Join Chris Darwin and National Geographic’s Genographic team to celebrate Darwin’s 201st birthday, and hear of plans for this year – the UN International Year of Biodiversity.
I’m writing to invite you to one of two receptions marking the conclusion of Evolution the Festival – the year-long celebration of Charles Darwin and evolution.
The first is at the Australian Museum in Sydney this Thursday 4 February from 5 to 6 pm – details below. Please RSVP by Tuesday 2 February.
And pencil in 24 February for a Melbourne reception coinciding with tall ship Stad Amsterdam’s visit as part of the recreation of the voyage of the Beagle. More details nearer the time.
We will be issuing a final bulletin of Darwin-related events next week so please also let us know of any activities your organisation has planned for the next two months.
Please also let us know about events you’ve been involved in. We will be reporting back to Minister Carr on the breadth and depth of activities held across Australia and hope to demonstrate to him the benefits of investing in collaborations such as the Evolution Festival.
Niall Byrne for Phil Batterham and Evolution the Festival
Celebrating the Evolution Festival and Darwin’s 201st birthday
5-6 pm, Thursday 4 February, Australian Museum, corner of College & William Street (enter via William Street Business Entrance)
In the Surviving Australia Gallery
With:
* Chris Darwin: great great grandson of Charles Darwin
* Spencer Wells: Explorer-in-Residence and Director, The Genographic Project, National Geographic Society, and the principal investigators from around the world
* Phil Batterham: Director, Evolution the Festival
* Michael Harvey: Head of Exhibitions, Australian Museum
Hear about research into our deep ancestry, Chris Darwin’s DNA revealed, and find out how you can be involved in the UN International Year of Biodiversity. Refreshments provided.
RSVP by Tuesday 2 February to Niall Byrne, 03 9398 1416, 0417 131 977 or niall@scienceinpublic.com.au
Parking available for $12 – instructions at http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/Visitors-with-disabilities
Beagle Project comes to Australia: a tall ship recreates the voyage of the Beagle
Clipper Stad Amsterdam, a three-mast tall ship, will be visiting Australia during February and March as part of the global Beagle project.
The Beagle project is a year-long voyage with an international crew of scientists, philosophers, historians, artists and biographers crossing the oceans of the world, from Brazil to Patagonia, and from the Andes mountain range to the Galapagos Islands. Stad Amsterdam will sail the Pacific Ocean to Australia and pass through the Cape of Good Hope.
The Clipper will function as a sailing laboratory and a thermometer for the planet. Fossil hunters, DNA researchers, geologists, oceanographers and other scientists will conduct in-depth research along the route to evaluate the earth’s current condition.
Stad Amsterdam is visiting Australia:
* Sydney: 11-16 Feb, Overseas Passenger Terminal Melbourne
* Melbourne: 23-26 Feb, Workshops Pier, Williamstown
* Adelaide: 1 Mar – port dates & berth to be confirmed
* Perth: 14 Mar – port dates & berth to be confirmed.
Darwin’s pitbull
Richard Dawkins is visiting Australia in March. He’s speaking on:
* Thursday, 4 March in Brisbane – https://www.qtix.com.au/show/Richard_Dawkins_10.aspx (SOLD OUT)
* Friday 5 March at 7pm at the Melbourne Town Hall (with Robyn Williams). The session kicks off the literary year for the Melbourne Writer’s Festival – http://www.mwf.com.au/2010/content/mwf_2009_home.asp (SOLD OUT)
* The 2010 Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne on 12-14 March – http://www.atheistconvention.org.au/
* Sydney Opera House, Sunday 7 March for the Sydney Writers Festival – http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/richard_dawkins.aspx
* Adelaide Writers Week – details to be announced – http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/servlet/Web?s=2290869&p=AF_Events_Wri ters
Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, author and outspoken atheist. He was named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2007. In his latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth, he takes on the creationists and all those who question evolution through natural selection.
Ongoing exhibitions
* Darwin to DNA at the Melbourne Museum http://museumvictoria.com.au/darwin-to-dna explores the discovery of evolution by Darwin and his contemporary Alfred Russel Wallace including specimens they collected. It then takes you further into the genetic mechanisms of DNA, and how we can use DNA to examine questions about evolution. Until 23 December 2010.
* Crocodiles and their kind are an evolutionary success story-they have been around for the past 200 million years. See one of the largest crocodilians that ever existed in Supercrocodilians-Darwin’s ultimate survival story at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/museums/exhibitions/current.html , Darwin, extended until February 2011.
The Festival team acknowledge the support of our major sponsors, the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, the State Government of Victoria and the University of Melbourne. We are also supported by Museum Victoria, New Scientist, the City of Melbourne and Cosmos.
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Niall Byrne
Science in Public
Ph. +61 (3) 9398 1416 or 0417 131 977
Full contact details at www.scienceinpublic.com/blog
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