Visitors saw Dominican dancers in a celebration of the country’s first day of electricity, and a festival of ice sculptures in Harbin, China. The caption said the ice was “lit like colored lanternsâ€with electric bulbs. Tornadoes, floods, yaks in Tibetan farming, a representation of population growth since the year A.D. 0 — all have a place in the Berkshire Museum’s new exhibit, “Earth 2U, Exploring Geography.â€
The exhibit opened last week. With pith helmet, binoculars, passport in hand, and local artist Marc Rosenthal’s cartoons to guide them, visitors entered a hands-on exploration of the globe and the cultural and natural forces that shape it. Ms. Delgado’s second-grade class from Egremont School were among the first visitors. They clustered in the natural disasters section, pushing buttons to start a flood in the flood tank. They built block towers and shouted encouragement as an earthquake simulation tested the steadiness of the structures. On the other side of the room, they can push plates of the earth’s crust along fault lines, and pull soil samples out of every continent and elevation, from the Louisiana delta to the peaks of the Andes.
Throughout the exhibit, they can stamp their “passports.†Often, the ridged pictures the stamps make answer questions the exhibit asks. In the next room, the exhibit introduced them to cultural exchange: imagine someone sent you a Saint Patrick’s Day parade in the mail. And a real-time population clock told them that on Feb. 2, at 11:51 a.m., there were 6,115,869,229 people alive on earth.
President of the Board of Trustees Betsey Selkowitz welcomed the exhibit in its New England debut. The Smithsonian and the National Geographic Institute developed “Earth 2U†in 1995. It began with a book, Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe, written in 1992 by Paul Rosenthal and illustrated by Marc Rosenthal, his brother, a resident of Lenox. The book was divided into continents. It was less about capital this or that, and more about exports, the resources of different places and the connections between them, Marc said. He has seen comic histories of the world that are difficult to read. The format for the book was not a straight comic strip. It was like People magazine, he said: short blocks of text illustrated by pictures.
The brothers worked with designer Lee Skolnik to create the exhibit. Gathering the information for the exhibit, which includes more earth science than the book, took three years. Paul wrote the museum panels. “Most people don’t read museum panels,†Marc said, but these catch the attention and draw people in. His father, he added, was an exhibit designer.
Marc said he has not seen the exhibit since it first came up; it has toured the U.S. and Canada over the last five years. The tour has lasted longer than the Smithsonian expected; they suggested it would end in 2000, and it has at least one more stop after the Berkshires. “It’s a privilege to be able to do this work,†he said; “It’s fun, it pays you and it is socially productive. The designer understood that you don’t have to be serious when discussing serious things.†Cartoons are direct and expressive, he said, ideal for spreading ideas.
Marc has also designed window panels in the museum’s “Natural Science†exhibit and illustrated the museum’s family brochures. He does editorial illustrations for magazines and illustrates children’s books. He created a cartoon character especially for the book: Seymour D. Earth, a migratory and well traveled bird. Seymour is human-like to the point of having hands. He was more birdlike originally, Marc said, but moved toward a more Donald Duck like figure. A five-and-a-half-foot-tall costumed Seymour, Rosenthal’s cartoon crow guide to the exhibit, welcomed visitors and did the twist for a fascinated toddler.
First Massachusetts Bank joined the Stratevest Group to sponsor the exhibit. Donna Beck, community president, First Massachusetts Bank, said: “We are very pleased to collaborate with the museum, especially with this innovative, interactive program, which is both educational ad visually pleasing.†“Earth 2U†deals with more than traditional geography, a collection of maps and landmarks, she said: it is about connections between people, places and the environment. First Massachusetts Bank and the Stratevest Group have sponsored three other Berkshire Museum exhibits together: “Robot Zoo,†“Microbes,†and “Kid Stuffâ€. First Mass promised to support the promotion of the exhibit as well, with posters, cards, and space on its web site.
State Sen. Andrea F. Nuciforo (D-Pittsfield) surveyed the crowd through his binoculars. He congratulated the museum for its part in making the Berkshires such a fun place to live and work. He recognized Selkowitz, the sponsors, and Susan Bronsen and Susan Birnbryer for their work on the exhibit. Seymour gave him a hug.
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Winter Storm Warning Issued for Berkshires
Another snowstorm is expected to move through the region overnight on Friday, bringing 5 to 8 inches of snow. This is updated from Thursday's winter weather advisory.
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has posted a winter storm warning for all of Berkshire County and parts of eastern New York State beginning Friday at 4 p.m. through Saturday at 1 p.m.
The region could see heavy to moderate snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour overnight, tapering off Saturday morning to flurries.
Drivers should exercise caution on Friday night and Saturday morning, as travel conditions may be hazardous.
Saturday night should be clear and calm, but warming temperatures means freezing rain Sunday night and rain through Monday with highs in the 40s. The forecast isn't much better through the week as temperatures dip back into the teens with New Year's Eve looking cloudy and frigid.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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