Life in One Cubic Foot

Composite photo: David Liittschwager, Steve Haddock, Karen Osborn and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Composite photo: David Liittschwager, Steve Haddock, Karen Osborn and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
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Now open
Through July 17, 2022

From Seattle’s Seward Park to a coral reef in the South Pacific, Life in One Cubic Foot reveals the diversity of nature and inspires visitors to become community scientists. 

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Now open through July 17, 2022
Floor 2, Special Exhibit Gallery
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A closeup of a jellyfish
Photo: © David Liittschwager.
Photo: © David Liittschwager.

Pantachagon haeckeli, jellyfish, Davidson Seamount West, off the coast of California.

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an assortment of jellfish and shrimp on a black background
Composite photo: David Liittschwager, Steve Haddock, Karen Osborn and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Composite photo: David Liittschwager, Steve Haddock, Karen Osborn and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

A selection of midwater creatures revealed through inventorying one cubic foot from Monterey Canyon, off the coast of California.

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a green biocube sits on a forest floor with leaves and trees
Photo: © David Liittschwager.
Photo: © David Liittschwager.

A biocube in place at the Hallett Nature Sanctuary in Central Park, New York City.

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Closeup of a sea slug
Photo: © David Liittschwager
Photo: © David Liittschwager

Cyerce nigricans, Sacaglossan sea slug, Lighthouse Reef, Moorea, French Polynesia.

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a fish swimming by a coral reef with a green biocube placed on it
Photo: © David Liittschwager.
Photo: © David Liittschwager.

A biocube placed on the Tamae Reef off the Pacific island of Mo’orea.

The exhibition reveals the amazing variety of life that can be found using “biocubes”—one-cubic-foot frames used to survey the animals and plants living in an ecosystem. Featuring stunning photographs by David Liittschwager, the exhibition includes biocube-related objects and tools, animal models, hands-on interactives, and videos. 

What can you discover in just one cubic foot? As it turns out, a whole lot! Biocube samples—the life within one cubic foot of soil or water over one day—capture enough variation to explore the complexity of entire ecosystems. Most of the world’s biodiversity occurs at small scales: organisms hidden in leaf litter, under river rocks, and in the nooks and crannies of environments. 

Life in One Cubic Foot beautifully conveys the incredible diversity of natural life around the world.

The exhibition is organized by the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and is supplemented with Burke Museum research, stories, and collections. 

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Additional Resources

 

people look closely at a biocube in the fieldBiocube at Home—Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Create a biocube at home!
Learn more

 

 

 

mushrooms and ferns on a forest flooriNaturalist 

See what others have found and share your biocube observations on the iNaturalist project site.
Learn more

 

 

 

 

two snails on a white backgroundSLIME Pacific Northwest

Follow the slime trail to the Pacific Northwest with the Burke Museum!
SLIME Pacific Northwest is a community science project that aims to chronicle the presence and distribution of land snails and slugs in the Pacific Northwest region.
Learn more