I wonder if the Intelligent Design folks plan to protest this upcoming exhibit? I'd like to see an update of the 1968 Democratic Convention, only this time, for the Chicago police to crack the skulls of the religious fundies....
Field exhibit out to show we've come a long way...
A menagerie of some of the oddest, most outlandish and spectacular animals ever to have lived goes on display this week in the Field Museum's vast new $17 million exhibit on evolution, “Evolving Planet.”All the animals lived long ago, some of the most weirdly entertaining ones swimming around long before the age of dinosaurs
The 27,000-square-foot exhibit, one of the museum's biggest, is designed to state the case for science and evolution in the national debate over evolutionary theory versus creationism and intelligent design.Dinosaur lovers should be pleased. “Evolving Planet” devotes the middle third of its exhibit space to the museum's outstanding collection of dinosaur fossils and casts, expanding its former display.
There is far more to “Evolving Planet,” however, than dinosaurs. It opens with a computer animation of a lifeless Earth 4 billion years ago, speculating on two theories of how life started here, either as bacteria in deep ocean thermal vents or imported from space by crashing meteorites.
From there the museum's exhibit wizards bring early plants and animals to life in front of visitors.
To show ocean life 530 million years ago in the Cambrian Period, for example, the exhibit presents visitors with a 30-foot curved wall with three huge high-definition screens that look like a single window into a giant aquarium.
and somehow, I think this poll was flawed, either in methodology, or in execution. If I wasn't otherwise occupied, I'd look for some details about it - seems fishy.
A nationwide poll in October showed that 53 percent of adult Americans surveyed believed “God created humans in their present form exactly the way the Bible describes it.” That indicates many Americans agree more with creationist theory than with evolution.In response to that sentiment, science museums around the country have been developing new evolution exhibits, the Field's perhaps being the biggest to date.
The exhibit doesn't engage in the debate of evolution versus creationism and intelligent design, both of which argue that life and the universe came from a purposeful plan by a creator.
“I respect religion and other people's beliefs,” said Martin, “but I am a scientist, and we are a science museum. We establish what we know from observable evidence.”
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It is perhaps relatively easy to get visitor attention with spectacularly doomed dinosaurs and oddball, 500-million-year-old carnivores from Cambrian seas. To get them to understand complex evolutionary concepts is more difficult, and the staff makes use of videos, models and interactive display techniques to do so.“We really like the animated video we use here, `Evolution Essentials,' which shows visitors how natural selection works and how we know it works,” said Tubutis. “That is very important in the current public debate about evolution versus creationism.”
Update 3/9/06: Shakespeare's Sister has more (read the comments especially)
from the sari in the comments:
I'm so excited that you're all excited.I work in the museum field and this has been a HUGE issue in the past year. For a while the science museum listserv was overwhelmed with discussions on how to deal with intelligent design/creationism. They take this very seriously. Several museums have created programs to train floor staff on how to talk with visitors who challenge them about the validity of evolution.
Most science museums in the country, as well as the national organization (Association of Science and Technology Centers) have taken a strong, proactive stand to support the teaching of evolution.
The Museum of Natural History in NYC opened a Darwin exhibit a few months ago. I read that they couldn't get a single major corporate sponsor. Yet - they still went ahead. So - good for them too!
Tags: Chicago, /evolution, /FSM, /Intelligent_Design
Really 53%? If that is true then it's really scary.
I find it hard to believe the 53% number myself - would like to see more details about the poll, who took it, what the actual questions were, who asked the questions, etc.