The world’s first museum about microorganisms employs the use of a clever elevator design to put visitors in the teeny tiny shoes of microorganisms. The ARTIS Zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands has opened a new exhibit titled Micropia, as reported by ARTIS Zoo. The immersive exhibit teaches guests about microorganisms, or microbes, which are beings too small to see with the naked eye. Founded in 1838, ARTIS is the Netherlands’ first public zoo, and one of the five oldest in the world. The public zoo has expanded its exhibits over the decades and now includes two additional museum exhibits, Micropia and ARTIS-Groote Museum, in the heart of Amsterdam that focus on humans’ experience of and connection to nature.
The Micropia experience begins with a creative use of elevator technology to make guests microscopic before they enter the world of microfauna. Upon entering the exhibit, guests wait by a spacious elevator entrance on the ground floor. Once their ride to the museum is ready, the elevator opens and welcomes guests with an introductory film played, describing the vast number of microbes on the human body. Then, without spoiling the surprise, the elevator transforms guests into microscopic organisms, an interactive experience that leaves guests eager to explore the world of Micropia more once they reach the upper exhibition level. This immersive elevator ride is the perfect introduction to the fascinating hidden world of microorganisms like the adorable microscopic bears known as tardigrades.
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