ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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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.
  
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  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

  
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