Download Darwin 2009 exhibitions and programming at Carnegie Museum of

For Immediate Release
December 17, 2008
For more information, contact:
Leigh Kish
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
[email protected]
412.622.3361
Darwin 2009 exhibitions and programming
at Carnegie Museum of Natural History
One of the four
Carnegie Museums
of Pittsburgh
Horse Evolution: Teen Docent Exploration Station
This Exploration Station activity taking place at the Carnegie Museum of Natural
History engages both students and the general audiences in a discussion and
activity that explore the evolution of the horse. Teen Docents will use replicas of
horse feet from various periods of the horse’s evolution to illustrate how horses
have adapted to changing climates and other environmental pressures throughout
time. Using a mold, visitors have the option to create their own horse feet
impressions to take home. Visitors are encouraged to first visit the American
Museum of Natural History’s traveling exhibition, The Horse, to witness evidence
for the evolution of the horse and the significance of the horse in human history.
Opens February 28th from 12-4pm, and runs on Saturdays 12-4pm until May
23rd
Fleshing Out Fossils: Discovery Room Darwin Station
Darwin studied fossils of extinct organisms and saw that they looked very similar
to living organisms. This led him to realize that all organisms are related and
come from common ancestors. In a new addition to the Discovery Room’s
“Fleshing Out Fossils” School program, students and general audiences will learn
about this connection between the anatomy of extinct animals and their modern
day relatives using a fun hands-on puzzle activity.
Opens February
The Horse
February 28–May 24, 2009
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Free with museum admission
Carnegie Museum of Natural History presents the acclaimed exhibition The
Horse, an in-depth look that showcases spectacular fossils, models, dioramas, and
cultural objects from around the world. One of six major components of The
Horse, “The Evolution of Horses” section examines the origins of the horse
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family 55 million years ago and its evolution including the development of the
foot from three toes to the single hoof and the lengthening of the teeth.
Janet Browne: Charles Darwin 200th Birthday Lecture
7:30 p.m., Monday, February 9, 2009
Carnegie Music Hall
Call (412) 622-8866 to register. Tickets are $25.
Presented by Drue Heinz Lecture series in collaboration with Carnegie Museum
of Natural History. Carnegie Museum of Natural History thanks the Bayer School
of Natural & Environmental Sciences at Duquesne University and DARWIN
CELEBRATION 2009 - A PITTSBURGH PARTNERSHIP for its support of this
lecture.
One of the four
Carnegie Museums
of Pittsburgh
Janet Browne’s lecture honors the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth
and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. Browne’s
in–depth, two–volume biography of Darwin, Voyaging and The Power of Place,
“deserves the adjectives of praise traditionally used by reviewers to describe
masterpieces,” said Stephen Jay Gould. Browne spent 17 years editing Darwin’s
correspondence, and her work integrates Darwin’s science with his life and times.
She is an Aramont professor of the history of science at Harvard and is currently
at work on a visual and cultural history of the gorilla. More information can be
found by calling 412-622-8866 or at www.pittsburghlectures.org.
Evidence for Evolution: A Celebration of Charles Darwin’s 200th Birthday
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the British biologist’s birth and the 150th
anniversary of his groundbreaking book, The Origins of Species, Duquesne
University and Carnegie Museum of Natural History are presenting a 10-part
lecture series exploring the impact of evolution from a variety of perspectives and
nationally-known scientific minds.
All lectures will be held on Saturdays at 1 p.m. in the Carnegie Museum of Art
Theater unless otherwise noted.
January 17
The Origins of Darwin’s Origin. Science before Darwin by Dr. James Lennox,
Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
January 24
Cosmic Timescales: How Do We Know What We Know? Evidence for the age of
the universe and the earth by Dr. Simonetta Frittelli, Department of Physics,
Duquesne University.
January 31
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Written in Stone: The First Three Billion Years of Evolutionary History. Early
evolution of life on earth by Dr. Shuhai Xiao, Department of Geosciences,
Virginia Tech.
February 7
Darwinian Medicine: A New Approach to Health and Disease. Darwinian
medicine by Dr. Paul Sherman, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior,
Cornell University.
February 21, Carnegie Lecture Hall
From a Hermit to a King: When and Where Did the Hermit Crab Lose its Shell?
Biogeography as evidence for evolution by Dr. Cliff Cunningham, Department of
Biology, Duke University.
One of the four
Carnegie Museums
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February 28, Carnegie Lecture Hall
Great Steps in the History of Life: Finding an Evolutionary Link between Fishes
and Limbed Vertebrates. Early tetrapod evolution by Dr. Ted Daeschler,
Associate Curator and Chair, Vertebrate Zoology, Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia.
March 14
Documenting Early Primate Evolution: Recent Progress and Recurrent Problems.
Primate evolution by Dr. K. Christopher Beard, Curator of Vertebrate
Paleontology & Head of Section, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
March 28
Building on Darwin’s Insight in Uncovering the Origins of Horse Domestication.
Artificial selection as evidence for evolution by Dr. Sandra Olsen, Curator of
Anthropology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
April 4
Lake Malawi: A Natural Laboratory for the Study of Evolution and Biodiversity.
Rapid speciation in fishes by Dr. Jay Stauffer, Distinguished Professor of
Ichthyology, Penn State University.
April 18
Early Human Populations in the New World: A Biased Perspective. Early North
American human colonization by Dr. James Adovasio, director of the Mercyhurst
Archaeological Institute, Mercyhurst University.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of
Pittsburgh, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sundays from noon to 5 p.m., and Mondays
between July 4 and the Monday before Labor Day, the week between Christmas
and New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and President’s Day from 10
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080
www.CarnegieMNH.org
a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to both Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History is
$15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens, $11 for children ages 3–18 and full-time
students with ID, and free to children under 3 and Carnegie Museums members.
Convenient visitor parking is available in the museum’s six-level garage at
Forbes Avenue and S. Craig Street. For more information, please visit
www.carnegiemnh.org or call (412) 622-3131.
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One of the four
Carnegie Museums
of Pittsburgh
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080
www.CarnegieMNH.org