A little bit of rainforest has sprung up in the centre of New York. It is part of a ground-breaking, new exhibition hall which opened at the American Museum of Natural History last weekend.
The centre-piece of the Hall of Biodiversity is a stunning 2,500 square foot re-creation of a portion of Central African rainforest containing more than 160 species of flora and fauna. This was no environmental smash and grab however. The displays are copies of plants and animals painstakingly detailed by hand. Described by its organisers as a "diorama", it is a life-size replica that also uses videos, sound, light-effects and even smells to convey what it is like to walk in rainforest.
Museum scientists are using the exhibition hall to warn the public about a mass extinction of species and habitats, which they believe poses a real threat to human existence in the next century.
The world is losing three species every hour. From the smallest bacteria and pond scum to the largest mammals, some 30,000 species are becoming extinct each year, they say.
Many scientists rate the loss of biodiversity as a more urgent environmental problem than the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming or pollution. But the concept of biological diversity and the idea that living things in all their global variety are interdependent, is still largely unknown to the general public.
"This is the museum's first issues hall," said Ms Ellen V Futter, the museum's president, at the opening of the permanent exhibition. "The hall was created to alert the public to the current crisis caused by the alarming rate at which species are becoming extinct."
In a recent survey seven out of 10 biologists warned that we are in the midst of a sixth mass extinction period, on a scale not seen since the dying of the dinosaurs and some marine life 65 million years ago.
"The current extinction event is unique among previous such events in the 3.5-billion-year history of life," said Ms Futter. "It is being caused by human activity."
The Hall of Biodiversity conveys this provocative message with a diorama representing a section of virgin rainforest and then showing how it looks after depletion by farming or logging. Accompanying texts explain how pressure from an expanding human population and over-exploitation of natural resources are causing extinction at an alarming rate.
"Rather than depicting nature solely in its pristine state, this exhibition tells the story of humanity's transformation of the globe, and the consequences of that transformation," explained Dr Niles Eldredge, chief curator. In November 1996, the museum sent a team of scientists, artists and film crews to spend four weeks documenting flora and fauna in Dzanga-Sangha, a relatively intact rainforest in the Central African Republic. The workers gathered small trees, vines and branches which were fumigated and later incorporated in the diorama. They took photographs and measurements of larger trees and plaster moulds to make other plant replicas back in New York.
Some 160 species were used in the diorama, including a previously unknown orange-breasted forest robin that was discovered by the expedition and will soon be given a formal scientific name.
Water flows through the recreated rainforest and model creatures scamper up tree trunks. Instead of the conventional background paintings, the display features video projections of elephants and other creatures moving across the landscape.
Along the side of the Biodiversity Hall is Spectrum of Life a 100-foot-long wall mounted with specimens encompassing 28 living groups, from elemental organisms to a model of a giant squid hanging from the ceiling.
A third section of the hall uses texts, graphics and videos to propose solutions through protection and restoration of habitats, scientific research, improved management of resources and new laws. The final message reminds the viewer: "The future of life is in our hands."
If you are travelling to New York, visit the Hall of Biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street. The Museum is open Sun- day through Thursday, 10 a.m.- 5.45 p.m; Fridays and Saturday's 10 a.m.-8.45 p.m. Admission is $8; students and elderly, $6; children 12 and under $4.50.