The Art of Robert Bateman
Running through Feb. 1. Experience the work of Robert Bateman, long recognized as one of the world’s premier wildlife artists. The work on display reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. The Museum is proud to feature Bateman’s art in a one-man show that will captivate visitors with its lifelike realism and stark, natural drama.
Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet
Running through Nov. 30. Cool Globes is an environmental art project that originated in Chicago and is now on tour around the country. A total of 42 globes, 5 feet in diameter, will be on display in the Museum and outside on the Prado.
Water: H2O=Life
Running through Nov. 30. It is a natural resource more valuable than oil and more precious than gold. Life on Earth originated in it and cannot exist without it. Water, the essential ingredient in our life, culture, history and future will be celebrated and explored in this captivating new exhibition. New visualization techniques and cutting-edge technologies, hands-on exhibits, videos and interactive media, specimens and artifacts will forever change your view and appreciation of this common, yet invaluable substance. Also, the San Diego Natural History Museum has designed and developed Water: A California Story which will remain on exhibit at the Museum for at least two years. The special exhibition uses natural history specimens, live animals, photos, and interactive exhibits explore the water issues facing southern California and Baja California. Discover why, to have water in the future, we all need to change how we use water now.
Aerial Portraits of the American West: Photographs by John Shelton
Running as a permanent exhibit. This photography exhibition, a retrospective of Shelton’s work, marks the first time works by the legendary geologist will be exhibited for the public. A geologist filled with a love for music and machines, John Shelton is best known for his pioneering aerial photography. Formerly an associate professor of geology at Pomona College, he has always been intensely interested in the process of learning. Shelton’s love and knowledge of flying enabled him to reveal geologic features and processes through his aerial photographs of wondrous landscapes. His aerial photographs of North America are especially valuable today, when diminishing air quality makes some of his shots irreplaceable.
Fossil Mysteries
Running as a permanent exhibit. From dinosaurs to mastodons, discover the rich fossil history of our region. In this major exhibition, created by the Museum, ponder a mystery, examine the strong fossil evidence from the Museum's collection, and use scientific tools to discover answers. Traveling through a 75-million-year timeline, from the age of dinosaurs to the Ice Ages, experience an unfolding of the prehistory of southern California and Baja California, Mexico.
TIBET: Imagery by Kenneth Parker
Running through March 1. Fine-art photographer Kenneth Parker has immersed himself in the culture and landscape of Tibet. His images reveal the religious monuments, prayer flags, modest homes and dramatic mountains of the region. Monumental 14th-century monasteries, with giant Tantric fresco wall murals, can be found in his images from Mustang. In order to create his imagery, Parker engages in 5–10 day backpacking excursions to remote areas and carries 75–85 pounds of gear. Regarding his work, Parker says, “Moved as much as by any wilderness I have ever happened upon, the light and form of their lands have the power to evoke in me an arresting image that can make one feel immersed...as if actually willing to climb deep inside its own special world and somehow inhabit it.”
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