Darwin
Temporary Exhibit [Return to listing page]
Nichols Gallery
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - Friday, April 27, 2007
Nearly 150 years after Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species, his theory of evolution by natural selection continues to be the central concept underlying all of modern biology. In Darwin, the most in-depth exhibition ever mounted on the highly original naturalist and his groundbreaking theory, find out how this scientific genius realized that biological life is not static, but changing through ongoing natural selection.
Shortly after Darwin graduated from Cambridge University at age 22, he spent five years as the naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle, sailing throughout South America and along the coasts of Africa and Australia. Throughout his journey, Darwin carefully accumulated observations and specimens from the areas he visited.
In this exhibit, a lush array of fossils, mounted specimens, and collections of beetles, butterflies, and moths suggest the astounding diversity Darwin encountered in his travels around the world. Complementing the assortment, live organisms (two 50-pound Galapagos tortoises, a five-foot-long green iguana, ornate horned frogs from South America, and carnivorous plants) evoke the sense of wonder that Darwin felt when first seeing so many magnificent, unfamiliar living things.
Following the Beagle expedition, Darwin spent over 20 years developing his theory of evolution by natural selection. Because his startling ideas ran counter to the prevailing belief that organisms were immutable, he feared scientific ridicule and public scorn, and so he adopted a comfortable yet reclusive lifestyle while gathering and examining evidence at his home in England.
A large-scale video presentation leads visitors on a contemplative "virtual walk" with Darwin along the path he created on the grounds of Down House. And, in an elaborate reconstruction of his study, visitors can see the very place where Darwin refined his profound idea, steadily filling notebooks with his observations and recording his experiments with pigeons, plants, and other forms of life.
In other parts of the exhibit, visitors can view contemporary examples of modern evolutionary research and use videos and interactive stations to get a better understanding of fundamental evolutionary concepts. Another area addresses social reactions to Darwin's theory, and it includes videotaped interviews with some of today's leading scientists.
Visitors can also dive deeper into one of Darwin's most famous destinations with Galapagos, an IMAX® film chronicling the work of a modern-day marine biologist who, like her famous predecessor, encounters previously unidentified underwater species.
Darwin is organized by the American Museum of Natural History (www.amnh.org) in collaboration with the Museum of Science, Boston; The Field Museum, Chicago; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; and the Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.
