Where can you take a mind-blowing journey through the centre of the Earth... walk beneath an explosive volcano... experience a scene recreated from an earthquake...explore the powerful forces of nature shaping our Earth for over 4 billion years? At the hottest venue on Earth this summer - the Earth Galleries at London's Natural History Museum.
Open to the public for the first time on Saturday 20 July 1996, The Natural History Museum presents the largest single exhibitions project ever undertaken since its opening in 1881, the Earth Galleries. A new museum experience - spectacular, educational and entertaining for people of all ages.
The Natural History Museum turns the world upside down and inside out, examining earth sciences in detail: meteorites, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, stalactites, glaciers, gemstones, mountains, deserts, tornadoes and much more, presenting them as never before in an Earth-shattering visitor experience.
Awe-inspiring, the new Earth Galleries throw light on our ever-changing Earth. They explore the extraordinary, often life-threatening forces of nature: tidal waves, hurricanes, landslides, avalanches, together with the concepts of deep geological time: minerals, metals, dazzling gemstones and ancient fossils.
First to open are the major exhibitions - The power within and Restless surface, and a vast glass-topped atrium - The RTZ Atrium - which welcomes visitors to Visions of Earth. Dominating the space is a massive revolving globe of beaten copper, iron, and zinc, measuring 11 metres in diameter and suspended around one of the highest escalators in Europe. The escalator carries visitors on a 'journey through the centre of the Earth', with pulsating sound and light effects as they ascend through the globe and into the exhibitions.
Vast 15 metre high sheets of slate, etched with dramatic visions of the heavens and the solar system clad the walls of The RTZ Atrium. Punctuated with 40 illuminated portholes displaying some of the Museum's most treasured specimens, the gallery is a breath taking precursor for the exhibitions to come.
Six giant statues dominate the atrium's floor. Each one explores a basic concept about our Earth - William Blake's 'God Creating the Universe', Atlas struggling to balance the world on his shoulders, a Cyclops, Medusa, an astronaut and an earth scientist at work, each one representing key themes in the exhibitions.
The power within asks: how do the titanic forces within the Earth cause volcanoes to erupt and earthquakes to shake... how do scientists find out about the world hidden deep within the Earth's crust? Visitors will explore the forces that constantly change the Earth, and their impact on humankind. In the Volcano Experience, they will see film footage and listen to the remarkable eye-witness accounts from people who experienced the devastating affects of the volcanic activity of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. They will experience the fear of hundreds of thousands of people in the Earthquake Experience - set in a recreated Japanese supermarket, the walls and floors shake, items fall from shelves, exactly as they did in the earthquake that terrorised the city of Kobe in 1995. They will see how humankind has always striven to live with earthquakes, and learn how designers and engineers worldwide are developing ways of constructing buildings that don't shake or crumble, and how vulcanologists, using state-of-the-art technology, still cannot accurately predict when they will strike.
Earth's restless surface explores how the surface of our planet has been blasted, battered, frozen and sculpted beyond all recognition since it was formed some four billion years ago. Mind-bending notions of deep geological time, and the processes of change are the focus of this exhibition. Visitors will learn how the Colorado River has been carving out the Grand Canyon for over 20 million years; discover how glaciers have scoured the land; how avalanches occur under the sea, and how high mountain peaks have eroded away as restless winds and waters have reshaped their surfaces. Nature's secrets - the powerful forces of air, wind, water, ice, gravity, plants and animals - are unlocked as visitors' change forever the way in which they look at the world.
Total funding for the Earth Galleries development is #12 million. The National Lottery grant through the Heritage Lottery Fund is #6,058,000. The RTZ-CRA Group is the lead sponsor with support of #1million, which is commemorated by the central atrium being named The RTZ Atrium. The remainder of the funds has been drawn from the Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, support from BTR plc and the Museum's self-generated income.
To date the Earth Galleries project has taken 18 months and has transformed the former Geological Museum. Built in the 1930's, the British Geological Survey handed it over to The Natural History Museum in 1985.
The new Earth Galleries will draw extensively on the Museum's collections of over 9.5 million fossils, minerals, gems and meteorites, as well as including new specimens procured for the project.
Four further major new exhibitions will complete the Earth Galleries - From the Beginning; the Earth's Treasury, The Earth for today and tomorrow and the Earth Lab. Two of these exhibitions are scheduled to open in May 1997. The following two will open in May and October 1998 respectively.
A new shop, cloakrooms, picnic area, lift for disabled visitors' access, a Members' room and babies' changing area have been constructed within the new Earth Galleries, to open on 20 July. A new cafe will open in the Autumn of 1996.
Architectural consultant for the project is Pawson Williams. Design companies and their responsibilities are: Neal Potter Associates for Visions of Earth (The RTZ Atrium); Event Communications for The power within; MET Studio for Restless surface.
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Ref:29/2404/96/SB
Issued: May 1996.
