The EcoTarium opens a major national science exhibition next month, marking what museum officials describe as a milestone in its 200-year history.
“Secret World of Elephants,” organized by the American Museum of Natural History, opens March 7 at 11 a.m. and is the inaugural exhibition in the EcoTarium’s new Stoddard Exhibition Hall. The museum projects the exhibition to draw more than 100,000 visitors from across New England during its run through Sept. 7.
“This is the first major national science exhibition to visit Worcester in the 200 year history of the EcoTarium,” the museum said in a release announcing the opening.
The exhibition explores the biology, behavior and evolution of Asian and African elephants through life-size models, multimedia displays and interactive stations. Highlights include a full-scale African elephant model with projected internal anatomy, a scientifically accurate woolly mammoth reconstruction, and hands-on exhibits examining infrasound communication, thermoregulation and elephant social structure.
Visitors learn how elephants detect vibrations through their feet, use the 16 muscles in their trunks and maintain complex family bonds within herds. Conservation-focused sections address climate change, human-elephant coexistence and the global ivory trade and include a documentary about Reteti, a community-run elephant sanctuary in Kenya.
“EcoTarium visitors, both adults and children, will love this awe-inspiring exhibit and the chance to learn about these intelligent and beautiful creatures,” EcoTarium President and CEO Noreen Smith said in an announcement. “The EcoTarium is proud to be the only museum in the region to host this new science exhibition developed by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.”
The exhibition also examines elephants’ long relationship with humans, from their roles in labor and warfare to their presence in religion and cultural traditions. Artifacts on display include Vietnamese puppets depicting the Trưng sisters and a large figure of the Hindu god Ganesh.
An opening day celebration is planned for March 7 at 11 a.m., with ticket reservations encouraged.
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