Earth Archives: Stories of Human Impact was installed as a physical exhibition in the Special Collections Library from March to November 2022. The images below will provide a sense of how materials from the exhibition were experienced in person.
This first case encountered in the exhibition included our oldest item, a cuneiform tablet, and one of our newest, fine printing edition of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower.
This case displayed materials demonstrated the history of weather and climate observation, and included research notes loaned by former PSU Professor, Michael Mann.
Adjacent to the case on the history of weather observation was a case displaying material on the various ways humans have observed and documented the natural world around them.
This case explored human experiences with and understanding of the Arctic. From Shelley’s Frankenstein and 19th century exploration to potential displacement of Arctic communities due to rising seas.
This case explored the eco-materiality of print culture, and include almost 200 year old seaweed specimens, and marbled paper made from polluted waterways.
This case included the first known use of the term “fossil fuel” in a printed text, and the stories of two infamous fossil fuel driven disasters from Pennsylvania’s history.
This case, adjacent to the case on fossil fuels, displayed materials that try to imagine more sustainable futures — some more successful than others. Items included a mushroom that consumes radiation, atoms for peace, and the invention of the silicon solar cell.
This case featured materials illustrating the history of Earth Day, including the Daily Collegian newspaper from Penn State’s first Earth Day celebration in 1970.
This case featured materials interrogating environmental justice concerns.
This case displayed seminal texts from the history of human understanding of the environment, including Audubon’s Birds of America.
