SPECIAL EXHIBITS
Dinosaurs Around the World exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science
DINOSAURS AROUND THE WORLD: THE GREAT OUTDOORS
JUNE 8, 2024 - JANUARY 5, 2025
Embark on a globetrotting expedition around the world to discover the Age of Reptiles!
In this specially constructed outdoor version of the popular Dinosaurs Around the World exhibition, you will be whisked back in time on a dinosaur adventure to before the continents as we know them existed.
With advanced animatronics, a multi-layered narrative, cutting-edge research, in an outdoor environment surrounded by nature, you’ll experience the Age of Reptiles brought back to life!
Grab your prehistoric passport to Pangea and see animatronic dinosaurs such as the mighty T. rex of North America, the bi-pedal predator Herrerasaurus, one of the first dinosaurs to appear on Earth, the bizarre, bony-crested Oviraptor from Mongolia, and more!
Check out our calendar for related special events.
COST: The exhibit is included with Museum admission or is free for Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation Members.
Note: Museum will be closed: July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Dinosaurs Around the World is produced by Imagine Exhibitions. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Nissan, Entergy, Trustmark Bank, Regions Bank, H.F. McCarty, Jr. Family Foundation, and other generous sponsors.
A hospitality that is uniquely southern, an embrace of diversity that is distinctly Jackson.
Unique museums, Civil Rights experiences, educational and entertaining family-fun, historic districts and neighborhoods and more: Jackson's attractions offer something for every age, interest, and ability.
UPCOMING EXHIBIT:
MINDBENDER MANSION
January 18, 2025 - May 4, 2025
Enter the wonderfully puzzling world of Mindbender Mansion, an eclectic place full of brainteasers and interactive challenges guaranteed to test the brain power and problem solving skills of even the most experienced puzzlers!
Visitors to this fun and quirky mansion are invited to join the Mindbender Society by gathering hidden clues and secret passwords scattered throughout the various thematic rooms of the house.
The clues and passwords are revealed by solving select brainteasers and group challenges. Think outside the box and collaborate with your fellow mansion guests to meet individual and group challenges, which include manipulating a tilt table, keeping up with a conveyer belt, and disco hopscotch spelling.
Math, science, and technology educational content are woven into the puzzles, videos, and group challenges found inside Mindbender Mansion. At the heart of the exhibit is the essential scientific task of problem solving and critical thinking. The puzzles are an excellent tool for explaining mathematical and physical science concepts. In order to solve these puzzles, you must identify patterns, think ahead, use logical reasoning, and look at the problems from different perspectives, setting aside preconceived ideas.
The videos in each of the four Clue Vaults explain neuroscience-based principles, and tell the story of several inventors who have used problem solving skills to come up with new solutions to old problems.
Additionally, the popular group challenges require communication, collaboration, leadership, and teamwork skills – skills that are critical in solving the challenges facing today’s businesses and communities.
Adults, families, children and school groups alike will enjoy exercising their minds as they try to master each of the 11 individual brainteasers and the three large-scale group activities in this fun and unconventional exhibit!
So incredibly engaging and hands-on for everyone that it’s fun for families of all ages and generations. Grandparents, parents and children of all ages learn from each other as they work together to solve the various brainteasers and group challenges.
A perfect exhibit for school groups, providing teachers with opportunities to engage their students in inventive, out-of-the classroom problem solving that requires mathematics, builds on prior knowledge, inspires teamwork and demands creativity. Mindbender Mansion is especially popular with middle and high school-aged groups.
The exhibit is included with your Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation Membership.
Mindbender Mansion was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Feild Co-Operative Association, The Walker Foundation, and other generous sponsors.
UPCOMING EXHIBIT:
BACKYARD adventures
May 24, 2025 – January 4, 2026
Experience an exhibition all about the science in your own backyard!
Created by the renowned Scitech in Perth, Australia, Backyard Adventures invites you to discover the scientist within yourself, showcasing how science is woven into the fabric of your daily experiences.
The exhibit celebrates the joy of outdoor play and highlights its impact on both physical and mental well-being.
Topics include the:
biological interactions between plants and insects
zoology of nocturnal animals
horticulture of growing giant vegetables
mathematics needed to lay brick for patios, and much more.
The exhibit is included with museum admission or Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation Membership.
Backyard Adventures is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation and other generous sponsors.
PAST EXHIBITS:
ATTACK OF THE BLOODSUCKERS
January 20, 2024 - May 12, 2024
Learn about mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, leeches, and other bloodsucking parasites in this skin-crawling exhibition!
Through 13 icky exhibits, guests learn the what, why, who, and when of how parasites live, work, and play an important part in our ecosystems.
Learn the repellant answers to questions and explore interactive modules:
Mosquito Cockpit: track prey
Tool Time: probe like a mosquito
WentzScopes: magnify a louse, flea, bedbug, tick and mosquito
Suckers Talk Back: learn of the bloodsucker’s ecological importance
Inflatable Tick: Mrs. Phillipa Tick grows on you
Matching Game: match the Gruesome Twosomes
TwITCHer: spin the dial with your right hand on the head louse
Mosquito Life Cycle: spin forward or backward from larva to adult
Suckers from Around the World: bloodsucking bats, moths, fish, lamprey, and birds
Live Mosquitoes: observe them in safely contained in escape-proof tubes
Live Leeches: which end bites?
COST:
This exhibit is included with regular Museum admission or Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation Membership.
Check out our calendar for related special exhibitors and events.
This traveling exhibit was developed by the Environmental Exhibit Collaborative and funded by Jane’s Trust, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Chabot Family Charitable Trust, and is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Feild Co-Operative Association, Walker Foundation, W.A. Taylor Foundation, Weyerhaeuser, and other generous sponsors.
PERMIAN MONSTERS: LIFE BEFORE THE DINOSAURS
MAy 27, 2023 - december 30, 2023
Note: Museum will be closed December 31, 2023.
Step back in time nearly 300 million years when bizarre-looking animals dominated life on land and sea!
Learn about the greatest extinction the world has ever seen. This unique exhibition brings the past back to life with fossilized skeletons and full-size life models of the animals that ruled the world millions of years before the age of dinosaurs, in a time known as the Permian.
The exhibition blends art and science with artwork offering a glimpse back in time through the eyes of award-winning paleo-artist Julius Csotonyi. Permian Monsters showcases an amazing collection of fossils and models from this relatively unknown period. View fossilized skeletons and reconstructed models of amazing creatures that dominated land and sea. Meet the top predator, the largest sabertoothed creature of all time.
The Permian Period ended with the extinction of 90% of all species. Find out how a huge volcanic eruption set off a chain of events that led to the greatest extinction of all time to make way for Earth’s next rulers: The Dinosaurs!
Permian Monsters is included with MMNSF Membership or Museum admission.
This exhibition was produced by Gondwana Studios, Tasmania, Australia, and is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Nissan, Henry and Martha Hederman Charitable Foundation, H.F. McCarty, Jr. Family Foundation, Regions Bank, Trustmark Bank, and other generous sponsors.
FROM HERE TO THERE
January 28, 2023 - May 7, 2023
Explore the science of how things move by land, sea, and air!
