Natural History Museum Opens Special Exhibition “Food: Connecting Life.”
- Date2026.02.06
- 357
Spotlighting the Essence of Ecosystems—‘Feeding’ and ‘Connection’—Through 90 Specimens and Media Art
Interdisciplinary Exhibition Realized with Participation from Students of the College of Natural Sciences and the College of Art & Design
TheEwha Womans University Natural History Museum(Director: Kim, Eunsu) has opened its 37th special exhibition, “Food: Connecting Life,” at the Special Exhibition Hall on the fourth floor. Centered on “food” as the fundamental basis for the continuity of life, the exhibition explores the essential processes that sustain ecosystems.
To commemorate the opening on Friday, January 30, an opening ceremony was held with the attendance of President Lee, Hyang-sook ofEwha Womans University; Director Kwon, Seok-min of theNational Science Museum; former directors of the Natural History Museum; and other distinguished guests from within and outside the University. Attendees celebrated the exhibition’s launch and toured the gallery, sharing reflections on ecological interconnectedness and the significance of biodiversity.
This exhibition presents a multidimensional exploration of real-life food webs set in diverse environments, including Korea’s forests and tidal flats, as well as everyday urban spaces such as the Han River and Seoul Forest in Seoul. It examines the natural cycles and adaptations that have maintained intricate balances over time among producers, consumers, and decomposers. Visitors can directly observe the dynamic processes of ecological circulation through approximately 90 biological specimens, including the marten, osprey, dung beetle, large silver-spotted fritillary, and white-footed fiddler crab.
Expanding upon the critical ecological questions raised in the Museum’s 2024 special exhibition, “Survival Stories of Earth’s Organisms in the Era of Climate Change,” this exhibition focuses on “feeding” as a core ecological act and on the “connections” formed among living organisms as a result. In particular, the exhibition highlights the strengths of a university-affiliated museum by being designed as a student-participatory, interdisciplinary project. Students from the Division of EcoScience and the Division of Chemistry and Molecular Science in the College of Natural Sciences contributed to scientific research and content review, enhancing the academic rigor of the exhibition. Meanwhile, students majoring in Visual Communication Design and Video Design in the College of Art & Design created media art and graphic works that effectively translate scientific concepts into compelling visual experiences.
The exhibition hall features media art installations that liken the feeding methods of marine organisms to kitchen utensils, interactive content illustrating the survival competition between bats and moths, and videos depicting the feeding processes of protozoa, all designed to communicate scientific concepts in accessible and engaging ways. Experiential elements further enrich the exhibition, including opportunities to observe insect mouthparts, touch a mammoth tooth fossil, and participate in a food web restoration project.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum is also operating educational programs for both the general public and students. These include elementary-level programs such as “Ecosystem Detectives” and “Whose Food Am I?” as well as seminars for first-year students at Ewha Womans University. Through these initiatives, the Museum aims to raise awareness of the realities of ecosystem destruction and the importance of biodiversity conservation.
Director Kim, Eunsu of the Natural History Museum stated, “This exhibition was planned to illuminate the intricate and multifaceted network of life, conveying how members of ecosystems profoundly influence one another’s evolutionary processes through interaction.” She added, “We hope that visitors will deepen their understanding of ecological structures and reflect on humanity’s position within nature and its impact.”
Admission to the exhibition is free of charge. Visiting hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. The Museum is closed on Sundays, public holidays, and on Saturdays during vacation periods (January, February, July, and August). Group visits and docent-guided tours are available by prior reservation. (For more information, please contact +82-2-3277-4700.)