Lyla Lindsey
The Australian Museum has been researching and raising awareness of climate change and its impacts for over a decade. Through exhibitions, education programs, and community outreach, the museum is committed to engaging the public in conversations about climate change and empowering them to take positive action. The museum's collections and research initiatives provide a unique perspective on the impacts of climate change on Australia's ecosystems, biodiversity, and communities. The museum also showcases innovative solutions and technologies that Australians are developing to create a more sustainable and resilient future.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Focus | Climate change |
| Exhibits | Changing Climate, Future Now, #CapturingClimateChange |
| Exhibit themes | How humans are changing the climate, the scale of impacts, what can be done on a personal level and at higher levels of governance, sustainable living, biodiversity, renewable energy, impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, Wet Tropics, coastal peoples, and frogs |
| Actions | Reducing carbon footprint, raising awareness, researching impacts, empowering public engagement, providing education programs, providing public resources, pursuing climate change solutions |
| Resources | Videos, interviews, fact sheets, books, research papers |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
The Australian Museum's exhibitions and research on climate change
The Australian Museum has been researching and raising awareness about the impacts of climate change for over a decade. The museum has extensive Life and Geo Sciences collections and research areas, including the Lizard Island Research Station, a world-leading supplier of on-reef facilities for coral reef research and education.
The Lizard Island Research Station, located on the northern Great Barrier Reef, has published research on the impact of climate change on coral reef fishes and the extinction risk of reef-building corals. The Museum's blog also features articles on the impact of fires on biodiversity and the threat of climate change to freshwater ecosystems.
The Australian Museum has also published a statement on the 2019/2020 bushfires and their reading lists include books and articles on climate change and its impacts, such as "Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia" and "Climate Change: Recognition and Caring for Country".
In addition to research and publications, the Museum has developed exhibitions and programs to educate the public about climate change. The "Capturing Climate Change" exhibition aims to showcase stories of our changing environment, and the Museum has also launched a volunteer digitisation program to make its collections more accessible and relevant to addressing contemporary issues like climate change.
Australia's Under-Five Mortality Crisis: Why So Low?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
#CapturingClimateChange and other initiatives
The Australian Museum has been involved in raising awareness and researching the impacts of climate change for over a decade. Through its collections and deep time knowledge, the museum is committed to developing impactful initiatives, supporting the upscaling of education, and engaging the public.
#CapturingClimateChange is an innovative photography exhibition that launched online in February 2020. The exhibition featured a different guest photographer or artist each month, showcasing powerful views from across a variety of Australia's communities. The public was also invited to upload their own images and captions, capturing experiences of climate change, its impacts, and its solutions in Australia and the Pacific. These images are often striking and beautiful, but they also reveal a planet in peril.
The Australian Museum has also established a Climate Solutions Centre (CSC) to bring together cutting-edge research and insights to create ways of engaging broad audiences with climate solutions. The museum has further demonstrated its commitment to addressing climate change by becoming Climate Active (Carbon Neutral) and developing a Sustainability Action Plan for 2019-2021.
In addition to #CapturingClimateChange, the Australian Museum has developed other initiatives and exhibitions to address climate change. Future Now is a touring exhibition that explores the benefits of sustainable living through dioramas, scale models, and audio-visual content. The exhibition highlights innovative solutions for tackling the impacts of climate change, such as community gardens and flying taxis, and provides ideas for creating a more livable future.
Through its research programs and exhibitions, the Australian Museum is helping to empower public engagement and raise awareness about climate change and its impacts.
Australia's Military Might: A Comprehensive Overview
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Climate Solutions Centre
The Lizard Island Research Station, located on the northern Great Barrier Reef, is a key part of the museum's work. It is a world-leading supplier of on-reef facilities for coral reef research and education. The museum's work in this area has revealed the widespread plight of coral reefs and the urgent need to enact conservation measures. One-third of reef-building corals face an elevated extinction risk from climate change and local impacts, with declines associated with bleaching and diseases driven by elevated sea surface temperatures.
The museum also works to bring diverse voices together to inform and inspire more Australians to support climate solutions. This includes working with other museums, such as the National Museum of Singapore and the Tokyo Museum, to build natural history collections and increase knowledge of the world around us.
