Big things come in small packages: NM Museum of Natural History & Science welcomes microscopic photography exhibition on March 24

March 20th, 2023

Albuquerque, NM – The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (NMMNHS) is proud to welcome the premier celebration of microscopic photography, as Nikon Small World will be open at the Museum from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, April 30, 2023. 

“Not only is our museum proud to showcase the best photography of the year taken through a microscope, but we also see it as a unique opportunity,” said NMMNHS Executive Director Dr. Anthony Fiorillo. “Visitors will have a chance to see rare fossils and other items from our world-renowned Collections department included with the exhibition, showcasing these items from a new perspective.” 

The Nikon Small World competition was founded in 1974 to recognize excellence in photography through the microscope. Nikon Small World is widely regarded as the leading forum for recognizing the art, proficiency, and photographic excellence involved in photomicrography. In 2011, a sister competition, Nikon Small World in Motion, was launched in response to technology advances allowing for recording movies or digital time-lapse photography through the microscope. 

The exhibition will showcase the top selections from 48th annual Small World competition. These selections include a remarkable image, taken by Grigorii Timin while supervised by Dr. Michel Milinkovitch of the University of Geneva, of the embryonic hand of a Madagascar giant day gecko that won first prize. Other winning photos include a unique shot of breast tissue showing contractile myoepithelial cells wrapped around milk-producing alveoli, and a photo of image of blood vessel networks in the intestine of an adult mouse. 

At the museum, these and dozens of other images will be accompanied by selections from NMMNHS collection of more than 110,000 records documenting fossils and biological specimens held by the museum. To learn more about and search items the museum’s collections database, the largest of its kind in the Southwest, visit nmnaturalhistory.org/search-collections/search-collections. 

Nikon Small World will be on view from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, April 30. The exhibition is included with museum admission. Head to nmnaturalhistory.org to buy tickets and stay up to date on forthcoming Family Days and other promotions associated with this unique exhibition! 

About the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Trustees of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, through the generous support of donors. Established in 1986, the mission of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is to preserve and interpret the distinctive natural and scientific heritage of our state through extraordinary collections, research, exhibits, and programs designed to ignite a passion for lifelong learning. The NMMNHS offers exhibitions, programs, and workshops in Geoscience, including Paleontology and Mineralogy, Bioscience, and Space Science. It is the Southwest’s largest repository for fossils and includes a Planetarium and the large format 3D Verus Research DynaTheater.