Lift, launch, and levitate as you experiment with hands-on exhibits that make learning about gravity, friction, and the laws of motion fun.
Ride a hovercraft to experience how air pressure works, adjust wind speed to form fabric into an airfoil, and float your sailboat to experiment with the effect of wind, rudder, and sail positions.
Turn up the heat to launch a colorful hot air balloon, operate an authentic canal lock system to move a boat from one water level to the next, and experiment with pneumatics, pulleys, hydraulics, and levers to see what kind of mechanical advantage works best.
From Here to There consists of eleven fun, interactive exhibits designed to spark conversation and encourage interaction among families, friends, and other museum visitors.
The exhibition is color-coded and divided into three main categories: transportation by land, sea, and air.
At the Simple Machines exhibit, use scoops, ramps, winches, and wheels to discover how simple machines can help move things across land. This ball-pit is fun for all ages, but is designed with the museum’s youngest visitors in mind.
One hundred feet of tubing allow you to send colored balls in a rushing channel of air from one Air Transport station to another. Watch the balls as they dart across walls, over your head, and appear at the other station in record time.
In addition to exhibits like Water Locks and How Do Boats Sail Into the Wind? that explore transportation by water, you can interact with exhibits that explain the principles of how things move.
Feel the friction at Carry That Weight as you try to move different weights across dirt, train tracks, and through water.
Find out which is the Right Engine for the Job as you explore how internal combustion engines work to power anything from cars and airplanes to lawnmowers and snow blowers.
The "From Here to There" exhibit is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Feild Co-Operative Association, Walker Foundation, W.A. Taylor Foundation, and other generous sponsors.
SPACE: A JOURNEY TO OUR FUTURE
MAy 28, 2022 - december 31, 2022
Examine amazing discoveries and explorations from the past of human space flight and meet today’s explorers who are shaping our future destiny in the universe!
Touch pieces of the Moon and Mars
Ride a self-powered centrifuge
Tour a full-scale future lunar habitat and work station
Get an up-close view of next-generation spacecraft and technology, and
Interactively plan a trip to Mars.
This child-friendly exhibit features the most advanced interactives, immersive environments, and artifacts to bring this epic story to life.
The Space: A Journey to Our Future exhibit is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Nissan, Entergy, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Trustmark Bank, Regions, and other generous sponsors.
GAME CHANGERS
January 28, 2022 - April 24, 2022
Get your game on! Discover how innovation has shaped the video game industry. Game Changers takes you on a fascinating journey, exploring the past and uncovering the future of gaming.
The exhibit examines how the intersection of audio, storytelling, graphics, and gameplay creates the immersive environment of current video gaming systems.
Live the video game evolution from memorable Pong to the photorealistic, immersive games of today
Explore over 120 of the most influential games that have transformed the gaming scene, and test your skills with 16 games that have significantly changed the gaming experience, including Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Angry Birds, Space Invaders, Flower, and Adventure.
PLAY
Step inside a game and become a video game character - using Kinect technology, try out different costumes and accessories from your favorite characters
Create your own 8-bit character on a large-scale pixel wall
Play a game developed for people with vision loss, and discover how the gaming experience changes when the graphics are removed
Working with a partner, operate a supersized NES controller to play a game of Super Mario Bros
Play Tetris on a giant Game Boy
Play a sound-matching game and test your knowledge of retro video game music
LEARN
Discover original concept art, storyboards, level designs, and scripts of some of the most influential games ever developed
Listen to experts from the industry explain how they develop the games you love
Explore iconic video game music and sound to learn how it has changed the gaming experience
EXPLORE
Explore the technologies that game creators use to develop increasingly sophisticated storylines, graphics, gameplay, and audio
Experiment with augmented reality and virtual reality and see how these technologies may alter the gaming experience
Examine future video game trends and imagine what gaming could be!
Game Changers is a traveling exhibition developed and produced by the Canada Science and Technology Museum and managed by Science North in partnership with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Electronic Arts.
The Game Changers exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the MS Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Feild Cooperative Association, Sanderson Farms, Inc., The Walker Foundation, H.F. McCarty Jr. Family Foundation, W.A. Taylor Foundation, and other generous sponsors.
WILD WEATHER
MAY 29, 2021 - DECEMBER 31, 2021
This exciting, highly interactive exhibit illustrates severe weather as a powerful and unpredictable force.
Visitors of all ages will be immersed in the science of severe weather. Delve into current severe weather science, discover cutting edge technology, and investigate the stories of scientists, forecasters, and passionate enthusiasts. You'll leave feeling like you've been saturated in severe weather elements.
Eight exhibit zones lead you through a series of Wild Weather experiences to gain a better understanding of the science behind severe weather, emerging technologies, and forecasting techniques and hear the stories of people who are working to better understand and mitigate severe weather impacts.
From thunderstorms to summer heat waves, hurricanes to blizzards, uncover the science behind the weather all around us and learn how exciting new discoveries are unraveling many of weather’s mysteries.
Fly through the eye of a hurricane, create a mini-tornado and dance up a storm as the weather around you responds to your movements, and get blown away in a staged hurricane photo op.
This exhibit is included with museum admission or MS Museum of Natural Science Foundation Membership.
Click here for museum admission, hours, and directions.
Wild Weather is developed and produced by Science North in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Nissan, Regions Bank, Trustmark, Weyerhaeuser, and other generous sponsors.
in our own backyard
Dr. Zeb Hogan
Photo Credit: Courtesy Brant Allen
January 18, 2020 - April 26, 2020
June 8, 2019 - January 5, 2020
Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants
Open NOW - April 11, 2021
This interactive exhibition based on the Nat Geo WILD series "Monster Fish," showcases the results of Dr. Zeb Hogan's decade-long search for the world's largest freshwater fish.
the robot zoo
January 18, 2020 - April 26, 2020
Explore the biomechanics of complex animal robots to discover how real animals work.
Machinery in the robot animals simulates the body parts of their real-life counterparts. In the robot animals, muscles become pistons, intestines become filtering pipes and brains become computers.
A fascinating combination of science, technology and fun, “The Robot Zoo” brings STEM into the visitor’s minds with fun.
dinosaurs around the world
June 8, 2019 - january 5, 2020
Explore the world of Pangea – from the ferocious plains of Africa to the tropical beaches of Antarctica – and discover 13 ANIMATRONIC DINOSAURS, educational activities, a touchable fossil, authentic casts, & more!
Click here to see the video.
Dive into an underwater adventure and explore the science of watersheds, aquatic animals, and our ocean in Ocean Bound!, a national traveling exhibit at MDWFP’s Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, from January 26, 2019 – May 12, 2019.
“We’re hosting this exhibit so our visitors can see how everyone’s actions on land affect our ocean and to give families a fun environmental science learning experience,” says Charles Knight, Museum Director.
Get a unique and breathtaking introduction to the majesty of the ocean in Ocean Bound! Explore the ocean’s vast diversity and come to understand our connection to it through more than 65 eye-popping aquatic species and ecosystems, hi-definition video, and hands-on activities.
