTION PICTURES OR WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY OR TELEPHOTO LENSES WHERE YOU COULD STUDY ANIMALS WITH FILM AND SHOW THE FILM AND TEACH WITH IT. >> STILL, THERE WAS AN URGENCY AMONG THE SCIENTISTS TO SHARE
• 19:30 - 20:00 WHAT THEY KNEW. >> THE NATURAL HISTORY DIARAMAS EMERGE OUT OF A TIME WHEN WE FIRST RECOGNIZED THAT WE ARE LOSING THE WILDERNESS AND LOSING >> THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WAS DEPLETING NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE. THREATENING WHOLE SPECIES OF ANIMALS. >> THANKS TO THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT WE ENJOYED IN THE LAST SEVERAL CENTURIES, ONLY SMALL RESTRICTED PLACES TO
• 20:00 - 20:30 PRESERVE IT AT THE LEVEL YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE. >> SCIENTISTS AT THE MUSEUM DECIDED THE BEST WAY TO STIR UP POPULAR PASSION FOR SAVING WILDLIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT WAS TO RECREATE THEIR OWN PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH NATURE IN A REVOLUTIONARY FORM CALLED THE DIARAMA. THE EARLIEST DIARAMAS WEREN'T BIG AND CHARISMATIC LIKE THE ELEPHANTS AND LIONS, THEY WERE SMALL, DOMESTIC BIRDS.
• 20:30 - 21:00 FRANK CONSIDERED THE GREATEST ORTOLOGIST OF HIS DAY INTRODUCED THE IDEA OF THE BIRD SPECIMENS IN WHAT HE CALLED HABITAT >> CHAPMAN'S PRIMARY ATTEMPT IN DEVELOPING THOSE EXHIBITS WAS TO GROUPS. PUT AN END TO PLUME HUNTING, DESTROYING HABITATS, KILLING BIRDS FOR FASHION AND THE MEDIUM TO TELL THAT STORY WAS THE
• 21:00 - 21:30 >> THE FEATHERS WERE BEING USED BY DRESS MAKERS IN WOMEN'S HATS DIARAMA. AND CLOTHING. >> HE USED THOSE EXHIBITS IN FEATURED PLACES AND SPECIES THAT WERE ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION. >> CHAPMAN HAD PULL. HE APPEALED DIRECTLY TO HIS OLD FRIEND AND MUSEUM CONNECTION, PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT. IN 1903, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT VISITED THE ISLAND OFF FLORIDA
• 21:30 - 22:00 THAT WAS THE HABITAT IN THE MUSEUM. SEEING THE BIRDS AND THEIR FRAGILE EXISTENCE, ROOSEVELT WAS MOVED TO CREATE THE PELICAN ISLAND BIRD PRESERVATION. HE CREATED 50 MORE SUCH PRESERVATIONS. IT WAS A TEACHING TOOL AND IT WAS A HIT FOR THE PUBLIC.
• 22:00 - 22:30 THE MUSEUM WANTED MORE. THE MUSEUM HIRED A TAXIDERMIST. HE WAS A SCULPTURE. WITH A UNIQUE SET OF TALENTS, HE REVOLUTIONIZED THE FIELD. >> HE STUDIED SCULPTURE AS AN ARTIST AND APPLIED SCULPTURAL METHODS TO TAXIDERMY. WHEN HE WAS IN THE FIELD, HE WOULD CAREFULLY DOCUMENT THE
• 22:30 - 23:00 ANIMALS AND MAKE WHAT WE REFER TO AS MASKS. SO ALL THE DETAILS, THE FACE, THE NOSE, SHAPES AND FORMS TO THE HEAD. THEN HE WOULD CAREFULLY SKIN AND PREPARE THE ANIMAL. SOMETIMES MAKING PLASTER IMPRESSIONS OF LIMBS AND ONCE HE WAS BACK TO NEW YORK IN THE MUSEUM STUDIO, HE COULD RECREATE THE FORM, THE MUSCULAR FORM OF THE ANIMAL.
