A new series of panels at Warwick’s Market Hall Museum explores the subject of climate change – natural and human-influenced – throughout the ages.
Climate change can be tracked through long-term changes in global temperatures and weather. In the ancient prehistoric past, these took place naturally, but since the Industrial Revolution, climate change has been largely the result of human actions such as the extraction and use of coal, natural gas and oil. Burning these fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases that trap the sun’s heat within the atmosphere, causing the earth to heat up and the climate to destabilise. This is having a devastating effect on wildlife, and habitats as food sources change or disappear.
Now, visitors to Warwick’s Market Hall Museum are invited to visit the free exhibition and join a journey with Dr Jon Radley, Curator of Natural Sciences, to explore the subject of climate change through objects already on display at the Museum.
Starting with a display board in the reception of the museum, visitors will be led on a journey that encompasses the many of the displays in Market Hall where they will find a series of 11 panels on different elements of climate change. These panels refer to existing exhibits, including:
- Ancient pebbles and the sandstone used for the construction of the museum;
- The decline of bees, with a live demonstration of a beehive on the first floor;
- Continental drift; and
- Accounts of pollution of Victorian Warwick, which can be found in Reverend Brodie’s study on the first floor.
There is a brand-new film of Dr Jon Radley talking in detail about all the themes which climate change touches upon as evidenced within the Museum. Visitors can view this eight-minute film in the cinema screen area on the ground floor. QR codes are adjacent to the panels in the cases and link visitors directly to themed segments of Jon’s video, so that they can understand more as part of their exploration into climate change.
This display is semi-permanent and is expected to be in the museum for at least 12 months and will be added to over time.
Cllr Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and the Environment, said: “Climate change has happened throughout the ages because of natural processes, but in the last 150 years, humans have been the greatest drivers for this change and the resulting environmental collapse. Join us in Market Hall museum for an exploration of all things climate change in Warwickshire and beyond using the wonderfully varied exhibits.
“There are many things that we can all do to make a difference as we face the climate change emergency. One of the most powerful is to educate yourself about the problem and spread that learning to your peers. Now we have a wonderful resource at Market Hall museum that will help you do just that and I hope our residents take the opportunity to visit.”
For more information about how Warwickshire County Council is facing the challenges of the climate change emergency, visit: https://www.warwickshireclimateemergency.org.uk/
To sign-up for the Warwickshire County Council climate change and sustainability newsletter, visit: www.eepurl.com/hrk-zf