08 February, 2006

Darwin Day Approacheth



This coming Sunday, 12 February, is Darwin Day! So, to celebrate the 197th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, there will be lectures, parties, et al around the world. Closer to home, the UW will be holding a Darwin Day Outreach Symposium on Saturday, the 11th.

A Celebration of the Birth of Charles Darwin
Activities include talks present by UW-Madison faculty on topics first covered in Origin of Species, followed by a panel answering questions from the audience. Free materials will be available for teachers.

Free and Open to the Public


Schedule of events
9:15 am - David Baum (Introduction)
9:45 am - Dana Geary (The Fossil Record)
10:15 am – BREAK
10:30 am - Ken Sytsma (Biogeography and Classification)
11:00 am - Sean Carroll (Development)
11:30 am – LUNCH
1:00 pm - Irwin Goldman (Artificial Selection)
1:30 pm - Carol Lee (Natural Selection)
2:00 pm – BREAK
2:15 pm - Tom Givnish (Adaptive Radiation and Island Evolution)
2:45 pm - Elliott Sober (Argument By Design)
3:15 pm – BREAK
3:30 pm - PANEL DISCUSSION: James Crow, Jeffrey Hardin, Ronald Numbers, and Janette Boughman
4:30 pm – RECEPTION

The event will take place Sat. Feb. 11 in B10 Ingraham Hall (corner of Observatory Dr. and Charter St.) on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Entrance to B-floor across street from Linden Drive (at Charter). Parking is available on campus. For information, please contact Dr. Dana Geary at dana@geology.wisc.edu , 263-7754, or Mara McDonald, mamcdona@wisc.edu, 263-8941. Sponsors: L&S, CALS, the Division of Continuing Studies, the Evolution Coordinating Committee, and the departments of Genetics, Botany, Geology and Geophysics, and Curriculum and Instruction.


The Clergy Letter Project has denoted Darwin Day proper as Evolution Sunday.

On 12 February 2006 hundreds of Christian churches from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 197th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.

Go here for a list of churches in Wisconsin who will be participating. From Madison we have:

First United Methodist Church
The Rev. Keith Schroerlucke

Trinity United Methodist Church
The Rev. Amanda Samuelson Stein

Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ
The Rev. Dr. Charles A. Wolfe

(For sci-fi geeks: Doctor Who meets Darwin in Bloodtide!)

No comments:

Post a Comment