• 23:00 - 23:30 >> THESE ARE CALLED MOUNTAINS. THEY ARE NOT STUFFED ANIMALS. PEOPLE DIDN'T STUFF THEM FULL OF COTTON. INSTEAD, THEY ARE MOUNTED SO IT'S THE SKIN AND A LAYER OF PAPER-MACHE. HAVE YOU MADE PAPER-MACHE IN ART CLASS? WE HAVE ALL DONE THAT. IT'S LIGHTWEIGHT. YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED HOW LIGHT THE ANIMALS ARE INSIDE THE >> IT SHOWS THE METHOD OF PRESERVING AN ASIAN ELEPHANT. DIARAMA. IN THE MUSEUM, THE DRIED ANIMAL SKIN IS SOAKED FOR TANNING AND
• 23:30 - 24:00 SHAVED DOWN WHILE A LIFE-SIZE FORM IS BUILT. MODELLING CLAY IS APPLIED OVER THE FORM AND SKIN IS PULLED OVER THE FORM AND FITTED. NOW, THE ELEPHANT IS ENCASED IN A PLASTER MOLD AND SEPARATED
• 24:00 - 24:30 INTO SECTIONS WHICH STILL HOLD THE SKIN. THE FORM AND CLAY ARE REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH A LAYER OF PLASTER. THE SKIN AND PLASTER INSIDE COMBINE TO CREATE A RIGID FORM ONLY A HALF INCH THICK. THE SECTIONS ARE REASSEMBLED.
• 24:30 - 25:00 THE TAXIDERMIST MAKES ADJUSTMENTS AND THE ANIMAL IS READY TO EXHIBIT. >> DOESN'T IT LOOK REAL? REMEMBER, WE CAN USE OUR IMAGINATION. PRETEND FOR A SECOND WE ARE NOT LOOKING INTO THE MUSEUM. WE ARE LOOKING OUT ON ALASKA. WE ARE LOOKING OUT ON THIS WHOLE ENVIRONMENT. IT ALMOST COMES TO LIFE, DOESN'T IT? >> WHAT MAKES THE DIARAMAS SO STRIKING IS THE FAITHFULLY
• 25:00 - 25:30 DETAILED HABITAT CREATIONS AROUND THEM. >> OUR EXHIBITS ARE NOT SIMPLY AN ARTIST'S IMAGINING WHAT A TYPICAL HABITAT WOULD BE. THE CURATOR AND THE ARTIST TRAVELED ON LOCATION AND
• 25:30 - 26:00 DOCUMENTED A REAL PLACE AND COLLECTED INDIVIDUAL ANIMALS. >> THEY PAINTED OUT DOORS TO CAPTURE THE EXACT COLORS AND COMPOSITION. >> ALL THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN THE BACKGROUND PAINTINGS, THE GEOLOGY, THE TYPICAL WEATHER PATTERN, THE LIGHTING SYSTEMS DUPLICATE THE SPECIFIC TIME OF DAY, DAWN OR DUSK OR BRILLIANT IN THE DAY.
• 26:00 - 26:30 SO EVERY EFFORT WAS MADE TO DUPLICATE AN EXACT PLACE IN NATURE AND THOSE SPECIFIC, EXACT ANIMALS. >> ONCE BACK IN NEW YORK, THE PAINTERS GOT TO WORK. >> WE USED OLD RENAISSANCE METHODS FOR PAINTING DOMES, CATHEDRAL CEILINGS AND WALLS FOR PLOTTING THE SCENE.
• 26:30 - 27:00 OFTEN COMPOUND CURVES, BACKGROUND PAINTING AND GRID A SMALL SKETCH THAT'S THEN TRANSFERRED ON TO THE FULL SIZE CURVED BACKGROUND. >> PAINTER JAMES WILSON PERFECTED THE METHOD. >> WILSON WAS A TRAINED ARCHITECT AND APPLIED HIS METHODS FOR PLOTTING PERSPECTIVES, DRAWING
• 27:00 - 27:30 ARCHITECTURAL RENDERINGS AND PLOTTING DISTORTION ON A TWO-DIMENSIONAL SURFACE TO THE CREATION IN THE BACKGROUND. >> AT THE TOP RIGHT WITH THE CIRCLES HAPPENS TO BE THE VISUAL CENTER OF THE GROUP. IT'S ALSO THE EYE LEVEL. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH YOUR EYE LEVEL IN THESE GROUPS. >> FROM THERE, HE WOULD THEN DEVELOP A FULL CHARCOAL DRAWING
• 27:30 - 28:00 IN VALUE, LIGHT AND DARK VALUES ARE BRIGHTER IN THE FOREGROUND BECAUSE THEY DIMINISH WITH ATMOSPHERE BECOME LESS CONTRASTY AS THEY RECEDE INTO THE LANDSCAPE. YOU COMPLETE THE FULL CHARCOAL SKETCH ON THE BACKGROUND, SPRAY FIX THAT AND THEN START WORKING IN COLOR OVER THE TOP OF THAT FOUNDATION. >> AT THIS POINT, IT LOOKS ABSTRACT.
