The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County presents Collapse?, a thought-provoking exhibition that draws on ideas from UCLA professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond's book "Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed". This journey through time and place uses the Museum's diverse collections in an original, multimedia-rich installation that explores the links between societies and their environments, asking why some civilizations decline while others flourish. Throughout the exhibit's seven-month run, live evening programs will offer Museum audiences an opportunity to further engage in these ideas. Visitors will travel through present-day Montana (not as pristine as it may seem); investigate the fate of ancient Maya civilization; look to the radical, and successful, solutions of 17th and 18th Century Japan; and examine contemporary Australia's ongoing search for a balanced approach to its environment. In the final section a virtual newsroom will showcase modern environmental and geopolitical issues as visitors are invited to consider how their decisions can have far-reaching impacts. The exhibit opens May 1. COLLAPSE? |
