Editor's Note:
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Through the lens of foreign pundits, we take a look at 10 years of the BRI - how it achieves win-win cooperation between China and participating countries of the BRI and how it has given the people of these countries a sense of fulfillment.

The Mexican Chamber of Commerce in China (MexCham) vice president Victor Cadena (Cadena) shared his views in an interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Qian Jiayin. He believes that the core values of the BRI, which embody inclusiveness and win-win development, provide a prosperous foundation for long-term cooperation between Chinese and Mexican enterprises.

This is the 14th piece of the series.

GT: How do you evaluate the achievements and impact of the BRI? The circle of friends who are jointly building the BRI has expanded to 21 countries in Latin America. In your opinion, why is this initiative becoming increasingly popular in Latin America?

Cadena: The BRI has been successful because its core values are inclusiveness and win-win development. Solid institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have been created to finance cross-border infrastructure and multiple projects while fostering multilateral trade not just between China and the corresponding country but globally. MexCham actively participates in forums and exhibitions related to some BRI, and the BRI has provided convenience for Mexican companies to come to China.

GT: MexCham has been established for 16 years, and you have witnessed the development of China-Mexico economic and trade relations after the implementation of the BRI. What changes has the BRI brought to the MexCham?

Cadena: Mexico and China are old partners and friends. This year, we celebrate the 51st anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 16th anniversary of MexCham. Bilateral trade has been growing year on year, and last year our bilateral trade was around $130 billion, the highest record ever, compared to $86.6 billion in 2021. Hence, China is Mexico's second largest trading partner globally, just behind the US, and Mexico is China's second largest trading partner in Latin America, with Brazil being its largest in the region. 

GT: What advantages does the BRI provide for Mexican companies to develop in China?

Cadena: The Mexican government has not formally endorsed the BRI, and Mexico is not a member of the AIIB. The reasons are mainly related to geopolitics; however, as I mentioned, Mexico and China have very close political and economic relations. Proof of that is our bilateral trade, which has been growing year on year and last year was $130 billion, the highest ever. This amount is much larger than the bilateral trade between China and other Latin American countries with whom China has Free trade agreements (FTA).

Mexico and China do not have an FTA with each other, but we do have different bilateral instruments that provide legal certainty for bilateral trade and investments, such as a bilateral treaty for avoiding double taxation and a bilateral treaty for protecting bilateral investments, just to mention a few. In addition, Mexico and China have elevated their relations to the level of "comprehensive strategic partnership," which is a special category given by the governments of both countries.

GT: The US has always concocted various arguments to smear China's economic activities in Latin America, such as "debt traps," China's so-called expanding influence in Latin America and plans to build military facility. How much do you think these arguments can affect China-Latin America's economic cooperation? Will countries in Latin America buy into these arguments?

Cadena: Mexico is an independent, sovereign, autonomous country, and a member of international organizations such as the UN and WTO. Mexico has solid and mature economic and political relations with all countries worldwide, including China and the US. There are no foreign troops from any country in Mexico. A clear evidence of Mexico's peaceful and solid relations with both the US and China is the fact that the US and China are Mexico's largest trading partners. 

The main trading partner of Latin America is China; in most countries in Latin America, China ranks as the largest or second-largest trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. These facts show the relevance of China in Latin America. This trend is more likely to continue in the short and medium term.

GT: What are the differences between China and the US in the approaches of conducting economic and trade cooperation with Latin America?

Cadena: According to the US official figures, in the first six months of 2023, the US' largest trading partner was Mexico. Before Mexico, this position was held by China. This position is probably temporary and will likely change somewhere in the future. The so called US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, formerly called the North American Free Trade Agreement, has been in force for almost 30 years and provides a mature platform for companies manufacturing, assembling, and trading goods and services in the North American region. 

In fact, thousands of Chinese companies have been settled in Mexico over the last three decades, and in particular, over the last 3 years, there has been a new wave of Chinese companies arriving and eager to establish their offices and plants in Mexico as a consequence of the so called near-shoring effect. In a similar way, more and more Mexican companies and businesses are coming to China. In this sense, Mexico provides a mature and competitive platform for Chinese and foreign companies to manufacture or assemble their products and later export them to the US with zero tariffs due to the FTA. This is a win-win situation, as I consider Mexico and China to be complementary economies. In terms of exports, Mexico is different than most Latin American countries in the sense that a large amount of its exports are manufactured rather than primary, non-processed goods.

