USA: A New York exhibition on Darwin seeks to defend anew the scientist's much-debated theory of evolution

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is nearly 150 years old and under fresh attack, but thanks to him scientists today understand the danger bird flu poses to humans and even the evolution of AIDS, curators of a New York Darwin exhibit claim. The show chronicling the life of Darwin and his work opens on November 19 at the American Museum of Natural History. The exhibition will feature original manuscripts, live Galapagos tortoises, iguanas, personal effects and fossil specimens Darwin collected during his five-year voyage aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin's evolution theory, published in "The Origin of the Species" in 1859, says that all life evolves according to natural selection and is constantly changing. In the exhibition, visitors of all ages can experience the wonders Darwin witnessed on his journey as a curious and adventurous young man aboard the HMS Beagle on its historic five-year voyage (1831-1836) to the Galapagos Islands and beyond. "Darwin's theory of evolution is the only scientific explanation for the diversity of life on Earth as we know it today. These other theories are reactions, social, non-scientific reactions," said Ellen Futter, the President of the American Museum of Natural History. Amidst the "other theories" that Futter referred to is the "intelligent design" theory has been proposed as an alternative to evolution. The theory holds that some aspects of nature are so complex that they must be the work of an unnamed creator. In a nod to the debate on Darwin's theory, sections of the exhibit address the controversy Darwin's book stirred when it was published and a timeline detailing protests through 2005. One section of the exhibition is devoted to "social reactions to Darwin" and the "long-standing controversies" around his work. A note in this section emphasizes that creationism, including intelligent design, does not offer a scientific alternative to the theory of evolution. Also in this section is a timeline of the various controversies that have arisen about Darwin's work. It includes a reference to the Dover, Pennsylvania school board ruling that high school biology teachers must read a statement to students alleging "gaps" in Darwin's theory and advocating intelligent design as an alternative explanation. Earlier this month, Pennsylvania voters ousted the local school board that required reading the statement. A new slate promising to remove the concept from science classes was elected. Responding to the Dover, Pennsylvania developments, Charles Darwin's great-great-grandson and writer himself, Randall Keynes, was also present at the exhibition preview. "It was a remarkable judgement I think to people in England who don't have the same sense of controversy and dispute about the question of Darwin's theory. I hope very much that this exhibit will persuade many, many people that it's a very strong theory, that it explains a huge amount and that so much of modern science depends on it. That is a very good argument for a theory," Keynes said. The Darwin exhibit, which runs through May 29, 2006, was planned more than three years ago, before the national debate over intelligent design and evolution heated up. "The theory of evolution by natural selection, Darwin's theory is only a theory. I would say that it's a theory that is testable in many ways. It's based on observations, a huge wealth of material that's being gathered over the 150 years since it was published. It's getting stronger and stronger by the decade. The theory of intelligent design is a different matter. It doesn't have the same basis in scientifically proven fact and it's a different matter," Keynes said. Keynes believes that both intelligent design and the theory of evolution should be included in education as long as there is a demand to understand both the theories. He also hopes that the current exhibition helps to raise an interest in science, something that he believes Darwin would have liked himself. The exhibit will travel to museums in Toronto, Chicago, London and Boston.

ITN Source | November 17, 2005

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