In our world, everything is connected. Plants, animals, people, weather, water, soil—all are part of a delicate balance. Living things can change their environments—and through a process called adaptation, environments can even change living things! With a visit to Ecosystems, discover amazing environments from the familiar to the fantastic, and find out how the physical and living worlds affect--and in some ways, define—each other. Investigate the gallery's eight Zones, each of which explores a different ecological principle.
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Extreme Zone
Peer into some of the world's harshest environments—deserts, poles, the rocky shore and deep-sea vents—and see how life adapts to survive.
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Forest Zone
Explore the kelp forest to learn about the wide variety of life forms in an ecosystem, where the diversity comes from, and why it's important.
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River Zone
Get splashed and sandy while you investigate the ways flowing fluids carry energy and materials from place to place.
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Island Zone
Find out how isolation reveals the processes of evolution and adaptation.
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Rot Room
See how rotting animals and plants help make the soil ready to support new life.
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Global Zone
Discover the ways living and physical ecosystems interact on a global scale, and find out how Earth itself is one huge ecosystem.
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L.A. Zone
Learn about the challenges faced by urban ecosystems when it comes to water, waste, energy and wildlife.
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Family Discovery Room
Explore how our homes are habitats, providing us—as well as pets and pests—with food, water and shelter.