GT: In your opinion, in which areas do you think there is still potential for future economic and trade cooperation between Chinese and Mexican companies?

Cadena: Beyond the growing and huge bilateral trade between Mexico and China, I believe there is still more room for development in terms of communication between China and Mexico in several aspects. Cultural and academic exchanges are also important. Like China, Mexico is also a millennial civilization with a rich history and culture and is also the largest Spanish-speaking country worldwide. Before COVID, Mexico was the first country in Latin America with direct passenger flights to China. These flights haven't resumed, but we hope they will soon, as people's connectivity is very important. Mexico was also the most visited country in Latin America by Chinese tourists. Mexico ranks among the top 10 most visited countries, and the tourism industry is very well developed. Political exchanges are permanent and fluent. I trust our trade, political and cultural exchanges will continue growing in the years to come.

MexCham participates actively in trade and investment exhibitions and summits all over China. As an example, over the last few weeks, we headed a 30-member Mexican business delegation to Changsha, Hunan Province. In September, with Mexican companies we participated in the China International Fair for Trade in Services (Beijing) and China International Fair for Investment and Trade (Xiamen) with a Mexican pavilion, and business conferences in Anhui and Shandong. In August, in Mexico we received a delegation from Chongqing, and in October we will receive another from Shandong. I am very confident and positive about the Mexico-China relationship; we are old friends and good partners. We look forward to more Mexican companies in China and more Chinese companies in Mexico. Win-win long-term cooperation is the foundation for mutual sustainable growth and prosperity.

Editor's Note:
The US and Ukraine have agreed to launch joint weapons production in a step that will enable Kiev to start producing air defense systems. However, the sluggish economic recovery in the US has only increased the sense of war fatigue across American society. As the Ukraine crisis drags on, the impending US elections are in the shadow. Meanwhile, the White House and some lawmakers are growing increasingly alarmed about the future of US military aid to Ukraine. How will the anti-war sentiment impact voting at the ballot box? How will the Russia-Ukraine conflict end? Global Times (GT) reporters Wang Wenwen and Yu Jincui interviewed three anti-war activists in the US – Sara Flounders (Flounders), a political writer and activist for 50 years in the US, Julie Tang (Tang), a retired judge from the San Francisco Superior Court and co-founder of Pivot to Peace, and Danny Haiphong (Haiphong), an independent journalist in the US and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China as well as a founding member of the No Cold War international campaign – to get their insights on how to address these issues.

GT: Is the anti-war sentiment in the US rising? Do the Republicans tend to attack the Biden administration by using this sentiment? What anti-war activities have been held recently?

Flounders: There are locally coordinated actions planned for the first week of October on US/NATO war in Ukraine. The goal is to organize actions in at least 50 US cities and to reach out to anti-war activists in other NATO countries. Many of the actions are still small or symbolic. But they will have the participation of community organizations, union activists and student groups. The biggest problem is that regardless of where they are held, they receive no media coverage.

Republicans now sound "anti-war" on Russia, because Biden, a Democrat, is in the White House, but in their messaging the Republicans are even more anti-China than the Democrats. 

Both parties vote for endlessly expanding the military budget and for new rounds of sanctions. They bait each other on who can outdo the other in war threats and attacks. The messaging just depends on which of the two political parties is in the White House.

Tang: Americans are getting weary of the billions of dollars sent to Ukraine while the war has no end. They wanted politicians to turn their concerns toward domestic issues.

According to the recent labor market, 187,000 jobs have been added, but unemployment numbers have increased from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent. This means there are still many more unemployed than there are jobs.

Inflation, the rising default rate in credit card debts, rising interest rates, national deficit at $32.8 trillion, and low personal savings are causing anxiety among American workers. They are much more concerned about their own livelihood and the failed US financial policies than supporting Ukraine or engaging in a war in the Taiwan Straits. As Americans turn more inward to worry about their own livelihood, pro-war fervor is waning.

