WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It’s a science destination with a dirty little secret! A unique exhibit is aimed to change the way you think about what's beneath your feet.
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We step on it, drive on it, build on it and play on it. It's not pretty, but it supports almost every form of life on earth. Few people know much about dirt. Soil ecologists have an exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., that digs deep into the world of soil -- without getting dirty.
"It is everything you've ever wanted to know about soils, everything from critters to climate change," Pat Megonigal, Ph.D., a soil ecologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Madison, Wisc., told Ivanhoe.
"Dig It! The Secrets of Soil" is a hands-on experience bringing the world beneath your feet up to eye level. From Alaska to Florida, there are soil samples from every state, three U.S. territories and Washington, D.C.
"Hawaii has a soil that's formed from volcanic ash," Dr. Megonigal said.
The soil profiles, called monoliths, are displayed by layer patterns and colors. A monolith is a peek at the underground. Each profile is different because of factors like type of organic material, weather and location. All soil profiles have one thing in common…
"A handful of soil has more microorganisms in it than all the people on earth," Dr. Megonigal said.
Scientists hope visitors leave with a better understanding of what's hidden beneath your feet.
"They're going to walk in here thinking about soils as piles of dirt and walk out thinking of soils as this incredible earth resource," Dr. Megonigal said.
That's a bit of soil education worth walking into.
The next step is to take "Dig It!" on the road. The exhibition is preparing for a four-year journey across North America.
The American Geophysical Union contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.
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