WASHINGTON - The Interior Museum will celebrate the centennial of Rachel Carson’s birth with a new exhibit highlighting her life and work. Entitled Conservation in Action: the Legacy of Rachel Carson, the exhibition opens to the public on April 20, 2007.
Carson’s work as an educator, scientist and writer revolutionized America’s interest in environmental issues. She worked for the Department of the Interior from 1936-1952, creating some of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s first public information brochures in a series called “Conservation in Action”.
Best known for her seminal work Silent Spring (1962), which documented the pesticide DDT’s menace to the environment and its destructive effects on birds of prey, Carson also had a passion for connecting children with nature.
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder,” she wrote, “he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” The Interior Museum urges all parents, caregivers and educators to use the centennial of Carson’s birth as an opportunity to reach children growing up in a digital age and rekindle their sense of wonder in nature.
The Interior Museum is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except federal holidays), and during the third Saturday of each month from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The visitor entrance to the Main Interior Building is at 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Admission is free; however, each adult must have photo identification. On weekdays, the public also has access to the Indian Craft Shop, the Interior Library and the cafeteria.
For a complete tour of the building and its murals, please make an appointment with the staff at least a week before your visit to ensure that there will be a guide available. For more information call (202) 208-4659 or visit our website: www.doi.gov/interiormuseum/.