Ancient Air From 2.4 Billion Years Ago Can Be Breathed at Tasmania Museum

A museum in Tasmania has created a special room where people can breathe air that is billions of years old. The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) worked with artist Julian Charrière to make this happen. The oxygen comes from ancient rocks that trapped air from when Earth was very young. Visitors can now experience what the air was like more than 2 billion years ago.

The project uses iron ore rocks from Australia's Pilbara region. These rocks are very old and contain water with ancient oxygen trapped inside. Scientists at the museum use special machines to remove the water from the rocks each day. Then they use another machine called a Hofmann apparatus to separate the oxygen from the water. This pure, ancient oxygen is then released into a special room for visitors to breathe.

The experience is called 'Breathe' and only one person can enter at a time. Visitors walk through a tunnel that looks like a mine shaft. The walls are made of raw sandstone and lined with deep red rocks from the Pilbara region. As people walk deeper into the tunnel, the temperature gets colder. At the end is a round room that looks like an underground tower.

In the center of the room stands a tall glass tube containing the scientific equipment. Visitors can sit in front of a small opening to breathe the ancient oxygen. The artist says this connects people to the very beginning of life on Earth. He explains that each person becomes the first to breathe that particular oxygen. Once someone breathes it in, they will carry it in their body until they die.

This installation is part of a bigger art show called 'Hard Core.' The show includes many other artworks that explore Earth's history and geology. One piece shows photos of the artist standing on an iceberg with a blowtorch. Another has living snails slowly eating a sculpture made of calcium carbonate. There's also a large marble ball that slowly gets worn down by constant polishing.

The museum created this special underground space because the owner, David Walsh, loved the artist's idea. Charrière wanted to create something like a time machine that would take people back to Earth's beginning. The Great Oxidation Event happened over 2 billion years ago when oxygen first filled Earth's atmosphere. This event made it possible for animals and plants to live and breathe as we know them today.