Museum exhibit on climate change draws from National Research Council reports

Abstract

With all of science to choose from for topics, the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has mounted its second exhibit about climate change since the museum's founding, in 2004, emphasizing the importance it places on the subject. The new exhibit, “Earth Lab: Degrees of Change,” which officially opened in the museum's compact quarters in downtown Washington, D. C., on 15 September, presents some in‐depth interactive displays about climate change, including a centerpiece “decision table,” a mitigation simulation game that challenges visitors to lower carbon dioxide emissions while also balancing costs and other factors. The exhibit is based in part on the America's Climate Choices Reports from the National Research Council, which, along with NAS, is part of the National Academies. Those reports indicate that climate change is occurring, is very likely caused by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems. Further, the reports include a series of recommended steps to respond to those risks (see R. Showstack, Climate change report calls for iterative risk management framework, Eos Trans. AGU, 92(21), 178–179, doi:10.1029/2011EO210002, 2011).