EUGENE, Ore. -- (Jan. 21, 2011) - In honor of Charles Darwin's birthday, the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History invites the public to explore connections between science and humanity with a series of three Friday evening programs beginning Feb. 11.
The evening programs begin at 5:30 p.m. at the museum, 1680 E. 15th Ave., and are part of the International Darwin Day Celebrations. The conversation series will discuss research on the museum's saber-toothed salmon, Ice Age horses of the American West, and methods for understanding past, present and future ecosystems.
Edward B. Davis, the museum's paleontology collections manager will present Friday, Feb. 11, about natural and sexual selection featuring Oregon's saber-toothed salmon. The 8-million-year-old fossil uncovered in 1961 near Gateway, Ore. will be on display. Davis will present the latest research on the fossil and consider how the creature survived and thrived at a time of warmer global temperatures, which may provide a guide to modern changes under global warming.
On Feb. 25, Eric Scott, curator of paleontology at San Bernardino County Museum, will present "Evolution Unearthed: Ice Age Horses of the American West." Scott's talk will explore how Ice Age horses inform our understanding of horses and what we can learn from their extinction. Many of the fossils used in Scott's research come from Oregon's fossil record.
The final conversation on Friday, March 4, features Chris J. Bell from the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas, Austin. Bell will investigate how we learn about the past with a talk, "How do we Know what we Think we Know -- A cautionary tale about our understanding of past present, and future ecosystems."
The evening programs are $3 general and free for UO students, staff and faculty and museum members. Beer and wine are available for purchase and light hors d'oeuvres will be provided. Following each lecture, the presenters will offer topics for audience discussion.
To find out more about International Darwin Days and events surrounding the celebration go to http://www.darwinday.org/events/.
The UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and youths ages 17 and under, and $8 for families (two adults and up to four youths). Museum members, university faculty, staff and students are admitted free. Admission is free for the public on Wednesdays.
Contact: Ann Craig, MNCH assistant director of education, 541-346-3116, acraig@uoregon.edu
Link: Museum of Natural and Cultural History, http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/
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