Understanding Australia's Lawmaking Process
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The impact of climate change on Australia's biodiversity and ecosystems
Climate change is a global phenomenon that has been increasing since the 1800s, when humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels, cutting down forests, and causing other damage to natural systems. It is an enormous challenge to the survival of our species and presents a particular risk to Australia due to its significant arid areas, valuable agricultural industry, major coastal cities, and diverse ecosystems and wildlife.
The Australian Museum has been involved in raising awareness and researching the impacts of climate change for over a decade. Scientists at the museum are undertaking research that highlights the impact of climate change on species distributions, biodiversity, and coral reef health. The museum's Climate Solutions Centre brings together cutting-edge research and insights from people on the ground to create ways of engaging broad audiences with climate solutions.
The museum's exhibitions, education programs, and online resources explore the impacts of climate change on Australia's ecosystems and animals. The Changing Climate exhibition, for example, includes specimens and personal objects that reveal stories about renewable energy generation, the impact on the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics, and views from a doctor. The Future Now exhibition showcases sustainable landscapes and innovative solutions for tackling the impacts of climate change, such as community gardens and flying taxis.
The Australian Museum's research scientists studying biodiversity and cultural diversity are helping to uncover the impacts of human activity on habitats and their occupants. This includes the impact of climate change on coral reef health around Lizard Island, as observed by Dr Anne Hoggett and Dr Lyle Vail, and the impact on Australia's frogs, as studied by the FrogID citizen science project.
The museum's #CapturingClimateChange initiative invites the public to share their images and stories about how they are affected by climate change and how they are responding. These images and stories help to raise awareness and empower people to take action to create a more healthy, safe, fair, and affordable future.
Australian Green Tree Snakes: Their Unique Diet Explored
You may want to see also
Explore related products
How individuals and communities are coping with climate change
The Australian Museum has been involved in raising awareness and researching the impacts of climate change for over a decade. Through its collections and deep time knowledge, the museum is committed to empowering public engagement and taking an active leadership position with other global leaders, placing community and the public at the centre of these discussions.
The museum has established a Climate Solutions Centre (CSC) to bring together cutting-edge research and insights from people on the ground to create ways of engaging broad audiences with climate solutions. The museum also has a range of education programs and resources to spark curiosity, develop scientific understanding, and enhance cultural awareness in students of all ages.
The Australian Museum's priority is to engage with the public to understand complex issues, gain confidence in joining the conversation, and take positive action. They have a range of exhibitions, education programs, and public engagement initiatives to help people understand the scope of the challenge and ways of responding effectively.
The museum has also been involved in the following activities to address climate change:
- The Changing Climate exhibition explores key themes of how humans are changing the climate, the scale of impacts, and what can be done on a personal level and at higher levels of governance.
- The Future Now exhibition showcases sustainable landscapes and highlights innovative solutions for tackling the impacts of climate change, such as community gardens and flying taxis.
- The #CapturingClimateChange initiative invites the public to upload their images and captions, capturing experiences of climate change, its impacts, and its solutions in Australia and the Pacific.
- The Climate Active (Carbon Neutral) initiative, with a Sustainability Action Plan for 2019-2021, to reduce the museum's carbon footprint.
- Research on the impact of climate change on species distributions, biodiversity, coral reef health, and coastal peoples, such as the Lizard Island Research Station and FrogID citizen science project.
- Providing a platform for Pacific voices to be heard and enabling others to learn from these communities already on the 'front line' of climate change.
- Working with other research organisations and government initiatives to document climate change impacts, model and predict future changes, safeguard biodiversity and communities, and reduce emissions and capture carbon.
Nerf Rival: Banned Down Under?
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The Australian Museum has been involved in raising awareness and researching the impacts of climate change for over a decade. The museum has a Climate Solutions Centre (CSC) that brings together research and insights to create ways of engaging broad audiences with climate solutions. The museum also has a season of climate change that was launched in 2009 to engage the public with the issue.
The Australian Museum has a research program with Pacific communities in Sydney and across the region to understand the cultural impacts of climate change. The museum is committed to providing a platform for Pacific voices to be heard and to enable others to learn from these communities. The museum also has research scientists studying biodiversity and cultural diversity, helping to uncover the impacts of human activity on habitats and their occupants.
Australia is experiencing higher temperatures, more extreme droughts, fire seasons, floods and more extreme weather due to climate change. Rising sea levels add to the intensity of high-sea-level events and threaten housing and infrastructure. The number of days that break heat records has doubled in the past 50 years, with heatwaves of particular concern as they are occurring more often and are more intense.
