LIFE: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

Opening Saturday: National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting can't claim to have witnessed the Big Bang, but he's photographed pretty much everything else on Earth in more than 20 years of work with the World Wildlife Fund and other organizations. Acclaimed as one of the world's great nature photographers, the Netherlands native has undertaken a multimedia meditation on the history of life on Earth, complete with an exhibit, a book, a website (LifeThroughTime.com) and music by Philip Glass. The "Life" exhibit features 62 of Lanting's photos, many paired with real animal, fossil and plant specimens from the Bell Museum's collection. (Through April 12, Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 SE. Church St., Mpls. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri. $3-$5; free for U of M students and for all on Sundays. Exhibit walkabouts with paleontologist David Fox and ecology Prof. Franklin Barnwell on March 8 and April 5, free. 612-624-7083 or BellMuseum.org.)

MARY ABBE