Journey through watersheds to see how everyone’s actions on land affect our ocean:
Make it rain in a 3-D watershed model,
Pilot a full-size “submersible” from mountain stream all the way to the ocean, discovering aquatic species and habitats along the way,
Be a biologist and find out fun facts about these animals and their environments,
Guide “water” safely through a hazardous maze - but watch out for oil, mined metals, and animal waste,
Turn cranks to divert “pollutants” as they travel through stormwater drains in an 8-station interactive ball machine,
Curl up with a book or play with early childhood exhibits inside the Riverside Clubhouse.
In this interactive exhibit, you and your family will:
Understand the science of watersheds, and how watersheds affect animals, ecosystems, our ocean and Planet Earth,
Explore what makes a healthy watershed, and recognize threats to water resources such as water quality and quantity,
Learn how science can help to improve watersheds, and be inspired to seek knowledge about your watershed,
Be empowered to change behaviors to help aquatic animals and ecosystems,
Be part of a long-term solution to protect vital watershed resources.
What can YOU do in your watershed to protect our ocean? Find out in Ocean Bound!
Touring the exhibit is included with museum admission: $6 for adults, $5 for seniors (ages 60 and up), $4 for youth ages 3-18, under age 3 are free. Museum Members are free.
The museum is open Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Ocean Bound!, was developed by the Sciencecenter and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Feild Co-operative Association, Inc., Sanderson Farms, Inc., The Walker Foundation, Ergon, and Trustmark.
In the Dark
September 29, 2018 - December 31, 2018
The dark - a place of mystery.
In the dark layers beneath the soil, under the sea, or in the shadows of night, unseen worlds teeming with life are illuminated in this enlightening exhibition.
Crawl inside a giant bat head, experience life as a termite, and explore the worlds of bobcats, skunks, and cicadas.
Plus, learn how birds find their way flying at night, how bats use echolocation, and how some species have adapted to life in the dark!
In the Dark: a traveling exhibit organized by the Cincinnati Museum Center. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Regions Bank, the H.F. McCarty, Jr. Family Foundation, the W.A. Taylor Foundation, and other generous sponsors.
MAY 19, 2018 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2018
“The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!®” Exhibit
What’s even more amazing than explorer and adventurer Robert Ripley’s legendary compendium of oddities, anomalies, and fantastic feats? The science that underlies them.
This highly interactive exhibit is an adventure through the remarkable realms of scientific discoveries and real artifacts from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!®
Go placed you’ve never imagined and follow your natural curiosity as you explore the real science behind the unbelievable. Through experiments, challenges, touchable specimens, real artifacts, computer interactives, and multimedia experiences, visitors of all ages will delve into the astounding world of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!®
The exhibit has something of interest to everyone:
Young children will be thrilled as they crawl through a life-size model of a prehistoric snake and revel at its incredible size!
Teens will be amazed by the portrait of Justin Bieber – made entirely of candy!
Adults will marvel at intricate micro-sculptures so small, they fit into the eye of a needle!
*** MEMBERS – “The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!®” Exhibit Premiere Party
Friday, May 18, 2018 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Join us to launch the exhibit with awesome food, fun, & friends!
The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is funded in part by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is a production of Science North, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and Ripley Entertainment Inc. Ripley’s Believe It or Not!® and Believe It or Not!® are registered trademarks of Ripley Entertainment Inc.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Entergy, Nissan, The Chisholm Foundation, Ergon, and other generous sponsors.
Conservation Quest Exhibit
January 27, 2018 - April 29, 2018
Learn about energy – what it is, where it comes from, how we use it, and why it’s important to use it wisely. Conservation Quest delivers important energy conservation messages, inspiring you to make thoughtful choices about energy use to help protect the planet and promote healthy living.
“Join the quest to learn about energy and conservation,” invites museum director Charles Knight.
See how simple actions can make big differences for families, communities, and the planet:
Find ways to save with light bulbs, electricity, and recycling,
Explore solar, wind, and hydropower,
Connect circuits to power up lights, alarms, and fans,
Take the interactive green challenge,
See how much electricity you use,
Check out the latest energy-saving inventions and learn about the future of energy.
The exhibit is included in the regular museum admission fee of $6 for adults, $4 for youth ages 3-18, and $5 for senior citizens ages 60 and up. Museum Members are free with current membership.
MEMBERS – “CONSERVATION QUEST” EXHIBIT PREMIERE PARTY
Friday, January 26, 2018 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Members – join us to launch the exhibit with awesome food, fun, & friends! Dress in your best “trashion” inspired or recycled outfit and win prizes!
Conservation Quest was created by Stepping Stones Museum for Children. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Feild Co-Operative Association, Inc., Sanderson Farms, Inc., The Walker Foundation, and Trustmark, and other generous sponsors.
Gems of the River: An Exploration of Scientific Fish Photography
by MDWFP's Mississippi Museum of Natural Science staff members
Matt Wagner, Katelin Cross, and Chazz C. Coleman
Spring 2018
"Gems of the River" is a startlingly beautiful photographic record of 15 of Mississippi's lesser known fishes.
Biologist Matt Wagner's specialized staging method aids in producing these beautiful scientifically accurate images.
"Gems of the River" can be seen in the museum's atrium. Come have a look at these stunningly, beautiful photos.
This exhibit of photographic art includes fifteen images by local amateur photographer Paula Van Every. The collection was recently selected for the Southern Exposure award for photography representing the culture and landscape of the Southeastern region.
Birds of the Dam features a community of water birds that have made their home in the urban-industrial environment beneath the spillway of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Amid the concrete and iron underpinnings of the dam, these elegant birds have adapted to erratic and often torrential water flow, flying fishing lures from human fishermen, and an array of dangerous litter including monofilament line, plastics, and metals.
Paula’s goal in pursuing this project was to call attention to the conservation risks and needs of these birds by focusing on their beauty and magic rather than on the distractions of their harsh industrial surroundings.
While much of nature and environmental photography is presented in a documentary manner, this collection utilizes an artistic approach to suggest that beauty and grace can be found in the unlikeliest places, and that art can have its own voice in promoting the interest of wild things.
Paula recognizes the Luminous Landscape Endowment for Photographers and the Katz Foundation of Atlanta for their significant financial contribution to support this project. Without such support, this project would not have been possible.
In pursuit of the environmental goals of the project, Paula has made alliances with the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District and Keep the Reservoir Beautiful, and has become engaged in their efforts to address the litter problem beneath the spillway and along the Pearl River. As one of several hundred volunteers, she has participated in PRV’s and KRB’s cleanup of thousands of pounds of litter since April. These connections have fostered other partnerships with a wide range of inter-related projects including Clean Sweep, a two-state cleanup of the entirety of the Pearl River from the Choctaw Indian reservation to the gulf on September 23, 2017.
Welcome to the most complex and far-reaching restoration of dinosaurs and their world ever created!
May 20, 2017 - December 30, 2017
"Be the Dinosaur: Life in the Cretaceous" is a groundbreaking fusion of state-of-the-art video game technology and traditional exhibits, featuring full-size dinosaur bones, a paleontology field station, a Safari jeep, and more!
Explore some of the greatest mysteries of paleontology in a completely interactive way. What was a day in the life of a dinosaur like? How might they have lived? What can fossil evidence tell us about the way extinct animals lived their lives?
