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In Philadelphia, the celebration - a Year of Evolution - is already well underway.
The University of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and major cultural organizations in the city, kicked off a public Year of Evolution April 19, 2008, when Penn Museum opened its new, National Science Foundation-funded exhibition about the process of evolution and its impact on everyday life: Surviving: The Body of Evidence. The exhibition continues through May 3, 2009, before starting a national tour.
The Year of Evolution includes exhibitions and public and scholarly programs at Penn Museum and on Penn’s campus—as well as at cultural organizations in the city.
Complementing the ongoing Surviving exhibition, three key events take place at the Penn Museum around Darwin’s 200th Birthday:
February 12 and 13, 2009
Thursday and Friday
Darwin's Legacy in 21st Century Biology
Invited speakers to this two-day scholarly colloquium, free and open to the public, provide a comprehensive Darwinian and historical framework for current theoretical and empirical research. As such, the symposium emphasizes how the work of Charles Darwin continues to inspire biology in the 21st century and beyond.
February 12
Thursday 6:00 pm
Year of Evolution Public Program
Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution
It has been 80 years since the Scopes Monkey Trial, but the debate between science and religion has never been as heated as it is now. Kenneth R. Miller, Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University, is a preeminent evolutionary scientist, the author of the most widely used high school biology textbook in America, and the keynote speaker for Darwin’s Legacy in 21st Century Biology (February 12–13).
February 15
Sunday 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Annual Darwin Day
Darwin and Evolution Teach-In
It’s a teach-in for all! Charles Robert Darwin, author of On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man, was born February 12, 1809. Penn Museum joins the international celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2009. Penn professors from a variety of disciplines offer short talks in the Penn Museum’s galleries, focusing on what evolution means to their particular fields of study. Children’s activities, badminton (a favorite Darwin pastime), a film viewing, gallery tours of Surviving: The Body of Evidence, and birthday cake are part of the festivities. Charles Darwin promises to make an appearance!
Dr. Howard Goldfine, Professor of Microbiology, School of Medicine, and Dr. Michael Weisberg, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, School of Arts and Sciences, are co-chairs of the University's Year of Evolution. Dr. Janet Monge, Acting Curator of Physical Anthropology, Penn Museum, and co-curator of the Surviving exhibition, was instrumental in organizing the city-wide effort. -- www.museum.upenn.edu
Posted January 31st, 2009 by ruzik_tuzik
