American Museum of Natural History in New York to Open New Building

American Museum of Natural History in New York to Open New Building

This week, the American Museum of Natural History in New York is going to open its new building.

The structure is designed to connect visitors with their place in the natural world.

Small ants walk along a glass bridge in the new museum area, The Richard Gilder¹ Center for Science, Education and Innovation. Whales move along the walls in an immersive video. And the building's natural curves — inspired by canyons² in the American Southwest — are meant to show how all of it is connected.

The $465 million center, nearly ten years in the making, is set to open to the public on May 4.

Architect Jeanne Gang spoke³ at a recent media event about her design. She said she asked herself how the space could add to peoples' natural interest in learning. "This led us to look at geological landscapes, where one can see how the natural forces actually shape the material, shape our world," she said.

The Gilder Center is already home to more than a half million small creatures, part of an insect exhibition with 18 species.

It includes an indoor garden where visitors can see hundreds of moths⁴ and butterflies.

The goal is to get people "up close and personal" with the bugs⁵ and highlight their importance to the natural world, said museum entomologist David Grimaldi.

He added that insects have a bad reputation because of the very small percent of them that bite or spread diseases. But most insect species present no danger to humans and are a necessary part of the environment, Grimaldi explained.

Brightly colored butterflies fly around the garden, while large beetles⁶ eat old fruit.

And then there are the ants. The museum shipped in around 500,000 leafcutter ants to build a colony in the insectarium – or insect area. The small ant workers collect their leaves from one glass area, then walk across a skybridge to grow their fungal food in glass areas along the wall.

The ants needed some help getting used to the space. Scientists had to hold "training" exercises to show them where to go, said Cheryl Hayashi, the museum's science chief.

A new interactive⁷ show presents the ways our lives are mixed with the lives of other beings. "Invisible Worlds" puts visitors in different settings. These scenes show the proteins in human DNA⁸ and neural⁹ connections in the brain. Then viewers see the New York City skyline or the top of a rainforest.

"Through DNA, you are related to all life on Earth," a speaker declares.

The Gilder Center is also designed to bring the scientific process to the front, said museum president Sean Decatur.

More than 4 million specimens¹¹ from the museum's collections are now being housed in the Gilder Center. Some are on show behind big glass windows.

This "Collections Core" shows off a number of objects, from megalodon teeth to Mayan bricks to spools¹² of spider silk.

Building trust in the scientific process is more important than ever, said Ellen Futter, the museum's former president who oversaw¹³ most of the Gilder Center's creation before retiring in March.

"That is the vision: To help visitors see and understand our world more deeply," Futter said. "To appreciate that all life is" connected. "To trust science and to be inspired to protect our precious planet."

Words in This Story

museum – n. a building in which things are collected and shown to the public

immersive – adj. providing or characterized by deep absorption or immersion¹⁴ in something

inspire – v. to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

architect – n. a person who designs buildings

entomologist – n. a scientist who deals with the study of insects

specimen¹⁰ – n. an animal or plant collected as an example of a particular kind of thing

1 gilder   

镀金工人

参考例句：

2 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 neural   

adj.神经的，神经系统的

参考例句：

• The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
• The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。

10 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

11 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 spools   

n.（绕线、铁线、照相软片等的）管( spool的名词复数 )；络纱；纺纱机；绕圈轴工人v.把…绕到线轴上（或从线轴上绕下来）( spool的第三人称单数 )；假脱机（输出或输入）

参考例句：

• I bought three spools of thread at the store. 我在这个店里买了三轴线。 来自辞典例句
• How many spools of thread did you use? 你用了几轴线？ 来自辞典例句

13 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

14 immersion   

n.沉浸；专心

参考例句：

• The dirt on the bottom of the bath didn't encourage total immersion.浴缸底有污垢，不宜全身浸泡于其中。
• The wood had become swollen from prolonged immersion.因长时间浸泡，木头发胀了。