1 00:00:07,015 --> 00:00:09,485 When you think of natural history museums, 2 00:00:09,485 --> 00:00:14,116 you probably picture exhibits filled with ancient lifeless things, 3 00:00:14,116 --> 00:00:15,435 like dinosaurs 4 00:00:15,435 --> 00:00:16,463 meteroites, 5 00:00:16,463 --> 00:00:17,867 and gemstones. 6 00:00:17,867 --> 00:00:20,695 But behind that educational exterior, 7 00:00:20,695 --> 00:00:25,032 which only includes about 1% of a museum's collection, 8 00:00:25,032 --> 00:00:29,558 there are hidden laboratories where scientific breakthroughs are made. 9 00:00:29,558 --> 00:00:31,196 Beyond the unmarked doors, 10 00:00:31,196 --> 00:00:34,087 and on the floors the elevators won't take you to, 11 00:00:34,087 --> 00:00:37,488 you'd find windows into amazing worlds. 12 00:00:37,488 --> 00:00:42,017 This maze of halls and laboratories is a scientific sanctuary 13 00:00:42,017 --> 00:00:45,744 that houses a seemingly endless variety of specimens. 14 00:00:45,744 --> 00:00:49,507 Here, researchers work to unravel mysteries of evolution, 15 00:00:49,507 --> 00:00:51,261 cosmic origins, 16 00:00:51,261 --> 00:00:53,579 and the history of our planet. 17 00:00:53,579 --> 00:00:57,013 One museum alone may have millions of specimens. 18 00:00:57,013 --> 00:01:00,103 The American Museum of Natural History in New York City 19 00:01:00,103 --> 00:01:04,079 has over 32,000,000 in its collection. 20 00:01:04,079 --> 00:01:06,164 Let's take a look at just one of them. 21 00:01:06,164 --> 00:01:09,478 Scientists have logged exactly where and when it was found 22 00:01:09,478 --> 00:01:14,035 and used various dating techniques to pinpoint when it originated. 23 00:01:14,035 --> 00:01:17,307 Repeat that a million times over, and these plants, 24 00:01:17,307 --> 00:01:18,371 animals, 25 00:01:18,371 --> 00:01:19,228 minerals, 26 00:01:19,228 --> 00:01:20,106 fossils, 27 00:01:20,106 --> 00:01:25,239 and artifacts present windows into times and places around the world 28 00:01:25,239 --> 00:01:28,066 and across billions of years of history. 29 00:01:28,066 --> 00:01:29,872 When a research problem emerges, 30 00:01:29,872 --> 00:01:34,880 scientists peer through these windows and test hypotheses about the past. 31 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,702 For example, in the 1950s, populations of predatory birds, 32 00:01:39,702 --> 00:01:41,331 like peregrine falcons, 33 00:01:41,331 --> 00:01:42,393 owls, 34 00:01:42,393 --> 00:01:45,014 and eagles started to mysteriously crash, 35 00:01:45,014 --> 00:01:48,668 to the point where a number of species, including the bald eagle, 36 00:01:48,668 --> 00:01:50,929 were declared endangered. 37 00:01:50,929 --> 00:01:54,553 Fortunately, scientists in The Field Museum in Chicago 38 00:01:54,553 --> 00:01:58,283 had been collecting the eggs of these predatory birds for decades. 39 00:01:58,283 --> 00:02:01,811 They discovered that the egg shells used to be thicker 40 00:02:01,811 --> 00:02:04,059 and had started to thin around the time 41 00:02:04,059 --> 00:02:09,616 when an insecticide called DDT started being sprayed on crops. 42 00:02:09,616 --> 00:02:12,436 DDT worked very well to kill insects, 43 00:02:12,436 --> 00:02:16,239 but when birds came and ate those heaps of dead bugs, 44 00:02:16,239 --> 00:02:19,372 the DDT accumulated in their bodies. 45 00:02:19,372 --> 00:02:21,401 It worked its way up the food chain 46 00:02:21,401 --> 00:02:26,473 and was absorbed by apex predator birds in such high concentrations 47 00:02:26,473 --> 00:02:28,299 that it thinned their eggs 48 00:02:28,299 --> 00:02:32,086 so that they couldn't support the nesting bird's weight. 49 00:02:32,086 --> 00:02:33,669 There were omelettes everywhere 50 00:02:33,669 --> 00:02:36,103 until scientists from The Field Museum in Chicago, 51 00:02:36,103 --> 00:02:37,642 and other institutions, 52 00:02:37,642 --> 00:02:40,493 helped solve the mystery and save the day. 53 00:02:40,493 --> 00:02:42,778 America thanks you, Field Museum. 54 00:02:42,778 --> 00:02:45,341 Natural history museums windows into the past 55 00:02:45,341 --> 00:02:48,326 have solved many other scientific mysteries. 56 00:02:48,326 --> 00:02:50,706 Museum scientists have used their collections 57 00:02:50,706 --> 00:02:53,077 to sequence the Neanderthal genome, 58 00:02:53,077 --> 00:02:56,129 discover genes that gave mammoths red fur, 59 00:02:56,129 --> 00:03:01,176 and even pinpoint where ancient giant sharks gave birth. 60 00:03:01,176 --> 00:03:04,476 There are about 900 natural history museums in the world, 61 00:03:04,476 --> 00:03:07,306 and every year they make new discoveries and insights 62 00:03:07,306 --> 00:03:10,934 into the Earth's past, present and future. 63 00:03:10,934 --> 00:03:14,208 Museum collections even help us understand how modern threats, 64 00:03:14,208 --> 00:03:16,172 such as global climate change, 65 00:03:16,172 --> 00:03:17,861 are impacting our world. 66 00:03:17,861 --> 00:03:20,404 For instance, naturalists have been collecting samples 67 00:03:20,404 --> 00:03:24,029 for over 100 years from Walden Pond, 68 00:03:24,029 --> 00:03:27,139 famously immortalized by Henry David Thoreau. 69 00:03:27,139 --> 00:03:30,426 Thanks to those naturalists, who count Thoreau among their number, 70 00:03:30,426 --> 00:03:32,735 we know that the plants around Walden Pond 71 00:03:32,735 --> 00:03:38,132 are blooming over three weeks earlier than they did 150 years ago. 72 00:03:38,132 --> 00:03:40,566 Because these changes have taken place gradually, 73 00:03:40,566 --> 00:03:44,710 one person may not have noticed them over the span of a few decades, 74 00:03:44,710 --> 00:03:46,635 but thanks to museum collections, 75 00:03:46,635 --> 00:03:51,535 we have an uninterrupted record showing how our world is changing. 76 00:03:51,535 --> 00:03:54,375 So the next time you're exploring a natural history museum, 77 00:03:54,375 --> 00:03:57,361 remember that what you're seeing is just one gem 78 00:03:57,361 --> 00:04:00,716 of a colossal scientific treasure trove. 79 00:04:00,716 --> 00:04:05,448 Behind those walls and under your feet are windows into forgotten worlds. 80 00:04:05,448 --> 00:04:06,609 And who knows? 81 00:04:06,609 --> 00:04:11,697 One day some future scientist may peer through one and see you.