It is interesting to see how the Republican presidential candidates are running on a platform of getting out of Ukraine. But some of their reasons are befuddling and do nothing to promote peace. They openly discussed shifting the focus from Russia to war with China. To me, it is not anti-war, but jumping from one war to another. There is no commitment to real peace. And the crack in this country on ending the war is more rhetorical to gain votes than to seek global peace.

Haiphong: War fatigue has been increasing since the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, with bloated military budgets and economic instability causing domestic unease. However, rampant misinformation in US mainstream media means that it is difficult for people to coherently oppose war. 

This means that partisanship indeed interferes on the issue of war fatigue. With each election cycle, one side of the two-party system accuses the other of being pro-war. The GOP under Trump's leadership has feigned anti-interventionism despite supporting increased military budgets, sanctions and other forms of aggression. The opposition is based on political opportunism, as the Democrats led by Obama derided "dumb wars" prior to coming into office only to expand the number of wars the US was engaged in from two to seven once in office.

GT: Compared today with more than a year ago when the Russia-Ukraine conflict just started, has there been any change in anti-war sentiment across the US public?

Flounders: Support is sinking dramatically from one year ago. Support for the war will continue to erode. While it is not yet reflected in open opposition in the streets, it will be. There is no money for any of the promised social programs or infrastructure needs. War and militarism are guaranteed profits. 

Tang: Definitely. The anti-war sentiment is much strengthened as we see Ukraine's military incompetence and the failure of US sanctions against Russia. Some American leaders refused to admit Ukraine is losing. The press tweaked the news in Ukraine's favor creating a false impression that Ukraine is doing better than it actually is. That is why the majority of Americans polled believe that currently no one is winning the war. But the truth is Ukraine has been decimated, destroyed and will never be the same again.

GT: Will the protracted Ukraine crisis and the intensified anti-war sentiment caused by the US government's long-term involvement in Ukraine intensify the domestic confrontation in the US, and what impact will this have on next year's US elections?

Flounders: The impact on the US elections is not yet known. The problem in US electoral politics is that both major political parties in the US receive many millions of dollars in donations from the major military corporations and defense contractors. This ensures that regardless of who is in the White House and who is elected to the US Congress there is still firm support for US wars. 

Tang: I think the Russia-Ukraine war can potentially exacerbate the domestic strife in the US. The rhetoric used by Republican candidates is clearly to attack the war as it is Biden's war. They waste no time pointing out Biden is wrong to take the war as far as it has gone. Therefore, to peace activists, it is in itself a good thing. And if the Ukraine war becomes an issue in contention in the presidential race, it could be the decisive factor for who wins the US presidency, because the anti-war movement is a solid bloc of votes and that could steer the campaign in the direction of the anti-war candidate.

Haiphong: At the moment, anti-war forces are not strong enough to have a major impact on establishment politics. However, the Ukraine crisis is causing economic and political instability which could very well influence politics in the US as more and more become unhappy with endless expenditures worth tens of billions going to Ukraine while standard of living declines. 

How this will alter the course of politics in the US remains to be seen. Trump, if allowed to run, may be able to take advantage of Biden's self-inflicted quagmire in Ukraine and promote an isolationist position on economic grounds that may find more support than in 2020 when Trump reigned over a contracting US economy. A lot can change in a short period of time, but the fact is the Ukraine crisis is not going in the US' favor and Biden now has a track record of failure on this as well as many other issues that could make it difficult for him to win in 2024.

GT: How to you view China's efforts in promoting peace talks and resolve the Ukraine crisis?

Flounders: China's 12-point plan to negotiate peace and for a ceasefire and have received no serious media coverage or discussion in the US corporate media. At this time China's proposals, in the major corporate media, have received only warning to not be "fooled" by the proposals and to "dismiss" them as not serious. 

The major corporate media functions as the public relations arm of the military corporations. They work hand in hand. They are interlocked, even sharing board members. The media is used to promote militarism and war as the only option. This is a relentless message.  

Tang: China's efforts to promote peace between Russia and Ukraine bring hope for peace. As a friend of both countries, China is uniquely positioned to help forge peace agreements for both countries. But the response from the current US administration was negative. It did not want China to score more points or wield more power on international issues.

