NLM's Frankenstein Exhibition to Travel
Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature is a new traveling exhibition that will visit 80 libraries in 38 states between October 2002 and December 2005.
Based on the lively exhibition of the same name created by the National Library of Medicine and displayed there 1997-8, the new show encourages audiences to examine the intent of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, Frankenstein. Can they see parallels to hot-button topics like cloning and stem cell research in her classic tale? What are Shelley's and their own views about personal and societal responsibility as these relate to science and other areas of life?
In addition to the exhibition, participating libraries will host interpretive and educational programs to help audiences discuss Shelley's novel and its use of scientific experimentation as a metaphor for cultural values.
The exhibition and related materials were developed by the NLM and the American Library Association, and funded by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
To find out if the exhibition is coming to your area, go to the Frankenstein exhibition homepage, which includes a list of participating libraries: http://www.ala.org/publicprograms/frankenstein/ .