Evolution: New Exhibition at Harvard Museum of Natural History

Called simply, “EVOLUTION,” the exhibit, which opened in April 2009, looks at evolution from a variety of angles, from tree-of-life relationships between creatures, to convergence that causes distantly related species to develop similar traits, to anatomical, fossil, and genetic evidence that evolution underlies life around us.

Leveraging the latest in evolution research and Harvard’s rich natural history collections, EVOLUTION invites visitors to examine the fossil, anatomical and genetic evidence that all life is connected through a shared evolutionary history. EVOLUTION showcases evolutionary transitions such as life’s move from water to land—the recent discovery of the tiktaalik roseae, called a ‘missing link’ between fish and land animals —and the emergence of mammals. Visitors can observe some of the animals and plants that sparked Darwin’s theory of natural selection; view dramatic displays of diversity within species; and access computer simulations to learn how natural selection acts on such variation to produce evolutionary change.

The exhibit tackles several major topics in evolution, including variation, which it terms the “raw material” of natural selection, natural selection itself, adaptive radiation, and convergent evolution, among others. It also presents a timeline of life, showing the progression from microbe to simple animal to complex animal to — very near the timeline’s end — humans.

The evolution gallery is the first that visitors pass through when they enter the museum. Museum Executive Director Elisabeth Werby said the location is important because “Evolution” underlies the exhibits visitors will find beyond, in galleries dedicated to the development and use of color in nature and to the enormous diversity of arthropods, and in halls dedicated to fossils, mammals, and other creatures.

The Harvard Museum of Natural History is located at 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, a 7-8 minute walk from the Harvard Square T station. The Museum is handicapped accessible. For general information please call 617 495 3045 or visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.
With a mission to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the natural world and the human place in it, the Harvard Museum of Natural History draws on the University’s collections and research to present a historic and interdisciplinary exploration of science and nature. More than 175,000 visitors annually make it the University’s most-visited museum.