• 28:00 - 28:30 YOU CAN SEE PUTTING THOSE GLOVES ON THERE. YOU ARE VERY CLOSE. BUT, IF YOU DID GET BACK TO THE POINT WHERE THIS IS GOING TO BE A SCENE FROM, YOU FIND IT TAKES ON A GREAT DEAL OF DETAIL AND THE PAINTINGS LOOK MORE PHOTOGRAPHIC THAN MANY OTHER BACKGROUND PAINTINGS. >> IT'S AN INGENIOUS METHOD WE STILL APPLY TODAY.
• 28:30 - 29:00 IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL. >> THE EXPLORERS IN THE FIELD COLLECT SAMPLES TO CREATE THE DIARAMA'S FOREGROUND THAT EMPLOYED REAL PLANTS AND INSECTS FROM THE SIGHT. SOME SCENES WERE DRESSED UP WITH PAINTED WATER SURFACES AND SYNTHETIC SNOW. >> WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR AFRICAN ELEPHANTS OR THAT ANTELOPE BEHIND ME, THEY DON'T DEPICT A TYPICAL EXAMPLE OF THE SPECIES.
• 29:00 - 29:30 THEY DEPICT AND EXACT INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTED IN THE FIELD AND RECREATED BACK HERE IN NEW YORK. >> WITH UNIQUE COMBINATION OF THESE ELEMENTS, VIVID BACKGROUNDS, FOREGROUNDS YOU COULD ALMOST TOUCH AND EXTRAORDINARY LIFE-LIKE TAXIDERMY, HE MADE A KIND OF
• 29:30 - 30:00 >> HE WAS WONDERFUL AT CAPTURING A SENSE OF A RUSTED MOTION. MAGIC. IN POSE OF AN ANIMAL THAT REALLY EXPRESSED A CERTAIN MOTION OR A CERTAIN ATTITUDE OR MOOD, YOU KNOW, THE SHAMBLING ATTITUDE OF A BEAR VERSUS THE REGAL PROUD LOOK OF A LION VERSUS THE STATUE
• 30:00 - 30:30 OF AN ELEPHANT. HE CAPTURED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ANIMALS. >> ANIMALS WERE KILLED TO CREATE THE TIME CAPSULES, THE CONSERVATIONISTS OF THE DAY FELT THE DEATHS WERE IN THE SERVICE OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY. >> HE SEES THE DIARAMAS NOT ONLY AS A TOOL FOR CONSERVATION AND URGING FOR PRESERVATION, BUT HE ALSO SEES THE DIARAMAS AS QUITE
• 30:30 - 31:00 POSSIBLY THE LAST PLACE WHERE PEOPLE MAY SEE SOME OF THESE A LAST DITCH EFFORT TO PRESERVE THEM. CREATURES. >> EVENTUALLY, THE MUSEUM COMMISSIONED MORE THAN 250 DIARAMAS BETWEEN 1902 AND 2007 AND ORGANIZED THEM IN SEVERAL HALLS THROUGHOUT THE VAST BUILDING. >> IT'S SUCH A UNIQUE ART FORM AT THIS INTERSECTION OF ART AND
• 31:00 - 31:30 I MEAN THEIR ILLUSION BECAUSE THEY ARE THE WORK OF AN ARTIST. SCIENCE. EVEN THE MOUNTAIN SPECIMENS ARE ARTISTIC WORKS. THEY ARE CREATED WITH THE DISCIPLINE SO MUCH SO THAT THEY REALLY DEPICT AN ACCURATE SPECIMEN. >> FOR ALL OF THEIR ART INDUSTRY, THE DIARAMAS CAN SEEM
• 31:30 - 32:00 ALMOST OLD FASHIONED. THEY ARE ANTIDIGITAL. ACCORDING TO THEIR STEWARDS, THEIR EXIST TENSE HERE, REAL, NOT VIRTUAL IS THE SOURCE OF THEIR POWER. THEY HAVE A SENSE OF SCALE AND TEXTURE. IMPOSSIBLE TO REPLICATE ON A TWO-DIMENSIONAL SCREEN. >> THE REASON PEOPLE COME TO THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM IS TO SEE
• 32:00 - 32:30 REAL THINGS. IT'S ONLY BY CONFRONTING THE REAL THING THAT YOU GET A SENSE OF WHAT IT'S LIKE, WHAT'S ITS SIZE? WHAT DOES IT REALLY LOOK LIKE UP CLOSE? >> BY 2008, CLOSE EXAMINATION MADE IT OBVIOUS THEY WERE BEGINNING TO LOSE THEIR LUSTER. >> THIS HALL WAS INSTALLED IN 1945 ORIGINALLY.
