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A sideline of interest re evolution:I managed the process of exhibit
planning for an exhibit on evolution. The curators are both physical
anthropolists, and they were interested in an exhibit that looks at
questions like -- why are we built such human births have a high
likelihood of killing the mother -- and yet our babies are utterly
helpless without their mothers? why are we so prone to back troubles?
etc. etc.
In doing a focus group with homeschoolers (who were basically science
geeks, to give you a context) we learned that there are significant
naive misconceptions about evolution. For example -- since natural
selection selects for the best adapted animal, any animal alive today
must be better adapted than any animal that came before. Thus.,
logically, humans are far better adapted than dinosaurs. another
misconception: humans are directly evolved from apes. thus, logically,
we are "better" than gorillas. In fact, it's pretty weird that
gorillas exist at all, since we evolved from them -- making them
essentially an outmoded species!
I think these misconceptions are actually taught in the schools,
because teachers largely seemed to share the same misconceptions...
Lisa
-----Original Message-----
From: martin weiss <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 10:54:42 -0500
Subject: Evolution
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Sorry but I left out the url for Bruce Alperts letter to the National
Academy of Sciences. It is
http://www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf/urllinks/NAS-6AQJS4?OpenDocument
Martin
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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-- 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
***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at
http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
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