Exhibits

FIRE: Rekindling Land and People

Exhibit Now Open in the KNC Exhibits Hall

Fire, central to human evolution and our relationship with the environment, is both an ancient force in our history and of pressing modern significance. By centering traditional indigenous fire knowledge and KNC’s participation in contemporary prescribed fire practices, this exhibit — offered in partnership with the Lake States Fire Science Consortium (lakestatesfiresci.net) — will help visitors explore the role that fire disturbance plays in supporting healthy ecosystems and the relationship humans have had with fire over millennia. A key feature of the exhibit is artist Ethan Turpin’s immersive art installation, Walk Into Wildland Fire, placing the viewer at the heart of a wildland fire. Turpin’s installation is part of Burn Cycle Project.
Learn more at: BurnCycleProject.com, or on Instagram at @burncycleproject and @environmentmakers

Opens March 23, 2024 in KNC’s Exhibits Hall

At the Roots of Wisdom, Story Area groups engage in story telling, either by listening to a traditional story around the cracking “fire pit” or sharing their own stories of ancestral/family traditions and places.

KNC is thrilled to host its first traveling exhibit, Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge, Shared Science. This interactive exhibition explores ecological challenges and the solutions that are informed by native knowledge, practices, and traditions. Real-life stories are presented through the voices of four indigenous communities. Visitors gain insight into how traditional knowledge and Western science can be unified to improve our relationship with the natural world. Messaging will center around engaging content that highlights the striking influences and impacts native communities have on the wider world.

The exhibition was developed by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), the Indigenous Education Institute (IEI), the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Tulalip Tribes, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society in Hawaii. It was made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation.

Gun Lake Tribe’s Mnomen restoration team.

In addition, Kalamazoo Nature Center is collaborating with the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, Gun Lake Tribe, to create a feature on Mnomen (wild rice).
This section of the exhibit will speak to the cultural significance of Mnomen, the harvesting process and the important role Mnomen plays in local ecosystems. We’ll get an in-depth look at tools that are part of the harvesting process as well as current restoration initiatives of Mnomen in local waterways.

Contact Justin Davies with questions or feedback around Roots of Wisdom at .

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