As of the 10th of September 2021, the final section of the brand new exhibit in the world-renowned Natural History Museum, located in South Kensington, was revealed. 'Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It' (rather imaginatively named, in my opinion) has something for visitors of all ages, whether that be a bright-eyed tourist or a fidgety, squealing toddler bemoaning the lack of dinosaurs.

 

The free exhibit is made up of three sections: Eating the Earth; Nature for Sale; and Climate Emergency. The sections were each revealed one at a time and put together to offer an informative yet comprehensible commentary of humans' impact on our climate and 'some solutions that could mend our broken planet'. 

The 'Eating the Earth' section shows the impact of Westerners' general food choices on the planet - spoiler alert, not good. Using bright infographics, this section compares the impact that different food has on the environment. For example, did you know that it takes 326.2 square metres to produce 1 kg of beef, and only 3.5 square metres to produce the same quantity of tofu? This section also explores the possibility of lab-grown meat, a recent endeavour rapidly gaining traction within many scientific fields. To engage the youngest of minds, this section also offers bright interactive - well, can't spoil it all, can I?

The next section, 'Nature for Sale' explores how the resources that make up everyday items can affect the climate. To the majority of us who don't consider the effect our fashion choices or latest devices can have on the Earth, the alarming statistics are a shocking wake-up call. We can see from this section the necessity of understanding that the resources our planet offers are finite and must be conserved. 

The final and latest section, 'Climate Emergency' investigates the effect of climate change on our natural world. It confronts the startling reality of dangerous wildfires blazing across the world and the bleak future of our coral reefs. 

It can be very intimidating to see the fatal consequences of our actions on the planet. The exhibit describes a direct solution: a drastic change in our behaviour is needed to aggressively combat and reduce the effect the industrialisation of the modern world has caused. 

To keep temperatures from rising we must reduce our consumption of meat and dairy products; develop more long-lasting technology (or perhaps refrain from buying the latest iPhone 167X etc. as well); fund more scientific programmes to conserve our wildlife. 

'Our Broken Planet' bluntly lays out what the result of the Industrial Revolution and henceforth has been on our planet - but also offers a range of ways that people can reduce their impact in their daily lives. 

The exhibit will be open until the summer of 2022. Quite honestly, I would recommend a visit just to see the pretty dark blue light that shines above the information panels - but the urgency of the subject matter simply demands a visit into London (using public transport of course!) 

For more information on the 'Our Broken Planet' exhibit, including booking a ticket in advance, click on the following link. 
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/our-broken-planet.html