The East Tennessee State University and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site will hold its annual Darwin Day celebration Saturday, Feb. 9. The event will include several lectures as well as activities for children. General admission on that day will be half-price for adults and free for children.
The mission of Darwin Day is to recognize the scientific accomplishments of Charles Darwin and his description of evolution through natural selection, as well as to explain the far-reaching influence of evolutionary science. This international celebration of science occurs annually around the birthday of Darwin, who was born Feb. 12, 1809.
The ETSU Natural History Museum Darwin Day is dedicated to providing the public with scientific information based on empirical evidence regarding evolution and other topics in a thought-provoking and informal setting. The schedule for Darwin Day includes:
• 10 a.m. — “Darwin, the Bible, and Public Response to Evolution: From the Scopes Trial to the 21st Century,” presented by Dr. Joseph Baker, ETSU Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
• 11:30 a.m. — “Lunchtime Evolution Discussion,” led by Drs. Blaine Schubert, Steven Wallace and Jim Mead, ETSU Department of Geosciences and Natural History Museum. Topics include human evolution, transitional forms, scientific creationism, intelligent design and more
• 1:30 p.m. — “What’s in a Name? Fifty Fun Ways to Name a Fossil,” presented by Dr. Mick Whitelaw, Department of Geosciences and Natural History Museum, ETSU.
• 3 p.m. — “Stellar Evolution and Its Impact on the Evolution of Life,” presented by Dr. Don Luttermoser, ETSU Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Activities for children will be held throughout the day and will address such topics as human evolution and why humans are primates, the process of natural selection, and understanding geologic time evidence from fossil records.
For more information, call the ETSU Natural History Museum at (423) 439-3659 or visit www.etsu.edu/naturalhistorymuseum. To request assistance for persons with disabilities, use the same contact information.