The Smithsonian Institution plans to take its human genomics exhibit on the road in a multi-city tour across the US and into Canada.
Over the next four years, the Genome: Unlocking Life's Code exhibition, which has been housed at the National Museum of Natural History for the past 14 months, will travel to eight cities. NIH says an estimated 3 million people have already visited the exhibit, and many more will be able to visit it as it travels the country. The exhibit will set up for seasonal stints in San Diego; San Jose; St Louis; Portland; Milwaukee; Wichita; Peoria; and Sudbury, Ontario.
"Over the past year, I have enjoyed speaking with children and adults from far and wide at the exhibition, and during the educational workshops, public lectures and celebrations in Washington. Now it is time for the exhibition to travel so that others in North America can see it," NHGRI Director Eric Green says.
The 4,400 square-foot exhibition was created through a partnership between the NMHH and NHGRI to provide an illustrative and interactive experience with the human genome and genomics, and to use the genome to show humanity's place within the diversity of life on Earth.
One slice of the exhibit, the Genome Zone, provides hands-on learning experiences, and the most popular display so far has been the Trait Tree, which enables visitors to discover their own unique traits.