• 32:30 - 33:00 MOST OF THE DIARAMA'S ARE THAT AGE. THANKS TO BLEACHING BY UV, MANY OF THEM LOOK TIRED. THEY HAVE LOST THEIR COLOR. THE PROBLEMS OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY WERE AFFECTING THEM. >> THE NEW HALL OF NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS WAS NAMED FOR LEWIS BERNARD. >> WE ARE OF THE SAME VINTAGE. I REMEMBER COMING TO THIS HALL WITH MY MOTHER.
• 33:00 - 33:30 OF COURSE, I CAME WITH MY MOTHER TAKING THE SUBWAY FROM BROOKLYN WHEN MY SON WAS 2 OR 3 YEARS OLD. THE MORE WE LOOKED AT THE HALL, THE MORE THE MAGIC WEARED UPON >> HE SEES TWO STORIES TOLD HERE. US. >> THE STORY OF WHAT HE DID IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE UNITED STATES AND ALSO THE STORIES OF THE ART, ARTISTS AND EXHIBITORS
• 33:30 - 34:00 THAT BROUGHT THEM BACK TO LIFE. IT'S EXTRAORDINARY. >> IT MAKES IT VERY REAL TO SEE AN ANIMAL IN A HABITAT. YOU CAN IMAGINE WALKING THROUGH THE GLASS THERE OR BEING THERE IN ALASKA. >> TAXIDERMISTS DON'T NEED TO IMAGINE WALKING THROUGH THE >> THE FIRST TIME I STEPPED INSIDE THE DIARAMA, I WAS ALMOST GLASS.
• 34:00 - 34:30 I STOOD IN THERE AND FOR AWHILE, I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHERE I WAS TRANSCENDED. BECAUSE THESE HALLS HAVE BEEN MY VERY INSPIRATION SINCE I WAS A >> HE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A TAXIDERMIST. FOR HIM, THESE DIARAMAS ARE SACRED GROUND. >> GOOD TAXIDERMY AND GREAT DIARAMAS REALLY INVOKE EMOTION. THEY OPEN YOUR MIND TO DIFFERENT WAYS OF THINKING AND THEY REALLY EDUCATE IN THE GREATEST WAYS BECAUSE WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU BE
• 34:30 - 35:00 ABLE TO GET CLOSE TO A MOOSE LIKE THIS? >> HE'S PART OF A TEAM OF TAXIDERMISTS, CONSERVATIVES AND ARTISTS WHO WORK ON THE RESTORATION OF THE DIARAMAS THAT ARE TREATED AS WORKS OF ART AT THE MUSEUM. >> THEY ARE SEALED REALLY WELL. THE ONLY WAY TO GET INSIDE THEM IS TO PULL THE GLASS OFF. THE MOMENT YOU PULL THE GLASS OFF, THAT'S WHEN BAD THINGS
• 35:00 - 35:30 GREAT PAINS WERE TAKEN TO ENSURE THEY WERE NOT DAMAGED. HAPPEN. >> CARPENTER RICHARD WEBBER BUILT ELABORATE PLATFORMS FOR EACH DIARAMA. TO PREVENT BAD THINGS FROM HAPPENING, EXTRA PRECAUTIONS ARE TAKEN. >> I PUT ON THESE MOCCASINS BECAUSE WE FOUND THROUGH THE WORK WE HAVE DONE THAT IF YOU DO NEED TO PUT A FOOT ON TO THE
• 35:30 - 36:00 TERRAIN OF THE DIARAMA, YOU REALLY DISRUPT THE SURFACE THE LEAST IF YOU ARE WEARING MOCCASINS. SO, THAT'S WHAT WE WEAR WHEN WE NEED TO ENTER. >> THE FIRST STEP IS A GOOD CLEANING. >> THEY ARE DIRTY, RIDICULOUSLY DUSTY. THE PAPER HAS DEGRADED. IT'S CURLED. I TRY TO BEND IT BACK. IT CRACKS RIGHT AWAY. IT'S QUITE FRAGILE.
• 36:00 - 36:30 >> CLEANING WON'T BE ENOUGH FOR THESE FADED BROWN BEARS. THEY NEED A MAKEOVER. >>> THIS ICONIC DIARAMA WAS CREATED IN 1942. IT DEPICTS A SCENE OF THE SNOW COVERED PINNACLES IN THE ISLANDS OF ALASKA. >> I WANTED TO BE A TAXIDERMIST AND FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THESE MEN, CLARK, ROCKWELL.
• 36:30 - 37:00 TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON THEIR PIECES HAS BEEN THE MOST AMAZING DREAM COME TRUE. >> THE MUSEUM BORROWED THREE SPECIMEN FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM. VINTAGE BEARSKINS ALMOST 100 YEARS OLD. FOR ME, THIS IS CHRISTMAS MORNING. IT MIGHT AS WELL BE. THIS IS FUN. >> THEY ARE THE SAME AGE AS THE MUSEUM'S BROWN BEARS. THE BORROWED BEARS ARE ALSO ALASKAN. >> LOOKING AT HOW RICH THE BROWNS ARE.
