Experience the vibrant world of color from their mindbending physics to the feelings they evoke. The Nature of Color , a special exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, reveals how color carries information in natureβwhere organisms use it to find food, warn off predators, and conceal or reveal themselvesβand across cultures, where different colors can signal a wide range of meanings, from good luck to power to a sense of urgency.
Visitors will explore the science of color, how colors make us feel, how they are perceived across cultures, the history of color production, and how plants and animals use color to help them survive and reproduce. Imagine a world without color⦠Watch as the lights change from white to yellow and experience yourself in grayscale. How does color affect the natural world? Through their colors, many living organisms send loud messages or disappear into the background.
Study specimens, photos, and interactives to reveal the incredible force of color on our ecosystems. What does the color blue mean to you? Does it make you feel sad or peaceful? Take a series of surveys about your personal relationship with color and learn how color can influence your mood and your decisions. Explore two themes: the technology of making dye and the physics of color.
Virtually dye and print fabrics at a six-player interactive table, investigate a sample of nearly true black pigment, and discover the world of minerals and organisms that produce colorful lights of their own. What makes something orange? Learn how our eyes detect and process some electromagnetic waves as colors. Experiment with primary colors and shine lights through prisms that reveal the rainbows in each beam. How many meanings can one color have? From visually distinguishing sports teams from one another to indicating status, the colors we wear can communicate messages about us that vary across time and culture.
Color can be lighthearted and fun! Immerse yourself in color as you use your body to virtually paint the walls. Visit kiosks to adjust brush strokes and hues. Use your imagination and create something completely unique. Consider and challenge how people think about skin color and identity as you take in this unique photography project. Explore the topics of each room in the exhibit from the impacts of color in nature to the cultural and social meanings of color.
