THE EVOLUTION 'CHANNEL' DEBUTS FEB. 6 AT NYS MUSEUM
ALBANY – Taking a cue from some popular television shows, New York State Museum scientists are putting a new spin on the Museum’s annual evolution series, which kicks off February 6.
Museum visitors will be invited to tune into “The Evolution Channel: A Celebration of Darwin’s Birthday” every Wednesday in February at 7 p.m. in the Huxley Theater.
The free programs debut with “Point-Counterpoint” on February 6. The topic will be whether Darwinism can be used to explain cultural diversity. Dr. John Edward Terrell, anthropologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and Dr. David Sloan Wilson, biologist at Binghamton University, will debate and discuss the hows and whys of cultural evolution. Cake will be served in celebration of Charles Darwin’s 199th birthday.
“Myth Busters,” on February 13, will include two episodes. In Episode 1 -- “The Earth Is Young?” -- Dr. Robert S. Feranec, the Museum’s curator of vertebrate paleontology, will explain how scientists determine the age of fossils and rock layers and debunk the myth that Earth is only a few thousand years old. Episode 2 – “All Life Was Created Independently?” – will feature Museum scientist Dr. Jason Cryan, director of the Laboratory for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics. He will explain how scientists can reconstruct evolutionary relationships among living organisms, and debunk the myth that all forms of life were independently created.
In “Ask the Experts,” on February 20, Museum scientists and their colleagues in the fields of biology, geology and archaeology will answer questions about evolution. This live version of popular TV call-in shows will give students and other members of the public, the opportunity to ask evolutionary biologists questions relating to such topics as cloning, the origin of the species, extinction, and other topics.
The “Are You Smarter than a Scientist?” game show, on February 27, will also invite audience participation. In the style of the popular game show “1 vs. 100,” the audience will take on Museum scientists in answering trivia questions relating to evolution.
The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. The State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.
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