Darwin comes to Ohio

Posted 21 June 2009 by Richard B. Hoppe

The Darwin exhibit organized by the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the Museum of Science, Boston; The Field Museum, Chicago; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; and the Natural History Museum, London, England that is currently touring North America will be at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland from June 27 through September 18, 2009. From all reports this is a magnificent exhibition, well worth the drive to Cleveland. In addition, several Cleveland institutions will have related programs through the summer, including showings of Galapagos at the Omnimax theater in the Science Center.

29 Comments

Eamon Knight · 21 June 2009

Having seen it at both the Field and the ROM, I'll affirm that it's a great exhibit. Has there been any problem securing sponsorship for the Cleveland appearance? Apparently the ROM had trouble, as corporate sponsors considered the E-word too controversial or potential bad PR. In the end, sponsorships came from the Humanist Association of Canada and the United Church Observer(!).

Flint · 21 June 2009

Well, that's about an 11-hour drive one way. Must be quite an exhibit.

RBH · 21 June 2009

Flint said: Well, that's about an 11-hour drive one way. Must be quite an exhibit.

Easy peasy. A day up, a day at the exhibition, a day to drink beer at the Great Lakes brewery, a day to recover, and a day back home. A short and educational week! :) As to sponsors, it looks like they have seven of them, including an engineering firm, Continental Airlines, and a foundation whose charter says

The John P. Murphy Foundation, whose Articles of Incorporation state that the Foundation will distribute its grants for "charitable, educational, scientific, literary and religious purposes," was established in November 1960.

I didn't hear about any problems getting sponsors, though I wasn't listening closely.

John Vaughn · 21 June 2009

Awesome! Finally something good comes to Cleveland. I go to Cleveland State University, so I'll be sure to check that out!

John Kwok · 21 June 2009

London was supposed to have been the final stop of the exhibition tour. Am not sure whether the entire exhibition will be on display, since the exhibition did include some of Darwin's personal effects, on loan from the Down House museum (Darwin's rural homestead outside of London where he did most of his research and writing from the early 1840s onward).

For an online "look" at the exhibition, please look here:

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/

John Kwok · 21 June 2009

I just looked at the Great Lakes Science Center's website, and this is apparently the entire original exhibition that was curated by American Museum of Natural History invertebrate paleontologist Niles Eldredge. Among the exhibition highlights will include audiovisual commentary from Francis Collins, Ken Miller and Genie Scott. Those who see it in Cleveland will be paying a lower price than the original AMNH admission charge when it was here in New York City. I made sure to see it a few times, not only because of the subject matter, but because it is among the very best I have seen organized by AMNH:

John Kwok said: London was supposed to have been the final stop of the exhibition tour. Am not sure whether the entire exhibition will be on display, since the exhibition did include some of Darwin's personal effects, on loan from the Down House museum (Darwin's rural homestead outside of London where he did most of his research and writing from the early 1840s onward). For an online "look" at the exhibition, please look here: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/

John Vaughn · 21 June 2009

Thanks for the info John Kwok, I'm even more excited now. The $12-18 price range is great too.

H.H. · 22 June 2009

I'm from Cleveland and am actually going to get married at the Cleveland zoo this autumn. I'll be sure to try to check it out next time I'm in town, which should be before September. And John Vaughn is right. I'm sure Cleveland museums are hurting a bit and could use the dollars.

Raymond · 22 June 2009

I saw this exhibit in the NHM, London and loved it. It's worth a trip to see it.

Karen S. · 22 June 2009

I saw it at at the AMNH (twice, in fact) and i agree that it was excellent. It was so popular it was extended beyond its original end date. Now that was encouraging!

Science Nut · 22 June 2009

Shameless plug for Great Lakes Brewery:

The exhibit IS cool...no doubt, but were I in Cleveland, I'd have to visit the brewery. GLB has by far the yummiest lager ("Elliot Ness") that I have ever tasted.....the Burning River pale Ale ain't bad either.

Can you name a better USA lager?

( I hope this highjacks the thread and turns PT into Pandas Pub. :-) )

RBH · 22 June 2009

Science Nut said: Shameless plug for Great Lakes Brewery: The exhibit IS cool...no doubt, but were I in Cleveland, I'd have to visit the brewery. GLB has by far the yummiest lager ("Elliot Ness") that I have ever tasted.....the Burning River pale Ale ain't bad either. Can you name a better USA lager? ( I hope this highjacks the thread and turns PT into Pandas Pub. :-) )

Erm, the Panda's Thumb is the pub associated with the University of Ediacara. It's the origin of the name of the blog. See here:

“The Panda’s Thumb” is many things… First, it is an example of jury-rigged evolutionary adaptation made famous by the late Stephen Jay Gould in an essay of the same name. Second, it is the legendary virtual bar serving the community of the legendary virtual University of Ediacara somewhere in the Ediacaran hills of southern Australia, growing out of the lore of the Usenet talk.origins newsgroup. And now it is a weblog giving another voice for the defenders of the integrity of science, the patrons of “The Panda’s Thumb”. Much as in any tavern serving a university community, you can expect to hear a variety of levels of discussion, ranging from the picayune to the pedantic. The authors are people associated with the virtual University of Ediacara (and thus the talk.origins newsgroup), and various web sites critical of the antievolution movement, such as the TalkOrigins Archive, TalkDesign, and Antievolution.org. So, here’s a virtual pub crawl that you might actually learn something from. We hope you find your time spent here pleasant and rewarding.