China has also demonstrated its diplomatic prowess by bringing Iran and Saudi Arabia together. Except for a few skirmishes with Vietnam and India, China has managed to maintain peace with its neighbors for the last 50 years. China has entered into hundreds of diplomatic agreements with Vietnam, the Philippines and other neighboring islands in the South China Sea. China is uniquely situated to help create a peaceful and prosperous multilateral world.

Haiphong: China should be commended for its efforts given the unique position it currently holds in the growing multipolar world. China has a responsibility to uphold the UN Charter, but it also has the right to sovereign development and an independent position on world affairs. China has been clear that peaceful settlement is the only path forward and has maintained neutrality on the Ukraine conflict. However, it has pointed out NATO's role in instigating and prolonging the conflict and at the same time strengthened its ties to all sides. China has made real efforts to facilitate dialogue as well. China has demonstrated that sovereignty and independence does not need to be sacrificed in matters of global stability. In fact, they go hand in hand, and China is the only major power in the world in the position to set this example at this time. It is a big responsibility, but it's one that China has shown time and time again that it is prepared to undertake.

GT: How do you predict the Russia-Ukraine conflict will end?

Flounders: This war will end as every US war in three generations has ended - Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and etc. in a setback for the great plans and imperialist promises, in trillions spent, enormous super-profits for the military corporations, massive destruction, millions of deaths, then on to the next enemy, the next war. There is no accountability, no evaluation.

But this war has another ending. A growing number of countries have lost all confidence in the US and are now seeking a path of cooperation rather than confrontation. This is a new juncture.

The number of China-Europe Chang'an freight train, connecting Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, with Moscow, Russia, has exceeded 20,000 trips since entering service on November 11, 2013, Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park, the operator of the train service told the Global Times on Saturday. 

The 20,000th Chang'an freight train carrying 165 vehicles departed from Xi'an on September 28, which was also the 3,947th freight train departing from the city in 2023. As of September 28 this year, the number of departures by Chang'an train saw a 29.7 percent increase year-on-year. The freight volume hit 3.5 million tons, up by 34.7 percent year-on-year. 

2023 marked the 10th anniversary of the Chang'an freight train's launch as well as the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In the past decade, the number of the transport routes has grown from one to 17, as the China-Europe freight train service covers the entire Eurasia continent. 

In addition, the category of the Chang'an train service has increased from merely drilling equipment in the beginning to now include textile products, machinery equipment, electronic products, rubber products, auto vehicles and other products. Grain, wood and minerals from the countries joining the Belt and Road Initiative are among the goods being imported to China. 

The maximum capacity of the Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park can reach 5.4 million standard containers and 66 million tons of freight per year, and can facilitate 15 trains each day. A representative from the park pledged to further improve cargo transport facilities, attract investment and build domestic currencies settlement system, in order to facilitate the development of the BRI.

Nature, one of the most pioneering scientific journals, published a list of the most anticipated science events around the world in 2023, which included the China-developed world's largest steerable telescope in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory in southern China.

According to the list published on Monday, one of the key developments to watch for in the coming year in the field of advanced stargazing is the Xinjiang Qitai Radio Telescope (QTT) which will be switched on for the first time.

The QTT will become the world's most powerful steerable radio telescope spanning 110 meters by 2028, capable of observing radio waves from meter-level to millimeter with a high degree of precision, and can also observe 75 percent of the stars in the sky at any given time, the Global Times learned from the project builder and future operator, the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in an exclusive interview in September.

According to the mission plan, the construction of QTT will be completed in six years. Upon completion, it is expected to become the world's largest and most accurate omnidirectional radio telescope, which can carry out scientific research in the frontier fields of Nanohertz gravitational waves, fast radio bursts, black holes, dark matter, celestial bodies and the origin of life, providing strong technical support for future space activities in China.

It is believed the installation will represent another major breakthrough in the country's development in astronomy following the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), Science and Technology Daily reported.

Another science event to look for next year in search for physics beyond the limits of current understanding is the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory in southern China, using a detector located 700 meters underground to precisely measure the oscillation of neutrinos — electrically neutral subatomic particles.

