This project is a traveling exhibition kit compiled from the vast collection of stuffed mammals preserved by the National Museum of Nature and Science.

The museum in Japan preserves millions of specimens, many of which remain in storage and are not available to the public.

"WHO ARE WE And What Can We Learn From Observation?" is a traveling exhibition kit compiled from a selection of these specimens of mammals and other taxidermy, and produced for display at institutions in Japan and around the world. We envision the museum exhibiting not only in museums, but also in commercial facilities, schools, and a variety of other places where people congregate.

The museum will be able to widely communicate the value of the museum's dormant resources to society and provide opportunities for people, from adults to children, who have never been interested in taxidermy before, to experience surprise and discovery.

The exhibition space is created by combining 11 fixtures, each independent of the others, in accordance with the exhibition venue.

There is no order except for the beginning and the end, allowing the viewer to move freely around the exhibition space. Instead of descriptive captions typical of museums, the fixtures incorporate 46 drawers, which contain a variety of viewpoints that provide hints for observing the taxidermy. This fixture provides a rational solution to both "convenience of touring" and "aesthetics of the exhibition".

Observing taxidermy through the perspectives in the drawers, such as the unknown ecology of known animals, unexpected commonalities between different animals, and the connection between animals and humankind, reveals a series of unknown aspects of animals that could not be noticed simply by looking at the taxidermy. Through the active act of opening the drawer and the provision of hints rather than answers, we have created a system that allows the viewer to become immersed in observation and discovery as if he or she were a researcher.

The viewer finally arrives at the theme "WHO ARE WE". The viewer rediscovers that he or she is a mammal like the taxidermied animals and is connected to nature and the earth in unseen ways, bringing awareness of "WE" including non-humans. By bringing these perspectives and senses back to our daily lives, we begin to see familiar creatures and familiar landscapes in a different light, and this triggers a new awareness. The experience of noticing wonders you had not noticed and questioning things you had taken for granted does not end in the exhibition hall, but continues even after you return to your daily life. We will spread the power of such observation and discovery to people around the world and to the next generation.

The exhibition aims to hand visitors "questions" to rethink what kind of beings humans are and what we can do for the future in this age of increasing endangered species and climate change, when the division between animals, nature and humanity is becoming ever deeper.