NDSU’s Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics and the Biological Sciences Graduate Student Organization are sponsoring activities on “Darwin Day” Feb. 12. The date marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his “The Origins of Species,” which presented the scientific theory of evolution.
A celebration event has been scheduled for the NDSU Memorial Union Century Theater that will include a panel discussion with experts on evolution, philosophy, science and religion. The panel discussion is scheduled for noon to 1:30 p.m. and will include an anonymous question box. A moderator will field questions from the box to a panel of experts. From 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. films will be shown documenting the voyage of the Beagle and Darwin's life. A birthday celebration follows, complete with cake, punch and balloons.
The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science has designated 2009 as the Year of Science. Within the Year of Science celebration, February is designated for celebrating evolution. Hundreds of groups across the United States and the globe are expected to celebrate the date as "Darwin Day" in honor of the discoveries and life of the man who famously described biological evolution via natural selection.
"Darwin Day promotes understanding of evolution and the scientific method," said Larry Jones, president of the Institute for Humanist Studies, which administers The Darwin Day Celebration. "This celebration expresses gratitude for the enormous benefit that scientific knowledge has contributed to the advancement of humanity."
The theory of evolution was controversial in Darwin's time and remains controversial in the United States today. Recent Gallup polls show that 43 percent of Americans reject the theory of evolution. And at least four of the 2008 presidential candidates stated that they do not believe the theory of evolution.
Evolutionary theory overarches and underlies the modern, scientific understanding of all biology, from ancient fossils, to microscopic bacteria, to human disease, all the way to rain forest ecology. Perhaps no other ideas have impacted our views of the living world so profoundly as the core evolutionary concepts of common ancestry and natural selection.
The Darwin Day Celebration started with one event in 1995. Last year, there were more than 850 Darwin Day events worldwide. Darwin Day festivities include debates, lectures, essay contests, film festivals, museum exhibits, art shows.
For information, e-mail peggy.biga@ndsu.edu or visit www.DarwinDay.org
