Journey to the new wing of the New York Museum of Natural History

2023-05-15 08:11:50

Time.news – Unlike the older rooms, such as those of ethnography, full of wooden and glass shelves and felt dolls, the new wing of the New York Museum of Natural History, which is called the Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation, the latest addition to the ten buildings of the institution since its foundation in 1869, is the beginning of a new era: after 10 years of work, made difficult by the pandemic, and with an investment of 465 million dollars (425 million euro), the Museum “is today a platform of interactive knowledge”, writes the Paìs.

And so the scientific character of the center, with new generation classrooms and a macro data centre, “goes hand in hand with its obligatory exhibition function”. In other words, of the four million pieces that the museum houses as a whole, “only about 30,000 are on public display” because from now on the virtual dimension of the new building, “with a touch panel available to the visitor, multiplies its potential ”.

And it is a promise for the future, with a precise objective: “To continue to tell the natural history of the world, from dinosaurs to galaxies, but in a contemporary key”, underlines the newspaper. The building, designed by Studio Lang, “is flooded with natural light from the skylights that dot the grand canyon it resembles while the diagonal motif evokes geological stratification.”

The new center also facilitates the visitor’s journey by establishing a continuity across an area occupying four blocks and linking buildings that took almost 150 years to construct, creating 33 connections between 10 buildings. The restyling of the New York museum has made it possible to incorporate, as Ellen Futter, president emeritus of the center points out, “the vision of the future as an imperative of the institution; the modern expression of a natural history museum, which has to deal with realities that are arriving such as climate change and biodiversity”, and which – in the more ancient buildings, remnants of other times – were certainly not even contemplated. “Interdisciplinarity is an imperative of the institution“, said Futter during the presentation.

“Gilder Center is designed to invite exploration and discovery, which is not only emblematic of science, but also an important part of being human. The aim is to involve everyone, of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, to share the excitement of learning about the natural world,” said Jeanne Gang, founding director and partner of Studio Gang. The large atrium is flooded with natural light thanks to large skylights, “is inspired by the way wind and water sculpt landscapes in nature”, curvatures, arches, caves while the texture, color and fluid shapes of the atrium are inspired by the canyons of the American Southwest.