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Second Floor | Temporary Exhibit
Objects of Wonder
Open Until 2021
Did you know?
Researchers used the Tuxtla Statuette to decipher the epi-Olmec writing system, which represents both syllables and words
Look For

Original hand-colored illustrations from “Birds of America” by John James Audubon are on display. Pages in the volume-which weighs over 50 pounds-are turned twice a week, so most of the beautiful illustrations can be seen throughout its time on display.

A wall of 500 insect specimens, representing the dazzling diversity of this prolific animal group.

The "Blue Flame," a massive slab of lapis lazuli from Afghanistan

An earwax plug from a baleen whale, which has layers (like a tree’s rings) that track age, growth, and environmental conditions throughout its life
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Things To Do
- Listen to a Tsimshian (Pacific Northwest Native) storyteller recount the family history painted on a 38-foot-long house front as specific parts of the design light up.
- Watch a jumbled fossil slab come to life as the bones reassemble themselves into a lifelike animation.
- Test your observational skills by playing an interactive touchscreen game about the objects on display.