• 37:00 - 37:30 IF YOU LOOK AT THE MOUNTS, THEY ARE VERY, VERY BLOND ALL DOWN THE ARMS OF THE BEARS ARE WHAT GET THE DARKEST. THE ARMS. THIS IS REALLY GREAT REFERENCE. >> COLORS ARE SPECTACULAR. >> THEY REALLY ARE. >> USING THE SMITHSONIAN BEARS AS A GUIDE, THEY MIX COLORS AND BEGIN.
• 37:30 - 38:00 ♪♪
• 38:00 - 38:30 >> I SPRAYED THAT COLOR ON THE SHOULDERS AND BROUGHT IT DOWN TO THE CHEST A LITTLE BIT. >> I THINK THE HEAD IS STARTING TO BELONG TO THE BODY. WHAT DO YOU THINK? THAT'S ALWAYS A GOOD THING. >> GOOD.
• 38:30 - 39:00 SO, NEXT WOULD BE TO TAKE THAT GENERAL BODY COLOR AND START FLICKING AWAY AT THE DARKS AND THE HEAD. >> IT TOOK SIX MONTHS FOR THE TEAM TO RESTORE THE BEARS TURNING THESE BLONDS INTO THE YOUNG BRUNETTES THEY HAD ONCE EVERY MEMBER OF THE RESTORATION TEAM HAS A FAVORITE. BEEN. CONSERVATOR JULIA IS FOND OF A SQUIRREL. >> I PARTICULARLY LIKE THIS SQUIRREL DIARAMA.
• 39:00 - 39:30 >> IT YELLOWED OVER THE YEARS. >> THE VIEWER IS CLOSE TO THAT SO THE EXTENT OF THE ILLUSION HAS TO BE, YOU KNOW, HAS TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE FROM A SHORT >> THE CONSERVATION TEAM CAME UP WITH A CERAMIC FIBER INSULATION DISTANCE. MATERIAL AND SCULPTED SEVERAL WINTER FOREGROUNDS.
• 39:30 - 40:00 IT IS THE TINIEST DETAIL THAT BRINGS THESE SCENES TO LIFE. >> I RECEIVED, IN THE MAIL, A BOX WITH SOME FRESH ANTELOPE SO, NOW WE CAN CLIMB BACK INTO THE DIARAMA AND DEPOSIT THESE BY DROPPINGS.
• 40:00 - 40:30 THE SPECIMEN TO ADD ANOTHER LEVEL OF REALISM TO THE DIARAMA. >> THE JOB OF PREPARING AND DROPPING THE DROPPINGS FALLS TO >> THIS IS THE ANTELOPE DROPPINGS. JULIA. AS THEY WERE COLLECTED AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. THEY ARE NOT VERY CRUMBABLY OR ANYTHING. BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN THE DIARAMA FOR A LONG TIME, IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO CONSOLIDATE THEM, TO GIVE THEM EXTRA
• 40:30 - 41:00 SO, WE ARE USING A STABLE ADHESIVE THAT'S IN A DILUTE STRENGTH. SOLUTION WITH ACETONE AND THEN WE'LL LET THEM DRY AND INSTALL THEM IN THE DIARAMA. WE REFERENCED A NUMBER OF PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY TRACKERS WHO WERE OUT AND BASICALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO TELL THESE DROPPINGS FROM OTHER TYPES OF DROPPINGS.
• 41:00 - 41:30 THEY WERE PRINTED OUT AND WE BRING THEM IN TO FORM OUR ARRANGEMENT.
• 41:30 - 42:00 >> THIS LIFE AT THE MUSEUM, WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU GET REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE DROPPINGS? >> OR THE MOISTNESS OF A DEER'S NOSE? OR THE TEXTURE OF ALASKAN EEL GRASS? OR THE PERFECT COLOR OF FERN? THE TEAM'S PASSION FOR THEIR WORK IS OBVIOUS.
