Visualization & Outreach Program

draft lynx outputs in UniView Visualizing the changing patterns of biodiversity on the planet in ways that are both inspiring and educational is the goal of CABI’s new Visualization and Outreach program.We work with Academy educators and visualization experts to translate our research results in a variety of ways from educational maps, to online tools, to digital animations that can be displayed through a diverse set of media for our public audiences and scientific colleagues. We manage an internship program that invites biology and geography students to participate in research projects as well as coordinate art and science collaborations that engage researchers and artists to explore each other’s worlds and produce works that are often integrated with public programs and exhibits.

Biodiversity & Climate Change

As research about the impacts of climate change on the species and ecosystems we depend upon becomes increasingly available, approaches to translate this research into visually compelling and educational ways is needed. We are collaborating with visualization specialists at the Academy to explore ways of displaying our research results to introduce the public to alternative potential futures for the species and landscapes to which they are connected and inspire them to become part of the solutions. This is a new partnership and visual examples will be coming online soon!

Art & Science at the Academy

Battle of the Deep, Tiffany Bozic 2008 The process of exploration and creative discovery between scientists and artists are not as different as one may think. Beginning in 2007 with a pilot artist in residence project and exhibit, we have invited artists from a variety of disciplines to explore our specimen collections and other resources with Academy researchers to develop new works inspired by the diversity of life on Earth.

Maps for Exhibits and Education

Corals activity From coral and rainforest distribution maps for exhibits on the public floor, to designing maps for classroom kits for teachers, CABI’s expertise in data acquisition, analysis, and presentation directly supports the Academy’s mission to explore, explain and protect the natural world.

Locating Global Plate Tectonics (March 2009)
Discovering Rainforest Locations: Grades 4 - 8 (March 2008)
Tropical Belt: Grades K - 3 (March 2008)
Corals and the Coral Reef: Grades 3 - 6 (February 2007)

Classroom kits for teachers

Gaoligonshan Biodiversity Survey website & interactive maps

From 1998 to 2008, Academy scientists and their Chinese collaborators have been exploring the rugged terrain and surveying the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Shan (GLGS) region in southwest Yunnan Province, China. Visitors to the GLGS Biodiversity Survey Website can explore the areas surveyed by the project participants, view photos of the organisms collected, and map the collections in the Academy’s first interactive mapping tool.