Animal Secrets Exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

In Animal Secrets, families explore the hidden habitats and secret lives of forest animals. Children discover nature from an animal’s point of view in a stream, meadow, woodland, cave, and naturalists’ tent. (Courtesy Photo The Carnegie)
In Animal Secrets, families explore the hidden habitats and secret lives of forest animals. Children discover nature from an animal’s point of view in a stream, meadow, woodland, cave, and naturalists’ tent. (Courtesy Photo The Carnegie)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…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, now open through January 10, 2016, visitors to Carnegie Museum of Natural History will learn the answers to these questions and more as they explore the hidden habitats and secret lives of forest animals.

“Animal Secrets builds on children’s natural curiosity about the world around them and helps foster a sense of wonder about nature,” said Mallory Vopal, Gallery Experience Manager at the museum. “The exhibit is designed to encourage family learning and to help young children develop science skills through play and exploration. The exhibit also offers parents tips on how to encourage their children’s interest in science.”

Animal Secrets is specially designed for children ages 3 through 8, preschool to third grade school groups, and has English and Spanish text panels.

In Animal Secrets, visitors discover nature from an animal’s point of view as they explore a stream, meadow, woodland, cave, and naturalists’ tent. Visitors see the world from an eagle’s nest, pretend to be a chipmunk and gather food for the winter, and help a raccoon family escape from a hungry fox! Then, visitors can play the role of a naturalist and discover more about the animals that live in the woods by examining tracks, skulls, fur, bones and other real specimens.

Using imaginative role-play and hands-on activities visitors can explore Animal Secrets in five naturalistic environments:

The Stream: A highly interactive stream table and its surrounding environment engage visitors as they dramatize interactions between animals. Visitors mimic how animals take care of their ecological needs, such as finding food and shelter, and nurturing young ones.

The Woods: Visitors can explore a woodland clearing, crawl through a tree’s roots, play in a chipmunk’s den, investigate a raccoon’s log, and curl up in an eagle’s nest.

The Meadow: Beautifully illustrated murals, including images of wildflowers, blue heron, butterflies, and a rabbit, transport visitors to a grassy meadow. Visitors can follow four winding sets of animal tracks and listen to specific animal sounds to locate the animals that made them. Visitors can create their own butterfly wing patterns using multicolored mosaic tiles.

The Cave: Visitors can explore the secret world of a dark woodland cave using tethered lights to search its outcroppings and niches. They can assemble a three dimensional, larger-than-life ant.

The Naturalists’ Tent: Visitors can role-play working as a naturalist in a canvas tent outfitted with real field equipment and environmental elements. They can examine, compare and contrast the characteristics of five different animal skulls, sort a variety of natural artifacts in order to display an impressive museum collection, and match animal tracks to the animal that made them using paw-like puzzle pieces.

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.

Sponsored locally by Baierl Subaru.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is among the top natural history museums in the country. It maintains, preserves, and interprets an extraordinary collection of 22 million objects and scientific specimens used to broaden understanding of evolution, conservation, and biodiversity. Carnegie Museum of Natural History generates new scientific knowledge, advances science literacy, and inspires visitors of all ages to become passionate about science, nature, and world cultures. More information is available by calling 412.622.3131 or by visiting the website, https://www.carnegiemnh.org.

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