Neutrinos are the "hermits" in the world of elementary particles, known as "ghost particles." With small masses and no electricity, they pass through the human body and the Earth and hardly interact with any matter.

The mass order of neutrinos is the basis for the study of neutrino and the evolution of the universe, and is also the core issue in international neutrino research, according to media reports.

Other fields including Moon landings, mRNA vaccines and climate finance are among the developments set to shape research in the coming year, according to Nature's list.

"Venezuela is going to the Moon!" Gabriela Jimenez, Venezuela's vice president and minister of science and technology, wrote with great excitement in a twitter post on Tuesday after she signed a joint statement on the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) with Zhang Kejian, administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Monday via video link. 

According to Jimenez, Venezuela has become the first country in Latin America to join the project. 

According to the CNSA official release, the joint statement says the two sides will engage in extensive and in-depth cooperation in the areas of ILRS demonstration, engineering implementation, operation and application, including jointly demonstrating scientific goals, joint design, instrument development, scientific instrument deployment, scientific and technological experiments, data sharing and analysis, education and training. 

China and Venezuela have a long history of cooperation in the aerospace field and have achieved remarkable results. The signing of this joint statement marks a new step in the cooperation between the two countries and has significant implications for promoting scientific and technological progress as well as economic and social development, read the statement.

Monday marks the 11th International Memorial Day for the "Comfort Women," which refers to victims forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II. More than 200,000 Chinese women were tortured between 1931 and 1945 with fewer than 20 survivors still alive today in the Chinese mainland. 

The "comfort women" system was an organized and planned action directly orchestrated by the then Japanese militarist government during World War II and was executed by the Japanese troops. 

The victims of the "comfort women" system were not limited by race or borders. About 400,000 Asian women from China, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia and the European and American countries were forcibly conscripted as "comfort women." 

In a video released by the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders on its Sina Weibo, a Chinese "comfort women" survivor recalled her experience and fear of being imprisoned by the Japanese invaders. 

Many netizens left messages online to call on the public not to forget the suffering of "comfort women." 

One netizen said that history will not fade with the passage of time, and facts will not disappear due to eloquent denials, noting that revisiting history is not about indulging in suffering and hatred, but about ensuring that peace endures and justice prevails. Another netizen said that war is like a mirror that allows people to better understand the preciousness of peace. 

In South Korea, there left only nine surviving "comfort women" after one survivor passed away in May this year. All the South Korean survivors are now in their 90s. 

On August 14, 2022, which was designated the International Memorial Day for "Comfort Women" in 2012 by the 11th Asian Alliance Conference for "Comfort Women," South Korean people held a protest rally in Seoul with portraits of "comfort women" and their testimonies. 

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has ushered in a travel peak as summer vacations travel season continues to sizzle. Many of the region's airports have set new records for passenger volumes, according to local media outlet ts.cn on Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the summer travel season, the passenger flow through Urumqi Diwopu International Airport has hit record highs. From July 28 to August 12, the single-day passenger throughput exceeded 90,000 for 16 consecutive days, ts.cn reported on Tuesday.

Single-day passenger flow on August 5 reached 96,800, which is the highest record since the opening of the airport.

As of August 12, Urumqi Dewoqi International Airport has carried out 108,000 flights in 2023, with passenger throughput exceeding 15 million. It has also completed cargo and mail throughput of 84,000 tons.

Among them, leading destination cities of domestic inbound and outbound passenger flow to Urumqi are Beijing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Kashi, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Lanzhou, accounting for 53 percent of the cumulative passenger throughput.

For international flights, top destinations are Almaty, Dushanbe, Tashkent, Islamabad and Tbilisi.

As of July 31, Urumqi International Airport has opened 210 routes. A total of 22 cities within Xinjiang, 70 domestic cities outside of Xinjiang, and 13 foreign cities have direct flights to Urumqi.

In addition to Urumqi, transport volume of other airports in Xinjiang including Kashi, Yutian continue to break records. .

The Kashi International Airport also experienced the operational peak during the summer season. It is hosting more than 12,000 inbound and outbound passengers per day, operates 16 airlines, and has flights to 11 Xinjiang cities and 16 other Chinese cities.

