(Soil Alive! opens this Saturday at the High Desert Museum | Illustration by Beth Freeman)
New Exhibition Opening This Saturday
Go on a subterranean adventure with Soil Alive!
Soil is made from minerals, air, water and decaying bits of organisms. But it’s not just a bed of crunched up rocks and other materials — soil is alive.
Opening this Saturday, Soil Alive! beckons visitors underground to explore the subterranean world beneath us in a family-friendly, interactive exhibition.
Visitors can see, touch, smell and even hear life underground. In the Sagebrush Steppe, a giant magnifying glass points at a wall-sized digital illustration, enlarging soil areas and illuminating hidden animals. Over in the Ponderosa Pine Forest, visitors use a motion-activated screen to help a network of fungi connect to a ponderosa sapling nearby.
Just below our feet, there is a universe that is busy, active and alive. Are you ready to go on a subterranean adventure?
Soil Alive!
October 18, 2025, through March 29, 2026
Presented in English and Spanish.
FREE with Museum admission.
