Getting to the Core: New Brazos Valley Museum Exhibit Explores 'Secrets of the Earth'

The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, in cooperation with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) presents  Getting to the Core: the JOIDES Resolution, from through April 28.

This fascinating exhibition takes visitors "out  to  sea" through images and information from the ship, the JOIDES Resolution.  “JOIDES” stands for Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling. The name reflects the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program's (IODP) commitment to the science of exploring what lies beneath the ocean floor. “Resolution” honors an earlier ship, the HMS Resolution, commanded more than 200 years ago by Capt. James Cook, who explored the Pacific and Antarctic regions. Around the ship, in the lab and during on-shore operations, the JOIDES Resolution is affectionately referred to as The JR.

The JR is a seagoing research vessel that drills core samples and collects measurements from under the ocean floor, giving scientists a glimpse into Earth’s development. Data from The JR's ocean drilling offers a scientific means of understanding climate and environmental change throughout a significant part of our planet’s history—a research subject often termed Earth's paleoclimate. The JR’s core samples are the “smoking gun” in evaluating many historical events related to paleoclimate, changes in the solid earth and more —like the extinction of the dinosaurs, for example.

Using a combination of large-scale banner graphics, a montage of ship photographs & artifacts, real cores, drill bits, a 3D model of the ship, and videos, Getting to the Core  takes audiences on a journey with scientists from The JR.  Visitors are able to gain an understanding of life and research on the ship and have the rare opportunity to learn more about microfossils, the deep biosphere, climate change, and geohazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Museum is also proudly partnering with Rockport artist Dinah Bowman. Dinah was on Expedition 327: Juan de Fuca Hydrogeology as part of IODP’s outreach program, sailing as an "artist on board."   A number of her original watercolors and hand colored block prints related to the JOIDES Resolution will be on display.

Getting to the Core:  the JOIDES Resolution   was made possible in part through Hotel Tax Revenue funded from the City of College Station through the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, through underwriting provided by the William Knox Holt Foundation, the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, and by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Texas A&M University. 

The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History is open to visitors Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am-5 pm.  For more information about this exhibit and other displays, events, programs and activities, please contact the Museum at 979-776-2195 or visit us on the web at www.brazosvalleymuseum.org.  Admission fees: adults $5; seniors/students/children $4; members and children 3 and under are free.