Darwin comes to life at GLSC

By ROBERT REEBEL

Great Lakes Science Center’s exhibition “Darwin”, an exploration of the life and work of scientist Charles Darwin, is set to end on Friday, Sept. 18, with over 25,000 people having visited.

The exhibition occupies over 10,000 square feet, featuring personal effects and other artifacts of Darwin’s career, multimedia installations, photographs and sculptures. It is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal book, “On the Origin of Species”, which introduced the theory of evolution by means of natural selection.

“It’s as much about Darwin the man as it is about the theory of evolution,” says Blake Andres, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Great Lakes Science Center.   The exhibit is organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York in cooperation with institutions including the Royal Ontario Museum of Toronto, the Field Museum of Chicago and the Natural History Museum of London.  

Darwin is introduced with descriptions of his early life and family.   Installations include a short biographical film, a wall-sized map depicting his storied voyage aboard the H.M.S. Beagle, and life-sized sculptures of the wildlife and fossils Darwin studied in the Galapagos Islands and around the world.   The displays bring the Victorian Era to life and explain the scientific process that led to the emergence of evolution as the central theory of biology.

Darwin’s own personal journey is described, as his studies shifted from theology to geology before his work in biology led to his greatest achievements.   Despite bouts of illness and personal tragedy, Darwin filled several small notebooks with his observations, which became the earliest drafts of “On the Origin of Species.”   The exhibit explains his 20-year delay in publishing his theory driven in part by his fears of controversy.

On display are several samples of his notes, preserving his own handwriting for the ages, and a detailed reconstruction of his personal study complete with books and writing utensils.

The exhibition has drawn visitors from around the state and region, from curious visitors to science educators.
Marcie Steen, a high school biology teacher visiting the exhibition from Mount Vernon, Ohio, said she enjoyed the exhibition and would recommend it to her students despite the long distance from home.

“It’s exciting to see his original writings,” Steen said of the personal notes on display.   “It’s strange to see such an important idea in such a tiny notebook.”

A family of three visiting from Western New York, who declined to give their names, said they learned a lot from the exhibition after stopping in on a whim.   They had come to Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Additional displays illustrate evidence for the common ancestry of all species, from fossilized bones to DNA sequences, and address the controversy outside the scientific community concerning the Theory of Evolution. GLSC Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Blake Andres said the exhibition has not brought any of that controversy to the Science Center, but one visitor stated that he was not a fan of Darwin’s ideas.

Mike Plamondon, of Traverse City, Mich., wore a t-shirt from the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky.   “It’s biased,” Plamondon said of the exhibition.   “They present all the classic arguments that don’t have any proof.”
The exhibition’s next stop will be the San Diego Natural History Museum. Great Lakes Science Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  More information is available at http://www.glsc.org.