Nine highlights of our Fixing Our Broken Planet Gallery

Explore the biggest challenges facing the planet and discover science-backed, hopeful solutions that will help us to create a more sustainable world.

These parasitic worms preserved in spirit might seem small, but they can really pack a punch. They affect one and a half billion people across the world and can cause anaemia, malnutrition, abdominal pain and in some cases even death. Higher temperatures and rainfall brought about by climate change are now helping them to thrive with lethal consequences.

Our scientists are working in places including Benin, India and Malawi to stop the cycle of reinfection. Learn more about their efforts and the challenges they face as they test whether giving entire communities medication can put an end to parasitic worm infections.

Do you have thoughts on climate change or on how the way we live our lives is impacting the natural world? Are you curious about what others think about the issues that affect all of us? Well, our interactive conversation starter is the tool for you!

Explore topics such as whose responsibility it is to care for the planet, what actions you think are the most impactful or what changes you’re willing to make. There are no right or wrong answers. Join the conversation, share your ideas, compare views and gain new insights on how we can fix our planet together. 

When it comes to solving the big problems facing our planet, it can be hard to know where to start! So, we’ve done the research for you, from how to shop for clothes to what plants to grow.

As you explore our gallery, you’ll find helpful tips and tricks on living a greener life. Come along and we’ll show you the many ways, big and small, that you can make a difference.

You can also use our online tool to find personalised ways to make a positive impact.

Come and see first-hand an open display of a taxidermy Sumatran rhino. Today, less than 80 individuals of this species remain in Indonesia. Once found all over Southeast Asia, these rhinos are now under threat from hunting and habitat loss. 

Find out how our scientists are using their Biodiversity Intactness Index to track biodiversity globally. This tool is helping them to protect the areas that this magnificent species calls home.  

Discover how global demand for livestock changed a whole species. As you compare the skull of a modern cow with that of its wild ancestor, the aurochs, see if you can spot the difference between the two.

These fascinating specimens reveal how we’ve shaped animals through breeding to serve our own purposes. Find out how farming livestock not only drove aurochs to extinction but also brought about massive changes in land use, risking more and more species every day.

Have you ever wondered what’s inside a whale’s ear? No? Well, our scientist Richard Sabin did and was surprised to find chemicals in there that were banned worldwide in 2004. 

Come and see this replica of a plug of earwax built up over the lifetime of a baleen whale and what it can tell us about the way our world has changed. This specimen has a lot to teach us not only about the life of a whale but about ourselves, giving us an insight into how ocean pollution has changed over the last 80 years. Find out why our scientists are waxing lyrical about the secrets it’s revealed.

Testing for pregnancies is so simple now, but from the 1930s to the 1960s this wasn’t the case in the UK. Back then a pregnancy test involved injecting women’s urine into a female frog. If the woman was pregnant, the frog would produce eggs.

In the gallery, you’ll see an African clawed frog preserved in spirit, just like the ones used in the twentieth century. Find out more about how this method worked and, more intriguingly, what happened when some of these frogs escaped.

If you have a furry friend, you might have wondered what their impact on the planet is and whether there’s anything you can do to lighten their load. Our pets make us happier and healthier, and in return we want to give them the world, but this shouldn’t cost the Earth. Learn the most effective way to reduce their carbon pawprint so you can care for them and the planet.  

Get introduced to young changemakers who are pursuing careers helping the environment and who are working hard to protect nature. Eavesdrop on their conversations to find out what they’re doing and what inspires them. Their passion for the natural world is infectious, it shines through the screen so much so that you’ll come away feeling inspired.

Explore the biggest challenges facing the planet and discover science-backed, hopeful solutions that will help us to create a more sustainable world.

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