So we've got breweries covered. :)

John Kwok · 22 June 2009

Karen S. -

I was thrilled when I heard that the exhibition was being extended a few months. Since it's still on tour, I hope AMNH might consider bringing it back for a "return engagement":

"I saw it at at the AMNH (twice, in fact) and i agree that it was excellent. It was so popular it was extended beyond its original end date. Now that was encouraging!"

I don't know if you know this, but in the Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins on the museum's first floor, near the original 77th Street lobby, the very end of the exhibition includes a few video clips from Darwin with commentary from, among others, Francis Collins, Ken Miller and Genie Scott (And yes, this exhibition is named for its primary sponsor, who is the father of a certain recent former governor of New York. When I saw Ken after his AMNH talk last year, he had to ask me if Spitzer was related to you know who.).

Regards,

John

Pigilito · 22 June 2009

Absolutely I'll be going. More importantly, I'll take my two daughters. They love the GL Science museum anyway, so it won't be a problem getting them to go. For those interested, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is right next door.

dogmeatIB · 22 June 2009

Anyone know the upcoming schedule? I looked but only found previous exhibits, obviously I missed a link somewhere...

Jeff McKee · 22 June 2009

Darwin has been in Ohio for a long time ... the question is whether or not he will be chased out as the science standards undergo review.

RBH · 22 June 2009

dogmeatIB said: Anyone know the upcoming schedule? I looked but only found previous exhibits, obviously I missed a link somewhere...

Tickets and hours.

RBH · 22 June 2009

Jeff McKee said: Darwin has been in Ohio for a long time ... the question is whether or not he will be chased out as the science standards undergo review.

Are you in Cinci this week?

Karen S. · 22 June 2009

I don’t know if you know this, but in the Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins on the museum’s first floor, near the original 77th Street lobby, the very end of the exhibition includes a few video clips from Darwin with commentary from, among others, Francis Collins, Ken Miller and Genie Scott

Yes, I know they are there-- thanks for mentioning it. I'm very happy they decided to re-use them. This is off-topic, but did you see the new Extreme Mammals at the AMNH yet? It's really great.

Mal Adapted · 22 June 2009

Can you name a better USA lager?

I haven't had Great Lakes' product, but (as a native of Wisconsin) I'll hold Leinenkugels' offerings up against all comers 8^)!

Henry J · 22 June 2009

Wonder if they've shown the exhibit in the capital of the Northwest Territory of Australia? :)

Henry

RDK · 22 June 2009

This looks like it's going to be a great way to spend a day. I'm in the Michigan area, so I could easily go to this granted I'm not doing anything during those two weeks.

John Kwok · 23 June 2009

Yes, I have. It is surprisingly quite well done - IMHO better than Horses - and is far more comprehensive in both its detail and scientific accuracy than, for example, Climate Change:

Karen S. said:
I don’t know if you know this, but in the Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins on the museum’s first floor, near the original 77th Street lobby, the very end of the exhibition includes a few video clips from Darwin with commentary from, among others, Francis Collins, Ken Miller and Genie Scott
Yes, I know they are there-- thanks for mentioning it. I'm very happy they decided to re-use them. This is off-topic, but did you see the new Extreme Mammals at the AMNH yet? It's really great.

John Kwok · 23 June 2009

Jeff - In a more recent post, RBH has posted a reminder about this week's 9th North American Paleontological Convention, noting that there will be several programs of special interest, since this year is the Darwin Bicentennial:

Jeff McKee said: Darwin has been in Ohio for a long time ... the question is whether or not he will be chased out as the science standards undergo review.

Both Ken Miller's and Genie Scott's will be quite good.

Dave Luckett · 23 June 2009

Henry J said: Wonder if they've shown the exhibit in the capital of the Northwest Territory of Australia? :) Henry

That would be the Northern Territory of Australia. The Northwest Territories are, I believe, the Canadian equivalent, with polar bears rather than crocodiles.

fnxtr · 23 June 2009

The capital of which is Yellowknife, not Darwin. Oh, and they have diamonds, too.

Henry J · 23 June 2009

Oh. Northern Territory, then. Hey, I was only 45 degrees (NW vs. N) off...?

Polar bears or crocodiles? I'd rather have rabbits and an occasional bunch of deer. Safer that way. :)

Henry

stevaroni · 23 June 2009

...with polar bears rather than crocodiles.

The user interface is still pretty much the same.

dNorrisM · 23 June 2009

I’d rather have bacon and an occasional bunch of Beer.

(I look forward to the exibit.)