ALBANY, NY – Chocolate, an exhibition from Chicago’s Field Museum, will take visitors on a journey through history, exploring the relationship between human culture and this rainforest treasure, when it opens at the New York State Museum Sept. 17th.

The exhibition, open through Jan. 7, 2007, begins with the story of chocolate’s origin, from the seeds of the cacao tree in a lush tropical rainforest.  From there visitors will learn about the plant, the products, the history and the culture of chocolate, through the lenses of botany and ecology, anthropology and economics, conservation and popular culture.

Visitors will see how sculpture and carved vessels, cacao seeds in dishes and chemical residue in pots helped scientists trace the roots of chocolate back almost 1,500 years ago to the ancient Maya civilization of Central America.  The Maya were the first to turn the bitter seeds into a spicy drink for use in ceremonies and trade.  Cacao was coveted by other cultures and soon became a valuable article of trade in the Aztec culture in 16^th-century Mexico.  An interactive Aztec marketplace shows visitors the purchasing power of a handful of beans.

The exhibition explores the commodification of chocolate by Europeans, and the use of forced labor on colonial plantations to meet the insatiable European demand for chocolate and its new soul mate, sugar.  The sweet side of the industrial revolution is also revealed, showing the steady stream of new inventions and creative advertising that brought chocolate bars to the masses.

The relationship between growing, selling and consuming cacao is explained.  Visitors can trace the ups and downs of “cocoa,” the commodity, in the world market and check the stock ticker to see its price on a hypothetical futures exchange.  Visitors will also learn about how cacao is grown, harvested, prepared and shipped today and what farmers are doing to preserve their crops, income and the rainforest.

Artifacts in the exhibition include pre-Columbian ceramics and ritual objects; European silver and porcelain chocolate services; 19^th and 20^th-century cocoa tins, advertising and packaging; antique and contemporary candy molds, botanical specimens and agricultural tools.

Several videos are also featured including one that visitors can watch while seated on tufted ottomans that look like giant bonbons in their wrappers.  The exhibition is bilingual. All text is in both Spanish and English.

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department.  Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany.  Further information about Museum programs at Museum website www.nysm.nysed.gov.