Huge crowds extend Darwin exhibit in New York

Yahoo ^ | 3-22-06 | N/A

[Central Scrutiniser]

Huge crowds extend Darwin exhibit in New York

Wed Mar 22, 2:54 PM ET

NEW YORK (AFP) - A monumental Charles Darwin exhibition in New York has been extended by five months amid an overwhelming public response to what was touted as a scholarly rebuke to opponents of teaching evolution in US schools.

The American Museum of Natural History said Wednesday that nearly 200,000 people had visited "Darwin" since it opened three months ago.

Originally slated to close at the end of this month, the exhibition will now run through August 20, said museum spokesman Joshua Schnakenberg.

"Darwin" had opened amid furious debate in many school districts over the teaching of the 19th century naturalist's evolutionary theory and the first trial on the teaching of the God-centered alternative favoured by many religious groups, "intelligent design," or ID.

That trial, in Pennsylvania, ended in defeat for the evangelical right with the judge in the case decrying the "breathtaking inanity" of the school board in the town of Dover which backed the concept that nature is so complex it must be the work of a superior being.

"Our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a public school science classroom," the judge said in his ruling in December.

An early section of the New York exhibit is devoted to the question, "What is a Theory?" and seeks to clarify the distinction between scientific theories and non-scientific explanations about the origins and diversity of life.

"This is really for the schoolchildren of America. This is the evidence of evolution," said the exhibit's curator, Niles Eldridge.

In a Gallup poll released last October, 53 percent of American adults agreed with the statement that God created humans in their present form exactly the way the Bible describes it.

Thirty-one percent stood by the "intelligent design" stance, while only 12 percent said humans have evolved from other forms of life and "God has no part."

[Heyworth]

The little-known but really cool little museum in Chicago is the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago--a monument to the Golden Age of Pillage in Archaeology...

[IamConservative]

Couldn't help but initially think they were taking applicaitons for Darwin Awards and had to extend because of the high numnber of potential winners in NYC. :)

[js1138]

Pillage is naughty, but observing the Muslim treatment of artifacts, one wonders what we might lose if we didn't have a bit of pillage.

[gomaaa]

There's no doubt the explanation begets other questions (why does the earth rotate?, etc); anyone who's talked to a bright four-year old is familiar with the infinite chain of questions and answers. And ultimately we get back to the really fundamental questions of where the universe came from, and so on. We can't yet answer those questions with confidence. But what we can answer are the immediate questions, and the immediate questions all have natural rather than supernatural explanations. It is therefore reasonable to expect that the harder and more distant questions will have natural explanations, and to exclude supernatural explanations, because the imminent problems, without exception, do not have supernatural explanations.

I really like the image of the 'bright four-year-old'. You are very right that we can more easily explain the more immediate questions, but that our answers get less sure the farther back we go. One of the aims of science is to push along the line of questions, just like a determined four-year-old, until we get to some kind of end. Of course, there is the chance that there IS not end, and simply more questions await us.

[VadeRetro]

Take Newtons Laws of Thermodynamics, for instance.

Or Boltzmann's Theory of Relativity.

[Chiapet]

one thing I miss the most, is their pizza...

Great pizza, fabulous museums, World Series champion baseball team, what's not to love about this place??

[Heyworth]

Tell me about it, man. I've been gone 16 years and still miss it, although I've recently found a place in L.A. (owned by Joe Mantegna, actually), that does Italian Beef and Chicago dogs.

On the other hand, there was winter.

[WKB]

Look
It's Brother Darwin's Traveling Nonsalvation Show
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Neil-Diamond/Brother-Love-s-Travelling-Salvation-Show.html

[andysandmikesmom]

Chicago does have much and I do miss it...its my hometown, the place I was born in, where I grew up, and began raising my own family...Chicago has something for everyone...

I went back and reread your post with the link to the Field Museum website, and I noticed that this new exhibit is a permanent exhibit, and I am glad to see this...I was not certain if it was a permanent exhibit or a temporary one...

