Refreshed "Moon Shadows" for Wolf Diorama

by AMNH on

On Exhibit posts

Midnight in winter, near Gunflint Lake, Minnesota.

Two wolves chase an unseen deer, as the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) glimmer behind them. 

In the wolf diorama in the Museum’s Hall of North American Mammals, two wolves sprint across a snowy moonlit field.
Wolves
© AMNH/R. Mickens

During the recent renovation of the Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals, all light fixtures were replaced with more energy-efficient alternatives. But the five lights above the wolf diorama created new challenges for the team working to restore it. How did the team re-create the illusion of blue moonlight raking over the snowy landscape? In the video, Museum artist Stephen C. Quinn explains the process.