THE NATURE OF COLOR at American Museum of Natural History: Review By Polly Guerin

Color is around us, shaping our emotions, our actions and our surroundings yet, we pass through each day unaware of the great impact color has on all aspects of our lives and the living species in nature.
      . THE NATURE OF COLOR, which opens today at The American Museum of Natural History, simutaneously celebrates its 150th anniversary.  The museum demystifies the meaning and influence of color , with a new interactive exhibition that  lets visitors explore the role and the power ot color in the natural world, in human cultures, and in our personal lives. It's vibrant, it's entertaining, and answers questions that stir up our emotions as we learn: Why do colors make us happy, while others make us, well blue?  How did pink come to be associated with femininity in Western culture and blue become America's favorite color?  This fun, family-friendly exhibition resonates with all the child-like wonder of discovery. It is immersed in color themes with models, cultural objects, interactive exhibits that invite visitors to play, experiment and explore the science of color, how colors make us feel, and how plants and animal use color to help them survive and reproduce.  

In

Interactive Color Paytime

FEELING COLOR: Color affects our mood, our perceptions and our behavior. The color red for example may elicit emotions and dramatic behavior, red correction ink may be negative but a stunning red gown by American fashion designer, Brandon Maxwell introduces a dramatic, entrance-making statement. The dress was the finale in Maxwell's Fall -Winter 2020 show, which was hosted by the Museum during New York Fashion week in February COLOR IN NATURE  Visitors will be able to see an example of camouflage in the Nature of Color with live leaf-tailed geckoes, which evolved to
blend with dried leaves and tree bark. Color is just as important in the plant world, where pollinators get cues on which flowers to visits based on the color. Humminbirds, for example, prefer red flowers, bees are attracted to blue, moths seek white and other light-colored blossoms, and flies are drawn to dark flowers. PHYSICS OF COLOR explores the physics of color in an immersive color-changing room and a ight lab with hands-on activities to discover that white light is actually a mixture of colors, play a video interactive---on kiosks or from their mobile devices---that examine how colors affect emotions and "paint" without the mess in a floor to ceiling color play interactive just by moving
your hands. 

FEELING COLOR; Colors affect our mood, our perceptions, even our behavior. There is plenty of evidence that colors inspire deep feelings in almost everyone.  For this reason
marketers choose colors carefully, as consumers often make up their minds based on color alone. An example, BLUE is the most popular color for corporate logos, as this color is often associated with trustworthiness and competence. In this section visitors will explore the different feelings colors can evoke by arranging colored tiles to create pleasing or clashing combinations and share their personal reactions to colors on a big screen. MAKING COLOR: The Nature of Color explores the rich history of BLUE PIGMENTS in particular, with objects from the Museum's anthropological collection and an interactive that will demonstrate the process of dying indigo fabric. Natural indigo has been used o create some of the blue hues of Japanese artwork, African textiles, and the first blue jeans. 
       Ta Ta Darlings. THE NATURE OF COLOR resonates with interest for everyone with exploration and entertainment whilst demystifying the colors in our daily life. Fan mail always
welcome: pollytalknyc@gmail.com.