"Be the Dinosaur: Life in the Cretaceous" is produced by Eureka Exhibits. The exhibit includes artificially intelligent and scientifically accurate dinosaurs with muscle, nervous, sensory, and digestive systems. A world-class advisory panel, including renowned paleontologists and interactivity experts, consulted on the exhibit's production. Eureka Inquire-Based Simulation Technology allows you to experience this lost world - singularly or as a group - with easy to use controls.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Nissan, Regions Bank, The Chisholm Foundation, and other generous sponsors.
"Titanoboa: Monster Snake" Exhibit
January 28, 2017 - April 23, 2017
Can you imagine a snake that's longer than a school bus? Well, get ready! Because, the "Titanoboa: Monster Snake" exhibition is coming to MDWFP's Mississippi Museum of Natural Science from January 28, 2017 - April 23, 2017!
From a fossil bed deep within Colombia's Cerrejón coal mine emerges Titanoboa, the largest snake ever found. This Paleocene reptile-from the epoch following the dinosaurs' demise-stretches our concept of what a snake can be. At 48 feet, this mega snake was longer than a school bus and was at the top of the monster-eat-monster food chain.
For the team of paleontologists, finding Titanoboa is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. This reptile, along with other significant fossils unearthed in the Cerrejón coal mine, provides the first glimpse of the earliest known rainforest.
"Titanoboa: Monster Snake" is an amazing look at a lost world and the incredible creatures that inhabited it! Featuring a full-scale model of Titanoboa and clips from a Smithsonian Channel documentary, the exhibition delves into the discovery, reconstruction, and implications of this enormous reptile.
"Titanoboa: Monster Snake" is a collaboration of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Florida Museum of Natural History, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the Smithsonian Channel. "Titanoboa" will travel to 15-cities on a national tour organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Sanderson Farms, Inc., Feild Co-Operative Association, Inc., Walker Foundation, Steve and Chris Zachow, Trustmark Bank, and other generous sponsors.
Watch a short video about Titanoboa!
"Goose Bumps!: The Science of Fear" Exhibit
May 28, 2016 - December 30, 2016
"Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear", developed by the California Science Center, provides an experiential and holistic view of fear science, examining the physiological, neurobiological, and sociological aspects of fear.
Engaging activities in Goose Bumps! allow visitors to experience fear in a safe and enjoyable environment, rate their response, understand the science behind the emotion, and reflect upon its personal meaning.
Fear Challenge Course
Get your heart pumping and your palms sweaty as you face some common fears, such as the Fear of Animals, the Fear of Electric Shock, and the Fear of Falling.
Fear Lab
Meet Mr. Goose Bumps, a larger-than-life figure that uses playful animations to show how the brain and body work together to respond to danger. Interactive experiences help you delve deeper into the brain systems and pathways activated by fear, and graphic panels profile scientists doing cutting-edge emotion research.
Faces of Emotion
Explore the facial expressions of fear and other emotions and interact with an experimental software program that tries to analyze and identify your facial expressions.
Fear in the Wild
Play the "Freeze Game," an immersive interactive video installation, and learn how animals survive in their natural environments.
Fear Theater
Catch a live demo focusing on the process of fear conditioning, and learn how scientists measure the fear response in the lab. Then watch a brief documentary-style video about the interaction between our collective fears and entertainment, history and culture.
Coping with Fear
Explore the way fears change over a lifetime and learn how to help children deal with their fears.
This project was supported, in part, by the Informal Science Education program of the National Science Foundation under grant ESI-0515470.
Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear was developed by the California Science Center.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, YoungWells, Regions, Nissan North America, Ergon, Steve and Chris Zachow, and other generous sponsors.
"Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies" Exhibit
January 23, 2016 - May 1, 2016
Take a rare and exciting look at the life of dinosaurs through their eggs, nests, and embryos!
This remarkable hands-on exhibition includes more than 50 authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all over the globe: including those of each of the major plant and meat-eating dinosaur groups.
Although dinosaur eggs were first identified in the 1920's, their scientific significance was not fully appreciated until the end of the 20th century. Today, dinosaur eggs are recognized for their enormous scientific value and for offering fascinating details and fresh insights into the behavior, growth and evolution of dinosaurs.
This exhibit presents new discoveries about dinosaur reproduction and behavior and introduces some of the fascinating people and science behind these discoveries. This multi-media experience helps give credence to long debated theories that dinosaurs and birds are closely related.
A captivating experience for all ages, the exhibit invites visitors to touch a real dinosaur bone, dig for eggs, experience hands-on exploration stations, and view animated video presentations featuring well-known dinosaur experts. Each science-rich section is enhanced with exciting life-like models of embryos and hatchlings, colorful illustrations of dinosaur family life, and stunning photographs of some of the world's most renowned dinosaur hunters and their discoveries.
"Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies", which is one of the exhibits in the "Hatching the Past" series, was developed by Charlie and Florence Magovern of The Stone Company, Boulder, Colorado in association with the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The Magoverns gained national recognition when their work was featured as the cover story in the May 1996 issue of National Geographic Magazine.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Feild Co-Operative Association, Inc., Sanderson Farms, W.A. Taylor Foundation, The Chisholm Foundation, Trustmark Bank, The Walker Foundation, and other generous sponsors.
"Baby Louie" Embryo Model 1996 (pictured above)
This model by paleo-sculptor Brian Cooley was commissioned by National Geographic for the cover of the May 1996 issue. It is based on preliminary scientific interpretations of the fossil hatchling "Baby Louie." This model depicts the fossil as an embryo of a therizinosaur dinosaur. More recently, paleontologists studying the fossil have discovered that its beak-like lower jaw lacked teeth. This new evidence confirms that "Baby Louie" represents a new species of giant oviraptor.
Photograph by Louie Psihoyos
Wolf to Woof: The Story of Dogs
May 30, 2015 - January 3, 2016
The largest and most comprehensive traveling exhibition ever created on the history and biology of Dogs comes to the Southeast's Best Attraction!
Overview
This exhibit sniffs out the facts on the unique role of dogs in human societies and what makes the human/dog relationship so unique. It uses the familiarity and love of these four-legged friends to explore science and biological concepts.
Description
We will never know exactly how or when it began. Some think that toward the end of the last Ice Age, about 15,000 years ago, a wolf wandered into a human community in search of food. Others believe than man and wolf had a symbiotic relationship which started thousands of years earlier and at some point along the way humans began raising baby wolves. However and whenever it began that bond which was forged long ago continues today.
Recent fossil and genetic evidence has confirmed that all modern day dogs are the descendants of wolves. Ancient clues from cave paintings and burial sites reveal that dogs and people have lived together for thousands of years. Over this time humans have transformed, through selective breeding, the wild canids into the first domesticated animal; the tamable, the trainable, the incredibly diverse dog. No other single species in the animal kingdom has their variety of shapes and sizes and their abilities as hunters, herders, guards, and companions have made them truly our 'best friends'.
The Exhibit has four themed sections including multi-media displays, artifacts, photo murals, and dioramas of taxidermied wild canines and sculpted modern dog breeds. Additionally interactive, hands-on components demonstrate key exhibit concepts. Enter a "howling area" and guess what dogs are saying, test your nose against a dog's great sense of smell, and climb into an avalanche scene to see what it's like to be saved by a search-and-rescue dog.
