The Power of Poison exhibit explores poison’s paradoxical roles in nature, human health and history, literature, and myth.

Discover poison and its surprising role in our natural and cultural history through immersive environments and engaging interactives. From fairy tales to modern medicine, The Power of Poison explains what’s real, what’s a myth, and what remains a mystery.

The Power of Poison exhibit is great for school groups!

Students will explore the past, present, and future of poison. This exhibit uses models, objects, interactives, and storytelling to explore the biology of poison and its role in nature, human history, and health.

Download our Educators Guide Here

Book a field trip today!

The Power of Poison exhibit is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org)

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Inside The Power of Poison exhibit:

POISON IN NATURE

Visitors enter the exhibit by walking through a remote Colombian forest re-created in the exhibition’s Poison in Nature section.

POISON IN MYTH AND LEGEND 

A famous scene in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is just one of several tales and legends re-created in life-size dioramas in the exhibition’s Poison in Myth and Legend section. Visitors will also be able to interact with an “enchanted” book, based loosely on Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks. This interactive book also highlights each plant, where it is found, and the effects of its poison.

DETECTING POISONS

An iPad interactive game will let visitors play detective by finding clues about various toxins and poisonous creatures. Visitors must review victims’ symptoms to help solve three puzzling cases of accidental poisonings. 

POISON BY ACCIDENT

A gallery in the exhibition’s Poison by Accident section considers some of history’s most notorious poisoners and poisonings that still puzzle us today.

POISON FOR GOOD

In the Poison for Good section, visitors will learn how hundreds of species of plant and animal toxins are being studied for life-saving new drugs.