A new National Taiwan Museum exhibition uses interactive booths and educational commentaries to provide a close-up look into the world of trees, flowers, grass and bamboo, while demonstrating how seeds grow.
The Magic of Plants exhibition opened on Jan. 28 and runs through Aug. 31 on the museum’s first floor, which is next to the 228 Peace Park in Taipei.
One of the exhibition’s objectives is to introduce chloroplasts, which is an organelle found in green leaves that makes photosynthesis possible. Photosynthesis is a process that converts light energy into chemical energy.
Photo: Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum
The exhibition also presents different capabilities plants have, describing them as incredibly simple yet brilliant tricks and survival strategies designed to help plants combat predators.
The museum’s Web site describes the exhibition as “magic.”
“By using specimens, models and images to demonstrate the magic, this exhibition creates a wonderland of plants for visitors,” the Web site says.
“The magic tricks that plants have are the reason this beautiful world of ours is full of green forests, colorful flowers and fruit. The exhibition is presented in a lively way, with hands-on interactive learning for young people,” Taiwan Society of Plant Systematics chairman Chiu Wen-liang (邱文良) said at the exhibition’s opening last month.
The society and National Taiwan Museum are the exhibition’s main organizers.
Contributions toward the exhibition were made by the Council of Agriculture, the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Taipei Zoo, the National Museum of Prehistory, the Taiwan Science Education Center, Fu Jen Catholic University’s Department of Life Sciences and Wellcome Library in London.
“Most people do not notice plants in their daily lives, because plants are fixed in place, they do not move or make sounds. However, to grow, survive and reproduce, plants have what we like to call ‘magic.’ They have an extraordinary design and structure and have a unique relationship with the environment and other life forms,” Chiu said.
Cultural and historical perspectives are highlighted in the museum’s first-floor corridors, where the displays teach the importance of the plant kingdom to people and nations throughout history.
The presentations show how early human civilizations cultivated cereal crops, including rice, wheat, corn, barley and oats. They also tell the story of spices used in different nations and the development of beverages and sugar.
Other highlights include displays of insect-eating plants, a specimen of the world’s largest flower, plants that use a chemical defense system and a variety of flowers that are used to make perfumes.
Museum officials said the exhibition presents more than 60 plant specimens, 15 scientific models and more than 60 pictorial illustrations to detail the many activities and processes of the botanical world.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 5pm. Admission is NT$20 for adults and NT$10 for children.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS