Presentation
The “More than bees. Pollinators and flowers, life at stake” exhibition was produced by the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona) and was opened on 20 October 2020 in the Temporary Exhibitions Room at the Botanical Garden of Barcelona. It was curated by David Bertran and Berta Caballero, curators at the Museum.
With a visual and pedagogical museum approach that offers different levels of interpretation in parallel, the exhibition aims to help visitors discover the fascinating world of bees, one of the most important and, at the same time, largely unknown groups of pollinators. It is intended to be a showcase for the life of wild bees, but also an opportunity to understand the role played by these insects along with their hosts, plants, in the planet’s ecological balance. Humanity is facing a worrying problem, the decline of bees, something that is being talked about more and more and which the Museum of Natural Sciences cannot avoid addressing. There are many causes and they are closely linked to the long chain of environmental changes caused by human activity. It is time to understand what we have done wrong and to draw up a guide of best practices that will help us to recover the lost biodiversity.
The exhibition is structured in two main blocks. The first, which is more educational, explains pollination in a didactic way, the agents involved, the diversity of these agents, the importance of pollination for human food, the pollinator crisis, the reasons for the decline, etc. The second block is geared towards interacting with visitors to explain what they can do, starting with planting aromatic flowers, building insect hotels, etc., and helping them to understand that all is not lost and that we can still make a difference.
The exhibition also seeks to give visibility to all the initiatives that are already being carried out around the world to get to know more about these small beings that perform functions that are essential for the stability of the planet.
Characteristics
With an inclusive language and texts adapted for easy reading, it is available in different languages, monolingual or trilingual, and in two formats respectively:
- A3 format (10 panels): in Spanish, Catalan and English.
- Roll-up format, with a maximum enlargement of 0.50 cm wide by 1.80 cm high:
- Trilingual format (28 panels) 3 options: Catalan/Spanish/English; Spanish/Catalan/English; and English/Spanish/Catalan.
- Individual versions for each language (21 panels), Catalan, Spanish and English.
Have a look at the exhibition:
Who can apply for it?
The exhibition can be applied for free of charge by educational centres, cultural associations and institutions and any organisation whose objectives include the dissemination of knowledge, provided that they make use of it on a non-profit basis.
How to apply for the exhibition
The interested organisation must fill in the questionnaire below. If the Museum considers that the basic requirement are met, it will send the exhibition files so that the organisation can download them and produce the exhibition in the format and sizes that it considers most appropriate, adapting it to the organisation’s space and requirements.
Conditions
The recipient organisation will have to comply with a series of conditions:
- Access to the exhibition will always be free of charge.
- The contents (texts, photographs, images) may not be manipulated without the approval of the MCNB.
- If the recipient organisation decides to extend the exhibition in any way, it must inform the MCNB.
Dissemination
The applicant organisation will be responsible for disseminating the exhibition in its area of activity, always indicating that it is a production of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona.
For dissemination on social networks, we recommend using the hashtag: #MorethanBeesMCNB, as well as mentioning the Museum’s account on Instagram and Twitter: @museuciencies.
At the end of the exhibition display period, the recipient organisation will have to send a report that includes the impact on the press and the number of people who visited the exhibition.