After Dinosaurs-Prey and Predators of which traces remain in the courtyard, the museum of natural history and ethnography launches Paleobotanica-At the roots of life, an exhibition dedicated to the plants that made up the forests of yesteryear.
In the absence of management since the departure of Claire Prêtre on January 2, Manuelle Vignes, Scientific and Cultural Project Officer, and Virginie Guichon, responsible for audiences, have ensured the curatorship. Note the upcoming arrival of the new director, Agathe Mulot.
The father of two million living species on earth
The museum team drew on its own paleontology collection. Each of the specimens in the exhibition was carefully selected from the museum’s 18,600 rocks and fossils to tell the evolutionary story of plants over nearly 2.7 billion years. A dive into the past to discover how plants transformed the planet, how they conquered dry land to propel themselves ever higher towards the light and ever further, across continents.
One of the major pieces of the exhibition is the Great Tree of Life. A family tree that goes back to LUCA, for Last universal common ancestor. This last universal common ancestor would be the father of the two million living species on earth. Which is the most advanced? For scientists, they all are, because they come from an evolution of 3.8 billion years.
Gigantic fossil trunks sit alongside pieces of rare finesse, like this fossil leaf whose veins can still be discerned and which seems delicately placed on the rock or this flower, preserved in Burmese amber for nearly 100 million years. years…
Escape game immersif
The exhibition is accompanied by an immersive escape game during which the visitor will be immersed in a dusty 18th century cabinet.e century to discover the basics of botany and help a famous botanist doctor identify a mysterious medicinal plant.
At a time when nature is undergoing changes at an accelerated pace, better understanding how the diversity of living things has been shaped over millions of years invites reflection… But this exhibition also allows us to question humans about their own evolution. and its place as a species in the great tree of life. Paleontological excavations, activities for schools, a series of conferences and guided tours will also be on the program.
Museum of Natural History and Ethnography, 11 rue Turenne in Colmar. The exhibition Paleobotanica continues until August 31, 2025. Closed on Mondays.