• 42:00 - 42:30 AS IS THEIR UNFLINCHING ATTENTION TO DETAIL. >> WHAT I'M DOING HERE, WE HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHISKERS ON THE FEMALE JAGUAR. I HAVE ALREADY DONE IT FOR THE MALE. THE BEST MATERIAL TO USE IS THE HAIRS FROM THESE AFRICAN WHAT I'M DOING IS, I HAVE ACTUALLY TAKEN A WHISKER FROM PORCUPINES. THE JAGUAR AND I'M TRYING TO GO THROUGH THEM TO FIND THE RIGHT DIAMETER OF HAIR THAT IS GOING TO RESEMBLE THE WHISKER THE
• 42:30 - 43:00 BEST. >> THE EYE. IT'S AMAZING. THIS IS JUST DRY COLOR. YOU JUST BRUSH IT INTO THE STRUCTURE OF THE FEATHER AND IT RESTORES THE COLOR. IT JUST BINDS TO THE FEATHERS. >> MY TECHNIQUE IS USING A RELATIVELY TINY BRUSH TO WORK
• 43:00 - 43:30 VERY LOCALLY SO THAT WHEREVER THE PAINT IS ACTUALLY IN GOOD CONDITION I'M NOT TOUCHING IT. AND I'M TRYING TO BLEND IN MY WORK IN A VERY LOCALIZED WAY. >> AFTER TWO YEARS WITH A TEAM OF FIVE CONSERVATORS, THREE ARTISTS, ONE TAXIDERMIST, INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS, THE RESTORATION OF ALL 43 DIARAMAS WAS COMPLETE IN THE FALL OF
• 43:30 - 44:00 2012. >> I THINK OF ALL THE DIARAMAS, THE BROWN BEAR IS THE MUSEUM ICON IN THE HALL. TO SEE IT BEFORE AND AFTER, IT'S MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE BEING ABLE TO GO IN AND RESTORE IT. WE HAVE GONE WAY BEYOND WHAT I HOPED WE COULD DO.
• 44:00 - 44:30 >> HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE A DIARAMA? HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE IT AND EXPLAIN IT? >> IT'S KIND OF A PICTURE, A THREE DIMENSIONAL PICTURE OF AN ANIMAL AND ITS HABITAT. THE FOURTH PART OF THE EXPERIENCE IS US AND THE PEOPLE. DIARAMA WORK, IF NO ONE IS LOOKING AT IT -- >> IT'S A WONDERFUL THING TO THINK THESE DIARAMAS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE INTO THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THE
• 44:30 - 45:00 NATURAL WORLD, INCLUDING DETAILS THAT YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET IN YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET IT BY TELEVISION IMAGES OR ANY OF THE ANY OTHER WAY. OTHER WONDERFUL DISPLAYS WE HAVE HERE. >> TODAY THE MUSEUM CONSISTS OF 25 INTERCONNECTED BUILDINGS. AN EVER EVOLVING INSTITUTION THAT MAINTAINED, REFRESHED AND REIMAGINED.
• 45:00 - 45:30 >> THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTION. IT'S GOT TO BE AT THE CUTTING EDGE. SCIENCE IS ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD. >> EXPEDITIONS STILL GO ON. MORE THAN 100 A YEAR AND THERE ARE 200 SCIENTISTS WORKING HERE TO CATALOG AND CURE RATE WHAT GETS COLLECTED IN THE FIELD. >> THEY ARE COLLECTING. THEY ARE OBSERVING. THEY ARE STUDYING. THEY ARE ORGANIZING. >> FOR ALL THAT'S ON DISPLAY IN THE MUSEUM'S HALLS, THERE ARE
• 45:30 - 46:00 THOUSANDS OF SPECIMENS THE PUBLIC DOESN'T GET TO SEE. ONLY A TINY EXHIBIT OF DINOSAURS ARE ON EXHIBIT. THE REMAINING FOSSILS AND BONES ARE IN STORAGE BEHIND THE SCENES. STORIES THAT ARE YET TO BE TOLD. >> THESE ARE SKELETONS FROM MONGOLIA OF RAPTORS, A GROUP OF SMALL DINOSAURS CLOSELY RELATED TO BIRDS.
• 46:00 - 46:30 A TOOTH IN MATRIX. TAIL SPIKES FROM ONE. 150 MILLION YEARS AGO. THIS IS A CHUNK OF A JAW WITH A COUPLE TEETH STICKING OUT. >> MODERN EXPEDITION MISSIONS EXPANDED BEYOND THE COLLECTION, EXAMINATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE PHYSICAL SPECIMENS.
• 46:30 - 47:00 MUSEUM RESEARCH IS PUBLISHED. A VISITOR EXPERIENCE IS MADE RICHER BY THE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING DIGITAL. ANOTHER WAY TO ENGAGE A 21st CENTURY AUDIENCE. >> THIS MUSEUM IS VERY MUCH ACTIVE AND MORE INTERACTIVE. THIS IS A VERY EXCITING MOMENT BECAUSE IT REALLY TRANSFORMS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MUSEUM IN THE 21st CENTURY.
