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	Evolution and our schools continue in the 
news. These are for your information.

Martin


NSTA  study on teaching of evolution

http://www.nsta.org/pressroom&news_story_ID=50377

USA Today Story on NSTA report

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-03-23-evolution_x.htm

Bruce Alperts ( president of the NAS) about 
evolution teaching and scientists role.

And in today's New York Times.

NY Times Editorial about IMAX

March 28, 2005
EDITORIAL

Censorship in the Science Museums

Big-screen Imax theaters typically offer lavish 
visual spectacles with bland and uplifting 
scripts. Their films are seldom the stuff of 
controversy. So it was a bit of a shock to learn, 
from an article by Cornelia Dean in The Times on 
March 19, that a dozen or so Imax theaters, 
mostly in the South, have been shying away from 
science documentaries that might offend Christian 
fundamentalists. Worse yet, some of those 
theaters are located in science centers or 
museums, the supposed expositors of scientific 
truth for public education.

Some of the documentaries whose distribution has 
been affected by religious controversy include 
"Cosmic Voyage," a journey through the far-flung 
universe, and "Galápagos," about the islands 
where Charles Darwin made observations that 
played a crucial role in his theory of evolution. 
"Volcanoes of the Deep Sea," depicting the 
bizarre creatures that flourish near hot, 
sulfurous vents in the ocean floor, is the 
current focus of controversy. It was vetted for 
accuracy by a panel of scientists and was 
sponsored in part by the National Science 
Foundation, a government funding agency, and 
Rutgers University. It raised hackles by 
suggesting that life on Earth may have originated 
at these undersea vents.

No one can object if Imax theaters, whether 
commercial or located in museums, turned down the 
deep sea film in the belief that it was too 
boring to draw much of an audience, as some 
managers indicated. But it is surely unacceptable 
for science museums to reject the film in part 
because some people in test audiences complained 
that the material was blasphemous. The Fort Worth 
Museum of Science and History, which made that 
judgment initially, wisely reversed itself and 
agreed to show the film after its cowardice 
became known and was widely criticized.

The danger in self-censorship by museums is that 
it will reduce the already tiny world of Imax 
theaters available for big-screen science 
documentaries. Producers have a hard time making 
money as it is. It would be unfortunate if 
censorship by science museums helped drive them 
away from topics that might offend religious 
fundamentalists.




-- 
Martin Weiss, Ph.D
Vice President, Science
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Corona, New York 11368
718 699 0005 x 356

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