Washington — Agriculture impacts everyday life. The U.S. Botanical Garden has a long history of agriculture.
“We wanted to take the original idea that was established at the U.S. Botanic Gardens and look at it from a modern perspective and modern agriculture,” said Amy Amy, manager of learning and engagement at the U.S. Botanic Gardens. Bolton explains.
And so the idea of ’Cultivate: Growing food in a changing world’ was born. The exhibit focuses on the science and technology of growing food, the cultural connections to growing food, and the stories of people involved in agriculture.
Beginning at the Botanical Garden’s East Gallery, we welcome guests with beautiful and educational exhibits, teaching visitors how corn is used in many of our everyday products.
“And what I love about the displays, besides being beautiful and colorful, is that they allow people to have a personal connection with what’s here,” Bolton said. Who knew that corn, like corn oil and spark plugs, is part of spark plugs? ”
You may also be surprised to learn that food production produces about 25% of greenhouse gas emissions.
But we can see the unique way farmers offset their carbon emissions through alfalfa.
Alfalfa’s roots can grow as deep as 12 feet into the earth, making the plant great for storing carbon.
From measuring how it stacks up in alfalfa roots, to seeing what it’s like to farm in an urban environment, to considering processing, transportation, etc., different types of food. The entire exhibit is interactive.
“We know people learn in different ways. We know people connect to ideas in different ways,” Bolton said. The idea is that they can do it too.
The West Gallery focuses on how people and agriculture have evolved.
“There’s a historical section that talks about some of the famous foods that influence our world today,” said Bolton.
There’s even a section dedicated to local chefs, highlighting how they use food in their daily lives and how it’s tied to their culture.
“I think one of the most impactful parts of this exhibit is What Tastes Like Home, where people can put their own ideas on the exhibit. You can leave your answer. From recipes to personal stories about how the smell of your mom’s bread baked in the morning brings back wonderful memories, we’ve seen an incredible number of ideas. ”
The Cultivate exhibit, which will run at the U.S. Botanic Gardens until at least the end of this year, is a huge success, so Stretch.