• 47:00 - 47:30 >> CAN'T FIND T-REX? THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT. >> IT CAN TAKE PLACE IN YOUR HAND, IN YOUR CELL PHONE. IT'S MOBILE APPLICATION. ANYTIME, ANYWHERE LEARNING. ANYTIME, ANYWHERE INTERACTING WITH THE MUSEUM ITSELF. >> STILL HOST OF COUNTLESS SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS, THE MUSEUM WELCOMES 5 MILLION VISITORS A YEAR. IT'S AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION TRAINING THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS
• 47:30 - 48:00 EACH YEAR. EDUCATORS CAN EARN A MASTERS AT TEACHING EARTH SCIENCE HERE. >> THERE'S SOME SORT OF BOUNDARY -- >> AND A PH.D. IN COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY. EVERY YEAR THE MUSEUM HOLDS A FILM FESTIVAL NAMED AFTER A RENOWNED ANTHROPOLOGIST THAT WORKED HERE FROM 1926 UNTIL HER
• 48:00 - 48:30 DEATH IN 1978. THE EVOLUTION IS ONGOING SIMULTANEOUSLY MODERNIZING AND >> WE SORT OF MOVE AROUND THE EDGES OF THE MUSEUM AND THE PRESERVING THE INSTITUTION. FIRST PROJECT WITH THE CENTER FOR SPACE AND EARTH, WHICH, OF COURSE, WAS A FANTASTIC LOOKING FORWARD MODERNIZATION AND TAKING ON SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE THEN WE MOVED OVER TO 77th STREET AND GET A COMPLETE BEYOND.
• 48:30 - 49:00 RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE CASTLE THAT SITS OVER THERE. >> AND IN 2012, THE RESTORE DIARAMAS AND THE REIMAGINED THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL HALL ON CENTRAL PARK WEST RELINKING THE PRESIDENT'S LEGACY TO THE MUSEUM. >> OUR CONSERVATION PRESIDENT WHOSE HISTORY IS SO TIED IN WITH THE HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM. HE'S REALLY PART OF THE FABRIC OF THE INSTITUTION AND ITS
• 49:00 - 49:30 >> IN ADDITION TO THOSE 51, ROOSEVELT WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE ORIGINS. FOR THE CREATION OF 150 NATIONAL FORESTS, FIVE NATIONAL PARKS AND FOUR NATIONAL GAME RESERVES. AS PRESIDENT, HE SPEARHEADED WILDLIFE PRESERVATION LAWS AND DESIGNATED 230 MILLION ACRES OF PRESERVE WILDERNESS. >> IT IS PR STORY. IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR HIM AND WHAT HE DID AS THE CONSERVATION
• 49:30 - 50:00 PRESIDENT, I STRONGLY SUSPECT THESE WILDERNESS LANDSCAPES WOULD NO LONGER EXIST. >> TODAY, MUSEUM WAITERS ARE HOPING TO MAKE THIS GREAT MAN LESS MONUMENTAL TAKING HIM OFF THE PEDESTAL. >> WE DECIDED TO MAKE ROOSEVELT HIMSELF. >> CAST IN BRONZE, THIS STATUE IS MODELLED ON TR ON A CAMPING
• 50:00 - 50:30 TRIP TO YOSEMITE. THEY HAD EXTRA HELP FROM A T.R. >> YOU ARE GETTING A VERY SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK OF OUR IMPERSONATOR. ROOSEVELT SCULPTURE. ONLY NOW JUST ARRIVED IN THE HALL. I'M GOING TO TAKE THE PACKING BLANKET OFF. >> THE STATUE INVITES VISITORS TO SIT NEXT TO THE PRESIDENT AND
• 50:30 - 51:00 CONTEMPLATE HIS CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE AMERICAN CONSERVATION MOVEMENT OR TO STICK YOUR FINGER IN HIS EAR. IN THE CENTER OF THE HALL IS A NEWLY INSTALLED BRONZE FLOOR MEDALLION BEARING A ROOSEVELT QUOTE. >> READ WHAT IT SAYS. THIS IS A QUOTE FROM THEODORE ROOSEVELT. >> THERE CAN BE NO GREATER ISSUE THAN THAT OF CONSERVATION IN THIS COUNTRY.
• 51:00 - 51:30 >> SURROUNDING THIS SCULPTURE, A COLLECTION OF ROOSEVELT >> ROOSEVELT COLLECTED AS A BOY WILL BE HERE ON VIEW IN THE HALL ARTIFACTS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE ARE LETTERS AND MANUSCRIPTS, A COPY OF DARWIN'S ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES WHICH HE READ WHEN HE WAS 10. >> AN OWL TEDDY PRESERVED WHEN HE WAS JUST 12.
