Causes of climate and climate change

The David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, located in the Rose Center for Earth and Space, part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City displays a collection of geological specimens from around the world to show how planet Earth works. The hall is organized around five major questions: How has the Earth evolved? Why are there ocean basins, continents, and mountains? How do we read rocks? What causes climate and climate change? Why is the Earth habitable?

The climate change section features a media wall comprised of 36 high-definition 55-inch screens with “big-picture” messages about climate change. Below them, content panels and interactive stations based on data from organizations including NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and NOAA (the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) explore three main themes:

How climate works,
Our warming world, and
Consequences of climate change

Opposite the climate change wall is an exhibit about studying past climates. The large interactive model ice core features a sliding viewer to help visitors make direct connections between how scientists study past climates and present climate to inform our understanding of the climate system and models of how climate will behave in the future.

Causes of climate and climate change