Section 1: Dogs come in all shapes and sizes
The domestic dog comes in a mind-boggling array of shape and sizes from the pocket-sized Chihuahua to a 200-pound Saint Bernard. From the earliest wolf-like-canines that lived thousands of years ago, humans have bred dogs for work and whimsy, creating the hundreds of domestic breeds known today. This section showcases the amazing versatility of dogs and how their appearance has changed through time-both naturally and through the help of humans. This section also addresses the geographical origins and history of select domestic dog breeds, many species of wild canines, as well as extinct canine relatives.
Section 2: A little wolf in every dog
Many dogs' behaviors have roots in the social world of wolves. This section explores why dogs and wolves do the things they do, and how and when they behave in similar or different ways. In domesticated dogs, and in selective breeding, people have chosen certain wolf characteristics and eliminated others. Dog breeders select for physical traits like size and hunting ability, and also for personality traits that make a dog trainable, friendly, communicative, and loyal. Canines-wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals, and dogs-star in myth and folklore almost everywhere in the world. This section also explores why people find the behavior of dogs and their kin so intriguing-whether that behavior eaves them feeling awed, frightened or just plain amused.
Section 3: Dogs have skills to help us
Dogs and people have worked together for centuries. From their incredible sense of smell to their stamina for long distance running, the amazing skills of dogs have made the lives of humans a lot easier. Dogs have served as hunters, herders, guards and warriors. Depending on the job requirements, early breeders bred dogs for speed, stamina, aggression, strength or size. Dogs were also breed for looks and style. Today most dogs are pets and companions and some have become assistants for people with disabilities. These relationships are depicted in this section, along with a final display of images of people and their dogs. There is also a space available for visitors to leave behind pictures of themselves with their own canine friends.
Section 4: What can we do to help dogs?
For thousands of years dogs have lived alongside people, helping with the tasks of everyday life. Over time, the breeding of domestic dogs has resulted in animals whose size, temperament, and loyalty make them far better suited as human companions than as members of the pack. The fate of many wild canines also depends on humans. Through pollution, hunting, and habitat destruction humans have altered the environment in ways that put wild canines in jeopardy. If those canine species are to survive, they need help to undo-or at least halt-the damage. This section explores what problems our modern world poses for dogs and what scientists, volunteers and everyday people are doing to solve these problems. It shows how coyotes have managed to survive and adapt despite human encroachment into their habitat, and how the two can successfully coexist. Visitors also learn about responsible pet ownership, wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park, the fight to save the endangered Ethiopian wolf, and current veterinarian science.
"Wolf to Woof: The Story of Dogs" was created by Wonderworks Exhibits Company and is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Nissan North America, Inc., Regions Bank, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Ergon, Inc., and other generous supporters.
The Museum is the 2014 Escape to the Southeast Travel Attraction of the Year.
Dinosaurs Land of Fire and Ice
January 31, 2015 - May 3, 2015
Encounter touchable dinosaurs and investigate clues about what the dinosaurs left behind!
Note: T-Rex inflatable is up depending on weather conditions and staffing.
This exhibit transports families back to the Cretaceous Period (145 - 65 million years ago), the time when dinosaurs last lived on earth. Children will go face-to-face with the prehistoric world.
The dinosaur exhibit, created for children ages 3-10, will feature two distinct environments and a variety of activities. A Field Research Station allows children to step into the role of a paleontologist by uncovering fossils with brushes and creating drawings of the dinosaur environment using fossil rubbings and tracings!
Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice is the first child-centered exhibit in the country dedicated to expanding the understanding on dinosaur habitat and range. While the warm environment is based on content that is familiar to most, the cold environment incorporates recent scientific research about dinosaurs that lived in cold climates like Alaska.
The steamy "Land of Fire" connects visitors with the prehistoric home of the Triceratops and T-Rex. Children can circle the land in insect costumes, buzz through a volcano with oozing lava, work through a swampy bog and identify an ecosystem of animals and plants.
No coats are needed for a trip across the "Land of Ice" where visitors meet two dinosaurs, a Troodon and Edmontosaurus, who made their homes in the cold climate of Alaska. Activities include: climbing rocky steps, breezing down an icy slide, and hopping across stepping stones in an icy river.
Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice utilizes new research about climates in which dinosaurs were able to survive and thrive. The discovery of numerous species of dinosaurs in the arctic is causing scientists to reconsider old theories about dinosaurs only living in tropical climates. It is now known that many dinosaurs, including Edmontosaurus and Troodon, lived in cold weather climates for at least part of the year.
The exhibit features three distinct sections and includes science activities to challenge all ages:
Land of Fire (a warm dinosaur habitat)
Land of Ice (a cold dinosaur habitat)
Field Research Station (with a Big Dig component)
Science inquiry skills are essential in the Field Research Station as you uncover dinosaur bones in a dig station and examine fossils to identify dinosaurs!
Detailed murals throughout the exhibit create an immersive, environmental aesthetic.
Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice was created by the Minnesota Children's Museum. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Sanderson Farms, The Walker Foundation, Feild Co-Operative Association, Inc., Trustmark, Steve and Chris Zachow, Wesley Ellis, Halla Jo and Norman Ellis, and other generous supporters.
Animal Grossology Exhibit
May 17, 2014 - December 30, 2014
FUN, ANIMATED, AND INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT FEATURING THE STINKIEST, SLIMIEST, AND DOWNRIGHT YUCKIEST CREATURES
Oozing with disgusting science and interactive learning games, the all-new Animal Grossology exhibit is sure to provide a unique perspective on the animal kingdom. The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, in conjunction with Advanced Exhibits, the exhibit's producer, invites you to experience some of the slimiest, stinkiest and downright yuckiest creatures on earth. The exhibition contains solid science and introduces it in a way that makes kids giggle. It is science disguised in interactive entertainment and kids are more apt to learn when they're having fun doing it.
You may think leeches are pretty gross but they're used after some surgeries to assist in the healing process. Did you know that cows are one of the gassiest animals on earth? Learn why the dung beetle is nature's living pooper scooper and why scientists are studying slug and snail slime production for clues in treating cystic fibrosis.
See larger-than-life bloodsuckers
Learn why cows are extremely gassy
Discover the mystery of the incredible tapeworm
Become a beetle and compete in a dung ball roll race
Find out who is the slimiest creature on earth
The exhibition was created and produced by Advanced Exhibits, a division of Advanced Animations LLC, in collaboration with Sylvia Branzei, the author of the GROSSOLOGY series of books. The books are published through Price Stern Sloan, a member of Penguin (USA) Inc.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Sanderson Farms, Nissan North America, Inc., Regions Bank, Chris and Steve Zachow, and other generous supporters.
"A Forest Journey" & "Nature's Numbers" Exhibits
February 8, 2014 - April 27, 2014
Take a hands-on Journey through the natural world and discover the shapes and patterns of Nature
A FOREST JOURNEY
What do cough drops, baseballs, and chewing gum have in common?
Find out at the Museum's exciting new exhibit "A Forest Journey". Inspired by the science writer John Perlin's Harvard classic A Forest Journey: The Role of Wood in the Development of Civilization, this interactive tromp through the world of forests sheds light on the history of the use of wood, explores the many forest products we rely on, and explains the relationship between forests and the benefits of trees. What's the difference between hardwoods and softwood trees? Why do leaves change color? How do trees eat? Learn all this and much more at this hands-on exhibit especially suited for middle to high school audiences.