• 51:30 - 52:00 THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT HALL WAS DEDICATED IN OCTOBER 2012 ON TEDDY ROOSEVELT'S BIRTHDAY. ALONG WITH THE RESTORATION OF THE MAMMAL DIARAMAS, IT TOOK THREE YEARS AND COST $40 MILLION. >> THIS PROJECT UNDERSCORES AND CELEBRATES THE CONNECTIONS AMONG THIS MUSEUM, THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION. >> IN ATTENDANCE WAS HIS GREAT, GREAT GRANDSON.
• 52:00 - 52:30 >> I THINK IT'S A GREAT REMINDER BETWEEN THE CONNECTION OF HIS CONSERVATION AND THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. I KNOW HE WOULD HAVE REALLY ENJOYED THAT. >> SEEING HIM IN THIS HALL MAKES ME THINK -- ART IS LONG. LIFE IS SHORT. WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE BEEN PART OF THE REINSTALLATION OF THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL FOR NOW AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
• 52:30 - 53:00 >> NOT JUST FOR PRESIDENTS AND FUTURE SCIENTISTS, BUT ANYONE ENGAGED IN OUR UNIVERSE. >> THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY IT WORKS. THAT'S THROUGH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND BUT TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE AN INVESTMENT AS THEY CERTAINLY DO AND THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD. AT THIS MUSEUM, WE TRY TO DO THAT. THERE ARE NO HEAVY APPLICATIONAL MESSAGES HERE.
• 53:00 - 53:30 IF YOU WANT TO HAVE PEOPLE DO IS TO COME IN, SEE THE BEAUTY OF EVERYTHING THAT LIVES IN THIS WORLD AND DEVELOP THAT KIND OF >> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS IS YOU BEGIN TO DISCOVER CONSCIOUSNESS. THAT SCIENCE IS NOT FOR EXPERTS ONLY. EVERYBODY CAN PARTAKE OF IT. YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE IT BROUGHT TO YOU IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT ACCESSIBLE AND EXCITING. >> IT IS A MUSEUM FOR ALL OF US.
• 53:30 - 54:00 >> THIS WAS A MUSEUM THAT CAME FROM THE AGE WHEN PUBLIC BUILDINGS WERE EXPECTED TO BE GRAND AND TO BE GIVING US AS THE PUBLIC, SOMETHING ALMOST NOBLE. YOU FEEL THAT ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT. >> OKAY, I THINK WE ARE OUT OF TIME. ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VISITING THE MUSEUM. SHOW ME THUMBS UP IF YOU HAD FUN. >> PARTICULARLY SINCE IT'S SO FULL OF KIDS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN
• 54:00 - 54:30 AND I HOPE ALWAYS WILL BE, THERE'S SOMETHING NICE ABOUT REMINDING KIDS THAT THAT'S THE PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE CAN CREATE A SENSE OF GRAND. IT WAS MADE FOR YOU. >> FOR YOU, YOUR PORTHOLE TO THE GREATER NATURAL WORLD. >> YOU COME INTO THE MUSEUM AND YOU LOOK THROUGH THESE WINDOWS, OUT ON TO THESE SOMETIMES DISTANT AND EXOTIC AREAS.
• 54:30 - 55:00 OFTENTIMES, WILDLIFE AND NATURE ARE CLOSE TO US AND BECAUSE OF THE GRAND WAY THAT THEY ARE PRESENTED ONE CAN HELP BUT FEEL AN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PRESERVING WHAT ONE IS SEEING BECAUSE OF THE BEAUTY AND THE SPLENDOR. THEY ARE GREAT TOOLS FOR NURTURING AN APPRECIATION AND WONDER OF NATURE.
• 55:00 - 55:30 >> IT IS FUN TO IMAGINE AS HIS GREAT, GREAT GRANDSON DOES, TEDDY ROOSEVELT ROAMING THE HALLS TODAY. WHAT WOULD HE THINK OF THE DINOSAUR COLLECTION OR THE BROWN BEARS OR THE NEW YORKERS WHO HOLD THIS PLACE DEAR? WE THINK HE WOULD BE PROUD. THE PRESERVATION OF THE ROOSEVELT HALL, ROOSEVELT'S
• 55:30 - 56:00 LEGACY AS OUR CONSERVATION PRESIDENT IS NOT LIKELY TO BE FORGOTTEN. I'M TOM BROKAW. THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS TREASURE OF NEW YORK. >>> THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF -- -- Captions by VITAC --
• 56:00 - 56:30 www.vitac.com