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McGill marks landmark Darwin year: Events and experts for 150th anniversary of "On the Origin of Species" and 200th birthday of Charles Darwin

Published: 22 January 2009

Events and experts for 150th anniversary of "On the Origin of Species" and 200th birthday of Charles Darwin

Darwin Day, an international celebration of science and humanity held on or around February 12, marks Charles Darwin’s birth in 1809. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150 th anniversary of his seminal work, “On the Origin of Species”.

McGill University and the Redpath Museum celebrate the discoveries and life of Darwin -- the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection with scientific rigor. Join McGill experts as they mark this anniversary with a series of special events and lectures.

Evolutionary biologists at McGill:

Prof. Graham Bell
Department of Biology, Redpath Museum
Expertise: Natural selection; experimental evolution

Contact: graham.bell [at] mcgill.ca or via Ingrid Birker, Science Outreach Coordinator, Redpath Museum , 514-398-4086 ext. 4094#
English and French
Not available Feb. 6 - 16

Prof. Robert Carroll
Professor Emeritus, Redpath Museum
Expertise: Vertebrate palaeontology; origin and early evolution of reptiles and amphibians; anatomy and natural history of Paleozoic tetrapods; long-term evolutionary processes.
Contact: robert.carroll [at] mcgill.ca or via Ingrid Birker
English

Prof. David Green
Director, Redpath Museum
Expertise: Evolutionary genetics and conservation biology of amphibians
Contact: david.m.green [at] mcgill.ca or via Ingrid Birker
English. Not available until Jan. 29

Prof. Hans Larsson
Canada Research Chair in Vertebrate Palaeontology, Redpath Museum
Expertise: Developmental evolution, Mesozoic terrestrial palaeoecology
Contact: hans.ce.larsson [at] mcgill.ca or via Ingrid Birker
English. Not available Jan. 20-23

Prof. Virginie Millien
Curator of Paleontology & Zoology
Expertise: evolution of body size and morphological diversity in relation to environmental change.
Contact: virginie.millien [at] mcgill.ca or via Ingrid Birker
English and French

More McGill experts on evolution:

Prof. Ehab Abouheif
Department of Biology
Expertise: Evolutionary biology
Contact: //mce_host/channels/contribute/news/ehab.abouheif [at] mcgill.ca" title="ehab.abouheif [at] mcgill.ca">ehab.abouheif [at] mcgill.ca and or 514-398-7190
English, French, Arabic

Prof. Brian Alters
Tomlinson Chair in Science Education and Director of the McGill Evolution Education Research Centre
Expertise: Evolution education
Contact: brian.alters [at] mcgill.ca
English.

Prof. Andre Costopoulos
Department of Anthropology
Expertise: Modeling and simulation of bio-cultural evolution processes
Contact: andre.costopoulos [at] mcgill.ca
French and English

Prof. Jerome Rousseau
Department of Anthropology
Expertise: Social Evolution
Contact: jerome.rousseau [at] mcgill.ca
English and French
Availability: radio and print only until April

Darwin events on campus:

February 8, 10h – 12h : Emma Darwin's Cookbook – Theatrical reading
A staged reading inspired by Emma Darwin's cookbook (a 1839 hand-written recipe book from the Darwin family, including instructions for boiling rice in Charles Darwin’s own handwriting). With Montreal playwright Colleen Curran and actor Sylvia Cymbalista . Reading is in the Auditorium @ 11 h; Victorian tea precedes in the Entrance Hall @ 10h.

Cost: $5 regular, $3 student/staff/senior. Tickets at door. No reservation necessary.

February 15, 13h - 17h: Evolution - It's about Time!— interactive family activities

Learn about evolution with students from the Redpath Museum Club as they present a suite of interactive activities using the museum's collections and exhibits:

  • A Beak that Fits the Bill / Ça vaut un gros bec (bilingual)
  • Some dinosaurs had beaks. So do birds. Is there a link?
  • Adapt-a-creature: Create your own evolving creature (in English)
  • On the Wings of Evolution / Sur les ailes de l'évolution (bilingual)
  • Soft and squishy stuff: Create your own ‘fossil’ impressions and discover the bizarre world of earth’s oldest animals (in English)
  • Memory and the earth: Learn about deep time and the history of life of on earth (in English).

Free, no reservations necessary.

February 19, 18h: What Darwin didn’t Know – Panel with evolutionary biologists moderated by the Museum's director, David Green.
Presentations by four evolutionary biologists active at the Museum: Graham Bell, Robert Carroll, Hans Larsson and Virginie Millien.

Redpath Museum , Auditorium.
Free, but limited seating, no admittance after Auditorium is full.

Doors open at 17h.

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