At 08:11 am on Tuesday, the first direct flight route from Kashi to Guangzhou was officially opened, becoming the longest direct flight route in China.

As of August 12, the passenger throughput of Kashi International Airport exceeded 2 million, two months ahead of reaching the same benchmark in 2019.

On August 9, inbound and outbound cargo and mail throughput of Kashi International Airport exceeded 100 tons, making it the first regional airport in Xinjiang with inbound and outbound cargo and mail throughput exceeding 100 tons in a single day.

Passenger throughput in Yutian Wanfang Airport in Hotan prefecture also reached 100,000 passengers as of August 11, three and a half months ahead of reaching the same benchmark in 2019. It is also 155.1 percent higher than the same period in 2022, and is expected to exceed 150,000 in 2023.

Currently, Yutian Wanfang Airport is operating four airlines and has opened six routes to seven cities inside and outside of Xinjiang, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Urumqi.

Xinjiang has become a hot tourist destination over recent years. Enjoying an unprecedented tourism rebound in 2023, Xinjiang welcomed 102 million visits, a year-on-year increase of 31.49 percent, with tourism revenue reaching 92.27 billion yuan ($12.82 billion), a year-on-year increase of 73.64 percent, according to data released by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Xinjiang region on July 8.

Got questions about Zika virus? Mosquito-borne diseases? Genetically engineered mosquitoes? Three Science News reporters will be answering questions Friday, March 4, as part of Reddit’s Ask Me Anything series.

Staff writer Meghan Rosen, molecular biology writer Tina Hesman Saey and biology writer Susan Milius will be responding to questions from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern at this link.

See Science News’ coverage of these topics in our Zika Virus Editor’s Pick and Mosquitoes & Disease Editor’s Pick.

If some of the most bizarre zoo animals merged into one cartoonish creature, it might look something like the “Tully monster.”

Fossils of Tullimonstrum gregarium, a soft-bodied animal that lived roughly 300 million years ago in what is now Illinois, feature wide-set eyes like a hammerhead shark, a nose like an elephant, and a mouth that could pass for a crab claw with teeth. It’s one of the “weird wonders” of its time, and for more than 50 years, it has stymied scientists debating its identity.
Now, an analysis of more than 1,200 museum specimens, reported March 16 in Nature, says the Tully monster was a vertebrate (not a slug, or a worm, or an arthropod). A long, thin tube running down the creature’s back, for example, was not part of the gut, as some scientists had suggested, but a notochord, a structural hallmark of vertebrates.

The creature was probably an ancestor of lampreys, jawless fish that can latch onto prey like a vacuum cleaner hose with teeth, study coauthor Victoria McCoy of Yale University and colleagues suggest.

Even among lampreys, the Tully monster stands out. With its stubby body and potentially tail-propelled swimming style, the creature’s place in the lamprey family tree might be best likened to yet another zoo animal: black sheep.

Dinosaurs Among Us
Now open
With help from fossils and life-size models, this exhibit lays out the evidence — from feathers to nesting behavior — that links dinosaurs to birds.

American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Life in One Cubic Foot
Now open
In this interactive exhibit, count up the different types of organisms that pass through a cubic foot of land or water in a single day in various habitats, including a coral reef in French Polynesia.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Benjamin Dean Astronomy Lectures: Tiny Moons Around Asteroids
April 4
A researcher from the SETI Institute will discuss the technology that astronomers use to image asteroids that have satellites, as well as describe potential future missions to these space rocks.

California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
COURTESY OF U-M KELSEY MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY
Leisure and Luxury in the Age of Nero: The Villas of Oplontis Near Pompeii
Through May 15
Opulent jewelry and art, along with a collection of more mundane artifacts, recovered from ruins near Pompeii help visitors appreciate the economic disparities between ancient Rome’s wealthy elite and lower socioeconomic classes.

University of Michigan Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Ann Arbor
Invisible Boundaries: Exploring Yellowstone’s Great Animal Migrations
Opens May 27
The migrations of elk, deer and other animals of Yellowstone National Park are highlighted in this exhibit, which also examines conservation efforts to protect these creatures, whose travels take them well beyond the park’s boundaries.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyo.