Earth Today and Tomorrow

How does the way we live affect our planet? Earth Today and Tomorrow provides some sobering food for thought and looks at our use of Earth's natural resources and how we can live more sustainably. The gallery also includes the largest meteorite on display at the Museum.

Gallery closure and specimen removal

Earth Today and Tomorrow will be closed from 13 April 2015 as we transform it into a new gallery about Human Evolution, opening in October, and a new shop, opening in August. During this period, some specimens in the Earth Hall port windows will be removed for safety. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Cranbourne meteorite

The Cranbourne meteorite, found in Australia in 1854, is the largest meteorite on display at the Museum. It weighs 3.5 tonnes, the same as 4 cars. Cranbourne 1, as it is known, is made up mostly of metallic iron with some nickel and traces of other elements that are not commonly found in Earth rocks. This meteorite is believed to come from a region in space between Mars and Jupiter and formed around 4.6 billion years ago.

Drill used to create the Museum borehole.

Our need of food and water is a basic fact of life. Look at the impact of farming methods, and how water is distributed. You can inspect a section of the 150-metre borehole that the Museum has drilled down to tap the water source that lies deep in the chalk below the building.

Part of the energy display.

Solar, geothermal, wind and wave energy are just a few of the sources that offer an alternative to oil in the face of climate change. We look at how scientists are working to harness these alternatives.

The top few layers of a soil profile.

Managing soil effectively is essential to our survival. Maintaining a balance between human needs and the effect on the environment is essential, not just in agriculture but in the way we use energy, create living space and dispose of waste.

Every day objects.

Every day we use and throw away hundreds of objects made from the Earth’s raw materials. We explore how much we consume and how we can manage resources and waste more effectively.

Building materials.

With demand for living space growing, how can we exploit resources with less impact on the environment and make best use of the land we have available for building homes?