NATURE'S NUMBERS
What do butterflies, snowflakes, and seashells have in common?
Find out at our second new exhibit "Nature's Numbers". Has your child ever noticed the pattern of spots on your dog or the delicate symmetry of butterfly wings? What about the shape of crystals in salt or the spirals in a seashell? Nature's Numbers is a graphically lush, tactile environment that offers infinite opportunities for children to discover the many shapes and patterns found in nature. Light, color, gravity, weather and many other natural phenomena are playfully explored through creative puzzles and hands-on interactive units. Perfectly tailored for elementary school students, Nature's Numbers teaches children to look more closely at the nature that surrounds us, and to learn about the math behind the nature. You and your child will never look at a leaf or snowflake the same way again.
A Forest Journey and Nature's Numbers were created by The Franklin Institute and are sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Sanderson Farms, The Walker Foundation, Feild Cooperative Association, Paul Benton, Plum Creek, Trustmark Bank, Chris and Steve Zachow, Opal Dakin, Halla Jo Ellis, Wes Ellis, Janice Larson, and other generous sponsors.
Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly
June 8, 2013 - January 19, 2014
See them with your own eyes - fascinating living reptiles from around the world!
Looking for some close encounters of the scaly kind? Then head to the Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly exhibit at the Museum.
See live snakes, colorful lizards, bizarre turtles, attentive alligators, and secretive crocodiles exhibited in naturalistic habitats. Most of the reptiles in the exhibit cannot be found in Mississippi.
Some of the reptiles in the exhibit include:
Cobra: the snake charmer's snake. The hood is made by raising the head and stretching the ribs of the neck. The venom is highly toxic and causes paralysis.
Water Monitor: a giant of the lizard world, this species grows to over seven feet in length. Strong jaws and a powerful tail make it formidable.
Green Tree Python: high in the canopy of the rainforest the green coloration makes this snake nearly invisible to predators and prey. It kills by constriction.
Mangrove Snake: An example of a venomous snake with short grooved teeth in the rear of its upper jaw. The bite is seldom dangerous to humans, but can paralyze a lizard or other small prey animal.
Chameleon: these delicate tree-dwelling lizards look like they're from another planet. Eyes that move independently, skin that changes color with a mood and a tongue longer than the body make them unique.
The exhibition is loaded with cool facts about reptiles and plenty of hands-on action. A push of a button and "venom" drips from the tip of a model rattlesnake's fang. Open and close a model viper skull to expose the long fangs. And did you know crocodiles and alligators talk to one another? You can learn to talk croc, too! At other stations, you can flip boards and push buttons to learn about these cold-blooded creatures. For example:
Snakes shed their skins at intervals - some a half dozen or more times a year.
Turtles and tortoises don't have teeth. Instead they have sharp, serrated beaks, like birds.
What's one way to tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator? The crocodile has a narrow and pointy snout; an alligator has a wide, rounded snout.
Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly comes to Jackson from Clyde Peeling's Reptiland in Allenwood, Pennsylvania.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by:
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Sanderson Farms
Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
Janet and Luther Ott Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson
Nissan
Regions Bank
Ergon
Chris and Steve Zachow
Marianne & Jack Dempsey
Sheila Smith
RAINFOREST ADVENTURE
January 26, 2013 - May 12, 2013
COME PLAY IN THE RAIN(FOREST)!
Rainforest Adventure is a multisensory expedition to the tropical rainforests of the world. The exhibit highlights the challenges facing these unique ecological wonders. Visitors are introduced to scientists and the ways they study rainforests. Children role-play as research assistants on a series of problem-solving adventures. Topics include: tropical rainforests around the world, conservation, scientists, animals, plants and global connections. Featuring over 40 interactive components, two computer games, a distance learning kiosk and plenty of expedition props - vests, flashlights, binoculars and more!
Climb a 9 foot kapok tree
Explore a gorilla nest
Build a model insect
Identify endangered species
Crawl through a tree log
Become a research assistant through assignments, costumes and props
Shop for unique rainforest related gifts in the Museum's Dragonfly Shoppe.
Rainforest Adventure was created by Stepping Stones Museum for Children and is sponsored locally by:
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Sanderson Farms
Walker Foundation
Trustmark Bank
Paul T. Benton
Chisholm Foundation
Feild Cooperative Association, Inc.
Chris and Steve Zachow
Brunini, Grantham, Grower and Hewes
Sean Wesley Ellis
Jackie and Avery Rollins
Karen Whitworth
Opal Dakin
Janice Larson
Halla Jo Ellis
Matt Holleman III
Dinosaurs: Big, Bad, Bold, and Back
Robotic Exhibit
June 2, 2012 - January 6, 2013
Take a journey back to prehistory when giant animals roamed the earth, swam in the seas and soared in the sky. Meet a T. rex up close, marvel at the long-necked Apatosaurus and watch the skies for the flying Pteranodon. But beware, these creatures look, move and sound like the real thing. This exhibit includes over 20 robotic dinosaurs, a rubbing station, and a fossil dig site.
Kokoro, the company that created these robotic dinosaurs, consults with distinguished paleontologists on all aspects of the creatures' attributes and functioning during development. Each creature is individually handcrafted and computer-programmed.
Join us for dinosaur related "Fun Fridays":
June 1, 2012: Dinomite!
June 22, 2012: Dino Discoveries
June 29, 2012: Dinobirds
Dinosaur Lecture:
"Dinosaurs of the South (and other prehistoric giants)"
August 7, 2012 from 12noon - 1pm
SPEAKER : Judy Cutchins, natural science author/educator, Fernbank Science Center and Fernbank Museum, (Atlanta)
Finding out about dinosaur life in the southern states is challenging. Unlike the Western U.S., complete skeletons in the South are rare. But paleontologists have uncovered enough fossil evidence to know that a variety of dinosaurs, giant sea creatures and land reptiles once inhabited what is now the southeastern U.S. Join us to learn just what amazing prehistoric giants lived in or near Mississippi and what the South was like 80 million years ago.
Shop for unique dinosaur gifts in the Museum's Dragonfly Shoppe.
"Dinosaurs" is sponsored locally by:
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
Nissan of North America, Inc.
Regions Bank
Dr. Ollye and Dr. Aaron Shirley
Chris and Steve Zachow
Animal Secrets
January 28, 2012 - May 6, 2012
Where does a chipmunk sleep? What does an eagle feed its young? How do mother bats find their babies in a cave? In ANIMAL SECRETS, families learned the answers to these questions and more as they explored the hidden habitats and secret lives of forest animals. Using imaginative role-play and hands-on activities, children discovered nature from an animal's point of view in naturalistic environments.
About the Exhibit: ANIMAL SECRETS was created by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Animal Secrets was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon. The exhibit was made possible with funds provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Additional support provided by the Collins Foundation and Meyer Memorial Trust.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by:
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
An anonymous sponsor
Chisholm Foundation
Feild Cooperative Associates, Inc.
