The Butterfly Effect
A new temporary art installation co-curated with a group of young people from Parkside Community College and artist Hilary Cox Condron. This creative response to the Museum’s collections and the current climate crisis explores extinction, climate change and hope for the future.
The Butterfly Effect is the culmination of an engagement project to connect young people with University of Cambridge climate scientists. It is the first time the Museum has connected past mass extinctions with the current climate crisis, in the galleries.
The art installation features a kaleidoscope of paper butterflies throughout the Museum. These were made by the young people, their peers at Parkside Community College and St Mary's School, Cambridge, as well as museum visitors. They represent life through geological time and the ‘Big Five’ mass extinctions. Also on display are protest banners designed by the young people, in their own words.