The National Taiwan Museum (NTM) will launch a special exhibition titled "Seeds: A Story of Eras (孩籽–聽種子的故事)" from now until October 31, 2021 revolving around the theme of seeds to explore the story of evolution and the spread of life, at the same time showcasing more than 100 digital images of seeds to promote the sustainable development of culture and the environment.
The title of the exhibition is aimed to foster discussion based on examples from daily application, the brief history and origin of seeds as well as the role seeds play in the ecosystem.
The exhibition emphasizes the omnipresence and importance of seeds with examples of seven related life application, including skin care products in front of the mirror, energizing coffee, birthday cakes, bamboo guns and Chinese hackberry seeds that children grow up playing. In addition, it also highlights the seeds in the oil paintings of Da Vinci, Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Monet. If not for seeds, the beautiful things that enrich our lives would not have existed.
The exhibition's section on "The Past and Present of Seeds (孩籽的前世今生)" explores the transition from daily application to the field of natural history. It takes one back to the periods older than the dinosaurs, from the earliest known Devonian era 385 million ago where the prototypical "Runcaria" seed existed until the gradual introduction of flowering plants towards the end of the Mesozaic era.
"Vitality of the Seeds (孩籽的生命力)" details the ecological context and special capacity of seeds. Through images and physical specimens, it explores many special functions of the seeds that help them spread across the world and becoming the central player on the planet.
Finally, the exhibition also likens the "Large Seed Bank," "Hidden Seed to the People" and "Habitat Conservation" to three different but complementary seed arks in introducing the importance of seeds in light of sustainability issues.
For more information, please visit National Taiwan Museum’s webpage.