The new exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science has been a long time coming -- a very long time.Titled "Ancient Life," it tells the story of what life was like in what is now New Mexico 300 million years ago in the Paleozoic Era, when it was near the Equator, next to multiple seas, and had jungles and beaches, not high desert and mountains."I think people will be surprised at how different it was," said Spencer Lucas, the museum's curator of paleontology and the driving force behind the new exhibit.Lucas began working on New Mexico fossils in 1990 and has envisioned "Ancient Life" for many years, but the money to make it happen didn't arrive until 2023. That began a painstaking collaborative process of choosing what to include and how to present it, incorporating paintings and sculptures of what some of these creatures looked like when they were alive. "The technical articles we write are going to be read by maybe a few hundred people, mostly scientists and students who really understand them," Lucas said. "And then comes the exhibits, where the artists and sculptors bring this stuff to life, so to me, it's incredible. The other thing I realize is we have about 250,000 visitors a year, so in four years, about a million people will see this exhibit, more than will ever read the technical science.""This is our big chance to show over 300 fossils collected here in New Mexico," said Matt Celeskey, curator of exhibits at the museum. "Now, it will be on display for the public.
The new exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science has been a long time coming -- a very long time.
Titled "Ancient Life," it tells the story of what life was like in what is now New Mexico 300 million years ago in the Paleozoic Era, when it was near the Equator, next to multiple seas, and had jungles and beaches, not high desert and mountains.
"I think people will be surprised at how different it was," said Spencer Lucas, the museum's curator of paleontology and the driving force behind the new exhibit.
Lucas began working on New Mexico fossils in 1990 and has envisioned "Ancient Life" for many years, but the money to make it happen didn't arrive until 2023. That began a painstaking collaborative process of choosing what to include and how to present it, incorporating paintings and sculptures of what some of these creatures looked like when they were alive.
"The technical articles we write are going to be read by maybe a few hundred people, mostly scientists and students who really understand them," Lucas said. "And then comes the exhibits, where the artists and sculptors bring this stuff to life, so to me, it's incredible. The other thing I realize is we have about 250,000 visitors a year, so in four years, about a million people will see this exhibit, more than will ever read the technical science."
"This is our big chance to show over 300 fossils collected here in New Mexico," said Matt Celeskey, curator of exhibits at the museum. "Now, it will be on display for the public.