Future Shocks

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday June 25, 2008

By Anne Fawcett

Past and present come face to face in a stunning new exhibit. By Anne Fawcett

WITH most of our 21-million-strong human population living in coastal cities and towns, it is easy to forget the challenges the harsh Australian environment presents to its animal inhabitants.

The island continent - which includes 8222 nearby islands - is a land of extremes, with deserts and snow-capped mountains, rainforests and grasslands, beaches and

reefs, urban environments and bush.

Living in each of these are species that are equally varied, many of which are endangered.

How Australia?s native animals have adapted will be revealed this week when the Australian Museum opens a new exhibition, Surviving Australia: Surprising Animal Secrets.

The museum director Frank Howarth (pictured) says the idea for the exhibition came about after feedback from overseas visitors revealed that many "couldn't find the real Australia".

"That was surprising since pretty much everything we do is about Australia," he says.

"So we wanted to find a perspective that was interesting to both tourists and locals."

Unsurprisingly, an entire section of the exhibition is devoted to Australia's famously dangerous creatures, from the near-invisible irukandji jellyfish that can deliver a fatal sting to our most venomous snakes, crocodiles and sharks.

Howarth makes no apology that the exhibition shamelessly capitalises on fears tourists commonly hold about these animals.

"The message is that these animals are dangerous for a good reason and, generally speaking, humans don't suffer but they will suffer less if we understand why these creatures are the way they are," he says.

"If people can have empathy for these creatures they may actually come to fear them less."

It may help to know, for example, that while two of Australia's spiders - the redback and funnel-web - have been responsible for fatalities, no one has died from a spider bite in Australia since 1979.

Howarth says the exhibition was planned in consultation with a television producer, to give it very particular themes.

"We've designed it like a series of self-contained episodes, so visitors can choose to look at one or all of them," Howarth says. "The aim is to capture people's attention so they don?t change the channel."

The exhibit is divided into six zones: Blue Edge (beach and marine life), Island Homes, Our Backyard, Dangerous Animals, Adapt or Die and a Where Are They Now reflective space.

Visitors can immerse themselves in ecosystems and meet life-size digital versions of sharks and crocodiles or see the real thing courtesy of a live diamond python, a blue-tongue lizard and a green tree frog.

Surviving Australia reminds visitors that since European settlement more than 50 species of animals and plants have disappeared from the landscape, presumed extinct.

Visitors can rediscover extinct species, such as the Tasmanian tiger, and explore habitats in which threatened or vulnerable species live. Visitors can also come face to face with the giant ancestors of kangaroos and goannas - unique Australian megafauna - including the massive diprotodon, the largest marsupial in the world.

The exhibition is not just an insight into Australia?s past but a window into the future. Visitors are able to see how global warming and rising sea levels will affect their suburbs.

While Surviving Australia is a new permanent exhibition, Howarth says the museum

receives dozens of requests every year to host travelling exhibitions.

"We balance what is popular with what we think is important,"he says.

"While exhibitions on dinosaurs and ancient Egypt are always a hit, the museum has a strong interest in hosting exhibitions that help visitors understand the present and how they can change the future."

WHAT'S ON

Talks, tours and workshops

WILL IT KILL ME?

Join in a fun theatrical exploration of the exhibition. Actors and the audience will act out their impressions of Australian animals in this interactive tour.

When: 10.30am

Monday-Friday during the school holidays.

Cost: Free after general museum entry.

LIVE ANIMAL TALKS

Museum staff will introduce visitors to the exhibition's live animals.

When: Daily during the school holidays. See signs for details.

Cost: Free after general museum entry.

SURVIVE IN AUSTRALIA WORKSHOP

Find out how animals have survived and adapted to Australia's varied environments. Includes a tour of the exhibition.

When: July 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17, 2.30-4pm.

Cost: $15 after general museum entry.

Ages: 5+

Bookings essential: 9320 6295

SCIENCE MADE EASY WORKSHOPS

These workshops include scientific investigation and hands-on activities plus take-home material. There are separate workshops for different age groups.

Cost: Members $20, nonmembers $30.

Bookings: Bookings and pre-payment are essential.

Phone 9320 6225 or book online at www.australianmuseum.net.au/members.

WHAT?S IN YOUR BACKYARD?

The microscopic, friendly, native, scary or pest - backyards or balconies are home to a lot more than toys and washing line. Find out more about these urban creatures and how to attract some and deter others.

Ages 5-7: 3-4.30pm, July 26 or July 27.

Ages 8+: 10-11.30am, July 27.

DANGEROUS AUSTRALIANS

Meet the infamous, the fierce and the plain scary on this quest to discover which Australian animals are dangerous - and why.

Ages 5-7: 3-4.30pm, August 23 or August 24

Ages 8+: 10-11.30am, August 24

Surviving Australia opens at the Australian Museum on Saturday and is free with general museum entry ($12 adults, $8 concession, $6 child, $30 family of four, free for underfives). See www.australianmuseum.net.au or 9320 6000.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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