SMITHSONIAN TO OPEN NEW EXHIBITION HALL DEVOTED TO HUMAN ORIGINS

A NEW EXHIBITION HALL DEDICATED TO THE DISCOVERY AND UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN ORIGINS WILL BE OPENING IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AT THE SMITHSONIAN'S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. BASED ON DECADES OF CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH BY SMITHSONIAN SCIENTISTS, THE DAVID H KOCH 'HALL OF HUMAN ORIGINS' WILL PREMIERE 17.MARCH.2010, WHICH ALSO MARKS THE 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE MUSEUM'S OFFICIAL OPENING ON THE NATIONAL MALL. THE $20.7 MILLION EXHIBITION HALL WILL BE COMPLEMENTED BY ONGOING HUMAN ORIGINS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE ALL KEY COMPONENTS OF THE MUSEUM'S BROADER INITIATIVE, 'HUMAN ORIGINS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?' THE INITIATIVE FOCUSES ON THE EPIC STORY OF HUMAN EVOLUTION AND HOW THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPECIES HAVE EVOLVED OVER 6 MILLION YEARS AS ITS ANCESTORS ADAPTED TO A CHANGING WORLD. THE MUSEUM WILL LAUNCH A COMPELLING NEW SMITHSONIAN HUMAN ORIGINS WEB SITE AND A REVOLUTIONARY VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE HOSTED ON THE BLUE MARS 2150 VIRTUAL WEB SITE. IT WILL INCLUDE A COMPLETE REPRODUCTION OF THE PHYSICAL EXHIBITION PLUS ADDITIONAL FEATURES VISITORS CAN ONLY EXPERIENCE ON THE WEB.
VISITORS TO THE 15,000 SQUARE FOOT HALL OF HUMAN ORIGINS WILL BE IMMERSED IN A UNIQUE, INTERACTIVE MUSEUM EXPERIENCE ILLUMINATING THE MAJOR MILESTONES IN THE ORIGIN OF HUMAN BEINGS AND THE DRAMA OF CLIMATE CHANGE, SURVIVAL AND EXTINCTION THAT HAVE CHARACTERIZED HUMANS' ANCIENT PAST. ON ENTERING THE EXHIBITION FROM THE SANT OCEAN HALL, VISITORS WILL TRAVEL THROUGH A DRAMATIC TIME TUNNEL DEPICTING LIFE AND ENVIRONMENTS OVER THE PAST 6 MILLION YEARS. VISITORS WILL ALSO ENGAGE WITH LIFE-SIZE FORENSICALLY RECONSTRUCTED FACES OF EARLY HUMAN SPECIES, ALL DESIGNED TO PROVIDE VISITORS WITH A SENSE OF PERSONAL CONNECTION AS THEY LOOK INTO THE EYES AND FACES OF THEIR DISTANT ANCESTORS.
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