I hope to get back to Chicago in the next few years, and revisit all the wonderful museums of Chicago, as they were always my favorite places to go...tho most of my friends and my own children preferred the Museum of Science and Industry(well, one can understand this, the Museum of Science and Industry, has more bells and whistles going for it, than the Field Museum), the Field Museum was always my favorite place to visit...I am anxious for the day when I can return and visit the Field Museum again, see Sue, see the new Evolving Planet exhibit, and revisit many of my other favorite exhibits from that wonderful museum...

[Chiapet]

On the other hand, there was winter.

No kidding...I am currently waiting (impatiently) for our requisite 3 hours of spring weather, followed by full blown summer in all its sweltering glory.

[Chiapet]

If you're bringing any kids with you, be sure and hit the Shedd Aquarium. It has probably changed pretty significantly since you last saw it.

[andysandmikesmom]

Now dont get me started on Italian Beef and Chicago dogs...I am out in the Pacific Northwest...trying to find those two items, is a real chore...There was a little place up in Tacoma, where we used to go, to get Chicago Dogs and Italian Beef...we would go up there probably every few weeks, have Chicago Dogs, for lunch, and then got Italian Beef to take home, for dinner(of course, had them pack the bread in one bag, and the beef, peppers and gravy in separate containers, so that I could assemble everything at home)....even all their ingredients were shipped in from Chicago...

And then they closed...dont know the reason why, as they were always jammed, so business was good...I believe I heard that there was some sort of family crisis, involving the owner...

However, we have found another place, closer to home, that serves Chicago Dogs, again, with all the ingredients shippe in from Chicago...and I make my own Italian Beef sandwiches...

I also agree, that for all the wonders of Chicago, there is the winter...I lived through some horrid blizzards, and frigid temps...well, there are always some drawbacks to living anywhere in the USA, one just has to learn to live with them...

[andysandmikesmom]

I will bet that the Shedd Aquarium has changed a good deal...I last visited it in 1981, so thats been 25yrs ago...It was a wonderful place to visit then, so I am sure it would be even more wonderful now...

[Heyworth]

I don't think it's actually "Winter" as such that kills you in Chicago. That's only about 6 weeks or so--mid-December through January. The killer is the four months of gray, grim, overcast, damp, chilly, drizzly, great-piles of slush, huge-pools-of-icy-water-in-the-crosswalks, everything's-still-dead crappiness that comes after that. The occasional nice day during that period will invariably fall on a Wednesday and be immediately followed by a cold front to ruin the weekend.

[hosepipe]

[ The American Museum of Natural History said Wednesday that nearly 200,000 people had visited "Darwin" since it opened three months ago. ]

The people that elected Saul Alinsky's student(Hillary) as a Senator plus Chuck Shumer, the Waddler, Rangle and other Moonbats and WILL ELECT EVEN MORE OF THEM..
have spoken..

[jennyp]

Google "Newton's Second Law of Thermodynamics": 627 hits.

Google "Kelvin's Second Law of Thermodynamics": 49 hits.

Sorry, Vox populi vox Dei.

[js1138]

My wife is from Chicago, and we lived there a year and a half. I'm wondering why anyone needs a restaurant to have Italian Beef or Chicago style dogs. This is pretty easy to do at home.

I haven't seen much in the way of food that I can't do better.

[Clemenza]

Its a shame, because when I was a Grad student at U of C, the Oriental Institute was closed for renovations (1997-1999). I visited it two years ago and enjoyed it immensely, especially the Assyrian portion of the collection.

[Ichneumon]

[Google search for Newtonian Thermo] Did you notice that some of the Google hits were **term paper services** ?!

...and a whole bunch were anti-evolution creationist sites...

[Chiapet]

I'm wondering why anyone needs a restaurant to have Italian Beef or Chicago style dogs.

In my opinion (and other opinions will vary) it's kind of like the hot dog carts in New York. You can make 'em at home, but the experience just isn't the same.

The Italian Beef however...sure you can try to make it at home, but it really is impossible to reproduce the flavor of Italian Beef at a Chicago restaurant. The spices used, the pot used, the length of cooking time, all of those things are practically trade secrets.