At first glance, it’s a simple scene. Six adult bison and a calf mill around a stream. But if you look closer, the plot thickens.
Beside a well-worn path to the stream sits a bison skull. This herd has clearly been dropping by for some time. And they’re playing a key role in the ecosystem. Scattered birds feast on bugs kicked up by the bison.
Peer into the trees on the scene’s far right, and you might even spot what only one bison has noticed. Two wolves lurk, eyeing their next meal.
“Dioramas, they have such rich stories,” says Matt Davis. He develops exhibits in California at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. That’s where this bison diorama is displayed.
Imagine, Davis says, seeing this scene when the museum’s first diorama hall opened in 1925. TV didn’t exist yet. Full-color movies were still brand new. For many city dwellers, dioramas were the only way to see animals as they might live.
It might be like an extreme virtual-reality experience today, Davis says. “People were totally blown away.”
If you’ve ever been to a natural history museum, you’ve likely seen the diorama hall. These big rooms often feature groups of animals. Some display models of people, staged in lifelike poses against painted backdrops. In fact, it might be hard to picture a museum without them.
But these exhibits have a complex and often troubling history. Diorama builders have historically gotten their materials by taking advantage of the places the animals come from. And some designers created displays that, to modern eyes, are inaccurate or offensive. Plus, some museum visitors today simply find dioramas dull or even creepy.
This “diorama dilemma” is forcing modern museums to reconsider how they present exhibit such scenes. Some museums have reduced or removed them. Other curators and artists are playing with new diorama formats. Still others are reframing old dioramas to address misleading or racist…
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