Natural History Museum, a future imagined by Kirsten Lepore

Two modern-day humans observe a museum diorama that showcases what primitive life on Earth was like. Moments later, these humans are within their own diorama, observed by humanoid aliens who muse about how primitive and strange our modern-day seems. And then we flash forward again.

This is Natural History Museum, a stop-motion short film written, directed, and animated by TKSST favorite Kirsten Lepore. It was created around the theme of “a beautiful future” for a Janelle Monáe-helmed “digital series aimed at empowering creative women.” Lepore explains to The Verge:

I thought it would be fun to look into a “beautiful” future, but like way, way into the future — further than any of us could comprehend. I wanted to use those future scenarios as a way to reframe our present moment and get some perspective on our current shortcomings and how I hope we might evolve as time goes on.

A summary from Fast Company:

Natural History Museum pushes time forward on a vast scale to underscore the immediate failings we have as humans today—a point that’s even more defined within the context of museum of artifacts. In the finale stage of “humanity,” there is no judgment based on trite constructs around gender or body type. Empathy isn’t skewed or limited because it’s based on the restrictive viewpoints of individuals—rather, it’s something that’s innate…

Next, watch more from Kirsten Lepore on TKSST.

Then enjoy Building a True-to-Life Butterfly for a Habitat Diorama, Making aloe plants for the hyena diorama at The Field Museum, and How the V&A recreated an 18th-century Mechanical Theatre.

Bonus: Al Jarnow’s Cosmic Clock (1979) and A Briefer History of Time: How tech changes us in unexpected ways.

h/t Kottke.