Paul Benton
Plum Creek
Sanderson Farms
Trustmark Bank
Wheeler and Ashley Parker
Chris and Steve Zachow
Halla Jo Ellis
Sean Wesley Ellis
Jewels of the Sea:
Walter Anderson's Aquatica
October 6, 2006 - May 13, 2007
Visitors were immersed in the marine world of Walter Anderson with more than 80 works from the collection of the family of Walter Anderson. These works included watercolors, block prints, and drawings featuring aquatic animals that live in or near the Mississippi Sound that part of the Gulf of Mexico Anderson explored so often. Anderson's fish, crabs, shrimp, squid, and sea turtles are all exhibited alongside aquariums with their real life counterparts.
Anderson (1903-1965), a renowned artist from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, spent a lifetime exploring nature and interpreting it in his art. Anderson's writings in The Horn Island Logs reveal his awareness of the intricate balance of life lived close to the soil and water. This exhibit invited visitors to share Anderson's vision, seeing nature's creatures not merely as subjects to be painted, but as vibrant beings living in harmony with the Earth.
"The art of Walter Anderson touches the hearts of naturalists and biologists who share his love of the natural world," explained Museum Director Libby Hartfield. "We find a kindred spirit in an artist who carefully observed his wildlife subjects and sought to uncover the details of their existence."
Sponsors
- Stuart C. Irby Company
- Paul Benton
- Howard Industries
- Dudley Hughes
- Wade & Betsy Creekmore
- Feild Cooperative Association, Inc.
- Buffalo Peak Outfitters / Patagonia, Inc.
- Jack & Marianne Dempsey
- Avery & Jackie Rollins
- Ollye B. Shirley, Ph.D.
- Scott and Joye Steele
- Catchings & Lottie Smith
The World of Giant Insects
June 17, 2006 - September 10, 2006
The World of Giant Insects exhibit transported visitors to another world where bugs tower over people. Five hugely magnified robotic insects allowed visitors to more clearly observe some of the behaviors and adaptations that have enabled these creatures to thrive. A 19-foot-long praying mantis showed threatening behavior, causing its prey to freeze, to avoid being eaten. A 13-foot-long locust spread its wings. Two 11-foot-long rhinoceros beetles fought, each the size of a Volkswagen...um... beetle. A giant walking stick, over 21 feet long, displayed its protective camouflage. And at 15 feet, a swallowtail butterfly caterpillar is the biggest wiggler you'll ever see.
Also on display were three giant insect heads with mouthpieces the visitor operated by pushing a button. In addition to these giant creatures, there were a number of live insects on display. These giant robotic insects are from Kokoro, the company responsible for the Museum's fall 2005 exhibit of robotic, ice-age mammals. This time, on exhibit are animals still living on earth that far outnumber humans.
Sponsors
Janet & Luther Ott Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson
Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
Merrill Lynch
Trustmark Bank
Hunters of the Sky
June 23, 2007 - December 30, 2007
Children of all ages enjoyed this hands-on national traveling exhibit about raptors-the great birds of prey.
For thousands of years, raptors have gripped the human imagination, being revered as divine messengers, prized as hunting companions, and celebrated as symbols of power. Visitors explored the biology and ecology of raptors-eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, and the reclusive condor-diverse and complex birds of prey whose survival is fundamentally linked to humans.
In addition to life-size dioramas that illustrate the majesty of raptors in their natural habitats, Hunters of the Sky offered many interactive components to engross both children and adults and periodic showings of live birds of prey enhanced the exhibit.
Sponsors
Special thanks go to the following for their support of the
Hunters of the Sky exhibit:
- Regions Bank
- Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
- Merrill Lynch
- Mr. & Mrs. Alex Alston, Jr.
- Ergon
- Dudley J. Hughes
- Nissan of North America, Inc.
- Community Foundation of Greater Jackson
- Jackie & Avery Rollins
- Joye & Scott Steele
- Magalen O. Bryant
- Melissa & David Patterson
- Brunini, Grantham, Grower, Hewes
- Chris & Steve Zachow
- Deborah & Hunter Dawkins
- Deviney Construction Company
- Nora Frances & Vaughn McRae
- Rosalie B. Rotwein
- Ollye B. Shirley, Ph.D.
- Dick Hall
- Newt P. Harrison
- Hap & Hilda Owen
- Patagonia / Buffalo Peak Outfitters
- Drs. John & Connie Schimmel
- Robert Smith, M.D.
- Robert & Eleanor Weaver
Bone up on Bones
January 19, 2008 - May 11, 2008
Visitors explored the marvels of the human skeletal system and got an inside look at what makes up bone. This highly interactive health science exhibition focused on the connection between bone health and overall well-being. Visitors learned that bone health contributes significantly to their general health and that there are ways to positively affect bone strength throughout life, particularly during childhood and adolescence. The exhibit explored bone physiology, bone function, osteoporosis, and the importance of calcium, vitamins, and exercise to build and maintain bone strength.
Sponsors
Special thanks go to the following for their support of the
Bone up on Bones exhibit:
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi
The Bower Foundation
Baptist Health Systems
Feild Cooperative Association
Methodist Rehabilitation Center
Sanderson Farms
St. Dominic Health Services
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Dinosaurs!
May 24, 2008 - January 4, 2009
Amazing and lifelike robotic creatures, including the multi-plated Stegosaurus, took visitors back millions of years.
From a Protoceratops with hatchlings to a Tyrannosaurus rex, these robotic dinosaurs are fascinating to children and adults alike. Visitors heard them roar, watched them feed and care for their young, learned which beasts may have been fighters and active hunters of other dinosaurs as prey and which creatures fed on tender plants.
Sponsors
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Janet and Luther Ott
Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
Paul T. Benton
Chisholm Foundation
Nissan of North America, Inc.
Trustmark National Bank
Walker Foundation
Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes
Dr. & Mrs. Steve Zachow
Jackie & Avery Rollins
Paul Moak Volvo
Sustainable Choices
January 24, 2009 - May 10, 2009
This interactive exhibit, organized by NRG! Exhibits, explored the concept of sustainability and the choices that each of us make everyday. Sustainability, or meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, is an increasingly important topic as the world's population and consumption expands. The exhibit engaged visitors with thought-provoking content, interactive exhibits, and live animals!
Sponsors
Entergy
MS Department of Environmental Quality
Jackie & Avery Rollins
Emme Wells
MS Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resource Initiative (NRI)
Environmental Coalition of Mississippi
Mississippi 2020
Mississippi Council for Agriculture & Natural Resource Education (MSCAN)
Monsters of the Deep
June 13, 2009 - January 8, 2010
You won't believe your eyes. You won't believe their size.
Monsters of the Deep transported visitors into the underwater world of prehistoric creatures and modern-day aquatic giants. Exhibits featured skeletons and realistically fleshed-out models.
With their incredible teeth, gaping jaws, and long snake-like necks, the bizarre monsters of the ancient seas were unlike anything known today.
In this thrilling prehistoric world, huge carnivorous, marine reptiles filled the oceans such as sea turtles the size of a car. Although the creatures of the deep have changed over the past 65 million years, we are still fascinated with the modern marvels of present day monsters, such as the elusive Giant Squid, fearsome sharks, and amazing whales. The Museum was pleased to present this opportunity to experience the scale of these awesome creatures and learn more about the oceans they inhabit today.
