museums

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has just opened a new exhibit on human evolution, titled "Surviving: The Body of Evidence." An online article by Janet Monge and Alan Mann explains the idea of the exhibit and its unique emphasis:

The genesis of the idea came from Alan Mann's realization that students seemed to understand the broad impact of evolutionary process if they could witness it for themselves in their own bodies and minds. In order to evoke this response in the context of the exhibit, we challenge visitors to try to understand and define what it means to be human -- to revel in the experience of humanness. We ask them to witness the evolutionary process and to contextualize the human experience. This part of the exhibit is peppered with over 200 touchable casts of both modern and extinct mammals and primates, including many of our human ancestors, our chimp relatives, and even comparisons to horses and whales.

Visitors are now ready to see evolutionary history in their own bodies. Using multimedia devices surrounding a massive model of a woman's body, they see themselves not as perfect or perfectible beings, but as animals dealing with the various medical dilemmas that characterize the shared human experience -- bad backs, difficult childbirths, teeth that do not fit in our jaws, as well as many other maladies that are best understood from an evolutionary perspective.

Janet very kindly sent me links to the exhibit's online components. This page discusses the "Year of Evolution," an observance involving many Philadelphia institutions leading up to Darwin's 200th birthday.

Meanwhile, the "Surviving" exhibit's online site provides an interactive overview of several of the exhibit's areas, short videos that present perspectives on human anatomy, and other multimedia compositions. A great introductory video starts with kids' perspectives on evolution and the future -- a nice way to contextualize the exhibit's importance for evolution education. Another multimedia piece presents four of the scientists crucial to building modern biology, and provides audio put into their own voices that describes some of their contributions. Educators may appreciate the inclusion of Rosalind Franklin and Mary Leakey along with the more stodgy-looking Linnaeus and Darwin.

I think it's a neat site to look at if you're thinking about planning projects for teaching evolutionary biology, or to share with students.

OK, I have to take a moment off from Just Science week, to note this AP article about creationist protests of the National Museums of Kenya:

"I did not evolve from Turkana Boy or anything like it," says Bishop Boniface Adoyo, head of Kenya's 35 evangelical denominations, which he claims have 10 million followers. "These sorts of silly views are killing our faith."

He's calling on his flock to boycott the exhibition and has demanded the museum relegate the fossil collection to a back room -- along with some kind of notice saying evolution is not a fact but merely one of a number of theories.

It is hard to tell how much trouble this actually is. I tend to think cranks like this are usually just publicity-seeking, and the real danger is when they get some influence in the government. But that may be where things are at. I've seen more local reports on the issue, so I'm glad the AP has picked up the story and more people will see it.

According to the article, the museum is worried about people wrecking the exhibit:

The museum, which attracts around 100,000 visitors a year, is taking no chances.

Turkana Boy will be displayed in a private room, with limited access and behind a glass screen with 24-hour closed-circuit TV. Security guards will be at the entrance.

"There are issues about the security," said Dr. Emma Mbua, the head of paleontology at the museum. "These fossils are irreplaceable and we wouldn't want anything to happen to them."

Insurance coverage could run into millions of dollars, she added.

This seems to me like the most dangerous part -- protests or threats increase the costs of exhibiting and make it harder to conduct the museum's education work. It's an asymmetrical strategy -- the museum has priceless things in a fixed place, and I hope it's a strategy that gets stopped in its tracks.