How much life is contained in one cubic foot of earth or water? Turns out the answer to this question is "a whole lot."
Scientists use something called a biocube to explore the mid-water - the part of the ocean below the surface. The description of this area is great: it's cold, it's dark and everything is hungry. This is not a place for humans, so they send a remotely operated vehicle to place the biocube and then watch everything that floats through it.
Sound fun? You can make your own biocube and use it in more accessible areas.
This is a library display in those two big cases on the ground floor. No matter how busy the museum gets (and it gets really busy), I'm always the only person looking at those exhibits. I feel bad for the people who clearly spend a lot of time setting them up, having had that thankless task myself in a library I once worked in.
This display is about insects - they are the most diverse group of animals on Earth and make up over two-thirds of Earth's species. The Biodiversity Heritage Library is the largest open access digital repository of biodiversity literature in the world, and it's operated under the Smithsonian's auspices. Scientists can use it to identify new species and track variations in species they already know about.
What I particularly liked about this display is that the open books look like butterflies - nice touch.
Verdict: Two interesting displays - if you're at the museum for one of the larger exhibits, give these a glance as well.
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