Sponsors
Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Hughes
Janet & Luther Ott Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson
The Walker Foundation
The Chisholm Foundation
Feild Cooperative Associates, Inc.
Nissan of North America
Sanderson Farms, Inc.
Regions Bank
Dr. & Mrs. Steve Zachow
Dr. Ollye B. Shirley
Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl:
Home Sweet Home
February 13, 2010- May 13, 2010
Two beloved American icons came to life in this educational, interactive exhibit for children, Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl: Home Sweet Home, created in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service and sponsored locally by AT&T and the USDA Forest Service.
The exhibit helped bring kids to nature and nature to kids. Families were encouraged to spend time together outdoors and children were inspired to discover and care for the natural resources that sustain our world - our home sweet home.
"This exhibit was a natural fit with new programs that our education staff is implementing. For instance, Growing Up WILD is an award-winning early childhood education and training program for educators and caregivers that builds on children's sense of wonder about nature and invites them to explore wildlife and the world around them," explains Angel Rohnke, Museum Education Coordinator.
Local Sponsors
AT&T
USDA Forest Service
Anonymous
Dick and Sally Molpus
Feild Cooperative Associates, Inc.
Paul T. Benton
Plum Creek
Sanderson Farms, Inc.
The Chisholm Foundation
Trustmark National Bank
Dr. & Mrs. Steve Zachow
Family of Catchings B. Smith
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Press Release
Megalodon: Largest Shark
that Ever Lived
June 5, 2010 - January 9, 2011
This traveling exhibit highlighted the evolution, biology and misconceptions of Megalodon.
You've probably never seen jaws like these before. They belonged to a behemoth 60-feet long, whose giant mouth bristled with 276 teeth. They belonged to Megalodon, the biggest prehistoric shark of all time that cruised all the world's oceans more than two million years ago. The 60-foot, 2-million-year-old Megalodon loomed life-size in this mega-exhibit of modern and fossil sharks, named a "AAA Southern Travel Treasure"!
"Megalodon" was produced by the Florida Museum of Natural History with support from the National Science Foundation. The exhibit conveyed research findings of Florida Museum paleontologists, and showcased both fossil and modern shark specimens and full-scale models from several collections.
Local Sponsors:
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
Institute of Museum & Library Services
The Clarion-Ledger
The Walker Foundation
Comcast
Anonymous
Nissan North America, Inc.
Regions Bank
Dr. and Mrs. Steve Zachow
Mississippi Power Company
Mr. & Mrs. Dudley Hughes
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
This project was supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, creating strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibit do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
"FROGS: Beyond Green" exhibit
June 4, 2011 - January 9, 2012
The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (MMNS) offered visitors a rare opportunity to see 25 different species of live frogs and toads from all around the world.
Visitors to the "FROGS!" exhibit got an up-close look at frogs and toads housed in replications of their natural habitats from Asia, Australia, and South America.
About the Exhibit: FROGS: Beyond Green was created by the Audubon Nature Institute. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, the Janet and Luther Ott Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, the Walker Foundation, Institute of Museum & Library Services, Regions Bank, Nissan of North America, Inc., Chris and Steve Zachow and other generous supporters.
This project was supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, creating strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibit do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Amazing Butterflies
February 5, 2011 - May 8, 2011
Visitors transformed into caterpillars and journeyed through one of the planet's most amazing lifecycles at the "Amazing Butterflies" exhibit featuring a giant indoor maze, caterpillar tunnel and live butterflies. Visitors experienced the challenges of being a caterpillar as it morphs into a beautiful butterfly through a hands-on human maze of larger-than-life leaves, grass and trees. Along the way, they discovered the ways caterpillars move, what they eat and how other creatures help them achieve their transformation and marked their progress as a butterfly by stamping a souvenir garden card at eight stations before zooming out of the maze as a butterfly on "The Monarch Monorail!" After exploring the exhibit, visitors "flew" over to the Museum's Terrarium to see live butterflies.
About the Exhibit: "Amazing Butterflies" was created by the Natural History Museum in London in collaboration with Minotaur Mazes.
LOCAL SPONSORS:
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
Anonymous
Clarion Ledger
Paul Benton
The Chisholm Foundation
Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau
Sanderson Farms
Trustmark Bank
Chris & Steve Zachow
Feild Co-Operative Association, Inc.
Emme Wells
Jennie McIntosh
Ollye B. Shirley
This project was supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, creating strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibit do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
BUTTERFLY CAR TAG
If you enjoy butterflies, then you'll love MDWFP's Butterfly Conserving Wildlife car tag. The tag costs $30 dollars (in addition to the regular tag fee). Proceeds benefit the Wildlife Heritage Fund. Contact your local tax collector's office to get yours.
Lost in the Amazon
February 4, 2006 - March 28, 2006
Stephen Kirkpatrick's intimate photographs of the world's rarest, most important, and most endangered habitats.
After the Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Mammals
October 7, 2005 - January 8, 2006
Animatronic creatures from prehistory come stomping and roaring to life.
A T.rex Named Sue
June 18, 2005 - September 11, 2005
The largest and most complete T.rex ever discovered comes to Jackson.
Towering Termites
March 4 & 5, 2005
Fascinating facts, interactive activities and displays inside a 60-foot termite.
Witness: Endangered Species of North America
February 24, 2005 - May 29, 2005
Stunning photographs of 100 of our continent's most threatened animals.
Alligators!
October 1, 2004 - January 24, 2005
An unusual look at these amazing reptiles in the photographs of C. C. Lockwood.
Robot Zoo
May 22, 2004 - September 12, 2004
Robotic animals reveal the brilliance of nature's own engineering.
Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats
January 23, 2004 - May 9, 2004
Exploring the myths and realities of these mysterious creatures.
Wetland Wonderland
December 3, 2003 - February 9, 2004
Photographs from Joe Mac Hudspeth's book, In the South Wild.
Rhythms of Nature: The Pascagoula River
October 31, 2003 - January 14, 2004
Exploring the largest unimpeded river system in the continental U.S.
Between the Blades of Grass
June 19, 2003 - October 12, 2003
An exhibit of Walter Anderson's drawings and watercolors.
Prehistoric Playground
February 14, 2003 - May 16, 2003
The early lives of dinosaurs, from eggs to hatchlings to playful infants.
The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation
October 11, 2002 - January 31, 2003
Celebrating the Louisiana Purchase and the natural wonder of the Mighty Mississippi.
The Hidden World of Bears
September 19, 2002 - January 15, 2003
An intimate look at bears and their behavior through captivating photography.
Remains of a Rainbow: Rare Plants & Animals of Hawaii
May 31, 2002 - August 14, 2002
Breathtaking photos from the islands by David Liitschwager and Susan Middleton.
Wilder Mississippi
November 24, 2001 - February 28, 2002
"Like being let in on a wonderful secret" through the photos of Stephen Kirkpatrick.
Visions of Nature: The World of Walter Anderson
June 7, 2001 - October 28, 2001
The Mississippi artist's exploration of nature in woodcuts, watercolors, and pen-and-ink.
Natural History Machines
November 25, 2000 - February 25, 2001
An interactive exhibit featuring steel marionettes of prehistoric creatures.
