Exhibits:

Every March along the Platte River, the fields come to life with an elegant visitor. At first, the migrating Sandhill Cranes don't stand out from last harvest's graying stalks, but when they rise in graceful flight, thousands of them together with their long legs trailing, they are truly awe-inspiring. Through 44 stunning color photographs, On Ancient Wings intertwines the lives of cranes, people, and their common places to tell an enduring story at a time when North American Sandhill Crane colonies and their natural habitats face daunting prospects.

Photographer Michael Forsberg engaged in an extraordinary five-year, 65,000 mile personal odyssey from the Alaskan tundra to the arid High Plains of the American west, from Cuban nature preserves to suburban backyards in Florida to document the cranes' native habitat, flyways, and annual journey. Forsberg's work also recorded the extraordinary human efforts undertaken to raise young birds and return them to their natural habitat, and his exploration reveals the challenges cranes face to adapt and survive in a rapidly changing natural world.

From "Joy - Sandhill Crane" and "Gaining Speed for Flight," which capture the exuberant majesty of airborne cranes, to the poignant "Turning Eggs at the Nest - Male Sandhill" and "Toward a New Future - Mississippi Sandhill Crane," Forsberg's images record the cranes' spirited agility, instinctive survival impulses, and ongoing efforts to protect future generations from uncertain prospects.

"When I am photographing prairie wildlife, I often feel like I am chasing ghosts," says Michael Forsberg. "Photographing the survivors of prairie species whose numbers have been decimated, or all but eliminated from these wide-open spaces. Even on the Platte River, where 500,000 Sandhill Cranes and millions of ducks and geese find critical refuge each spring, there is the underlying reality that only a fraction of the habitat remains that existed a century ago."

Besides raising awareness about stewardship and conservation, Forsberg's photographs have been honored by The Wildlife Society, the 2001 Pictures of the Year competition, and the BBC's International Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for 2003, which honored Forsberg as a Highly Commended winner for his image of a Sandhill Crane and chick titled "Mother's Touch No. 086." Forsberg's photographs have appeared in publications including National Geographic, Audubon, National Wildlife, and Natural History.

Explore Evolution is a major new partnership forged between science museums and 4-H organizations to bring current research on evolution to the public. The project features the work of scientists who are making leading discoveries about the evolution of life. From rapidly evolving HIV to whales that walked, the public is invited to explore evolution in organisms ranging from the very smallest to the largest.

Visit the Explore Evolution web pages

Press Release