AMNH and Wellcome Announce Collaboration for Climate Week NYC

This September, the American Museum of Natural History will launch a slate of programs and events in conjunction with Climate Week NYC, an annual gathering of global leaders, activists, and organizations.

Museum programming (list below) will begin on Monday, September 9, when the public will be invited to participate in a Photobooth Action presented by the Inside Out Project, a global art platform created by French artist JR, to share their dreams of a healthier future in a time of global climate change, culminating in two portrait installations opening at the Museum during Climate Week. In addition, on Wednesday, September 25, Wellcome and the Museum will host a panel discussion that will explore how science, policy, and society can transform climate challenges into opportunities for a healthier world. These programs are part of Canopy, Wellcome’s citizen art and science festival bringing health to the heart of Climate Week NYC.

Additional Climate Week NYC programming at the Museum will include a showcase of documentaries by Indigenous filmmakers with the Wayfinders Circle that will highlight the importance of Indigenous leadership to sustain our planet (Monday, September 23) and a convening of educators, policy makers, and thought leaders to discuss the future of climate education in New York State (Wednesday, September 25).

“As a leading scientific and educational institution, our Museum is dedicated to presenting programming that not only engages and informs the public about the climate crisis, but also inspires and energizes our global community to confront this existential threat together,” said Museum President Sean M. Decatur. “Climate change has been identified as one of the strategic priorities for the Museum moving forward, and our institution is committed to collaborating with organizations like Wellcome to amplify action-based solutions for a resilient and more sustainable shared future.” 

“A canopy is a place of exchange, of shade, of shelter, and, on our heating planet, important for protecting life. Canopy festival will be just that, sparking ideas from people at the front lines of the health impacts of climate change and decision-makers to accelerate change,” said Alice Bell, Head of Climate and Health Policy at Wellcome. “We hope the spotlight on health during Climate Week NYC will be the start of a new conversation on the climate crisis that puts human health at the heart of climate action.”

Calendar of Climate Week NYC Programming at the Museum

Portraits on Climate and Health: Dreams We Carry

The Museum and Wellcome will invite the public to participate in a portrait installation as part of the Inside Out Project, a global art platform that transforms messages of personal identity into empowering works of community art. Showcasing the many faces of the climate crisis and perspectives on our future, Portraits on Climate and Health: Dreams We Carry will include: 

Public Photobooth

Monday, September 9—Wednesday, September 11, 11 am–4 pm

• The public is invited to have their portraits taken and to provide personal testimony at the Inside Out Photobooth truck which will be parked outside of the Museum near Columbus Avenue.

Photography Installation

Monday, September 23—continuing into Fall 2024

• Approximately 80 large-scale printed black and white portraits–including a selection of photos captured by the Photobooth truck in addition to portraits of Indigenous land stewards and Museum scientists–will open in the Museum’s Ellen V. Futter Gallery. Visitors will be able to explore the portrait subjects’ personal narratives on interactive tablets as well as on their smartphones and view an online gallery of hundreds of portraits taken by the Photobooth truck. Portraits will be installed on a rolling basis starting Monday, September 9, with the full installation officially opening to the public on Monday, September 23. 

Climate Week NYC Photography Projection

Monday, September 23—Friday, September 27

• During Climate Week NYC, a rotating mosaic of portraits captured by the Photobooth truck will be projected on the central wall of the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium in the Museum’s Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. 

The Wayfinders Film Series: Indigenous Wisdom Leading in the Climate Crisis

Monday, September 23, 7 pm

• From the forests of Borneo to the territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy to the Northern Territory in Australia, this showcase of three short documentaries by Indigenous filmmakers will share inspiring stories of Indigenous guardianship of our planet during a time of environmental crisis. Featured films include Indai Apai Darah (Mother, Father, Blood), making its New York premiere; Niitsitapi (The Real People), making its world premiere; and Ngarridurndeng Kured (We Going Home Now), also making its world premiere. Screenings will be followed by a moderated talkback with filmmakers and key players. The event is hosted in collaboration with the Wayfinders Circle, an alliance of 15 Indigenous peoples supported by Nia Tero, Pawanka Fund, and the World Union of Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners, organizations that support Indigenous Peoples guardianship globally. The program is an extension of the Museum’s Margaret Mead Film Festival, which presents storytelling from diverse voices near and far. Indigenous land stewards associated with the Wayfinders Circle are also featured in Portraits on Climate and Health: Dreams We Carry. 

Building a Resilient Future: New York’s Climate Education Movement Expert Panel and Education Hub Launch

Wednesday, September 25, 4:30 pm

• As part of a commitment to educational efforts in climate change, the Museum will co-host an event with SubjectToClimate and the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force for educators, policymakers, and thought leaders to explore strategies for integrating climate education across various sectors and subject areas. This event will include a networking reception, expert panel and the public launch of the New York Climate Education Hub, a vital statewide curriculum resource for New York educators delving into climate topics.

In Conversation with Sean Decatur: Healthier Futures in a Changing Climate

Wednesday, September 25, 7 pm

• This event is the first in a year-long series of panel discussions hosted and moderated by Museum President Sean Decatur to highlight critical scientific and cultural issues. The conversation–held in collaboration with Wellcome–will investigate the pivotal roles of scientific research, policy initiatives, and cultural strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on global community health. Held in the Gilder Center, the panel will include Wellcome’s Canopy International Writer-in-Residence Priya Basil, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator Jainey K. Bavishi, Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership at the City College of New York and former New York City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi, and Clinical Professor of Global Public Health and Sustainable Urban Development Tolullah Oni of the University of Cambridge. 

Climate Change at the Museum

The American Museum of Natural History’s global mission is to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition. Through this work, the Museum addresses the most pressing challenges of our day, including the impacts of climate change.

The Museum’s efforts to educate the public about climate change include permanent exhibitions, such as the dynamic media wall in the Museum’s David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth where visitors interact with current data on the climate crisis; special exhibitions that travel to venues around the globe; and a diverse range of public programs and in-person and online educational offerings for learners of all ages and for educators. The Museum’s extensive scientific collections are used by Museum scientists and researchers from around the world as critical evidence to understand the effects of climate change and other urgent environmental threats. 

Richard Gilder Graduate School Graduation

During Climate Week NYC, on Tuesday, September 24, the Museum’s Richard Gilder Graduate School will hold its 11th commencement ceremony under the iconic Blue Whale model in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, honoring three Ph.D. graduates from the Comparative Biology Program and 18 new Earth science teachers graduating from the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Earth Science Residency Program. Since enrolling the first cohort in 2012, the Museum’s MAT program has prepared 167 Earth science teachers for high-needs public schools, providing them with the skills, training, and resources to teach climate science to more than 80,000 students in New York City and beyond. MAT participants have reported concerns about climate change as a primary driver for their motivation to enter the program.