T O B E H U M A N? Exhibition Research Education

Transcription

1 Origins W H A T D O E S I T M E A N T O B E H U M A N? Exhibition Research Education

2 You have reviewed ideas about evolution... now what do we mean by human evolution? What do we mean when we say humans evolved? What do we mean when we say human evolution involved a change in stone technology? What do we mean when we say that human evolution involved the emergence of the ability to speak language? What do we mean when we include the domestication of plants and animals as an important aspect of human evolution?

3 Fun with Rick this evening Fly through the exhibition hall Define initial themes for building the exhibition Connect the fly-through with the floor plan & with key concepts of human evolution Review some aspects of the Orientation area Watch the Primate Heritage Videos [to do later] Summary: the core concepts of the exhibition

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5 Virtual Exhibition (a preview)

6 Virtual Exhibition

7 Central message and the initial themes that guided the topics & treatments of human evolution we included in the exhibition Central message: Humans evolved over millions of years in response to a changing world. Evidence shows that: Human beings are a unique species of primate. Humans today the one remaining species in a large and diverse family tree. Humans evolved during one of the most dramatic eras in Earth s environmental history.

8 Goals in Planning and Building the Exhibition Make it compelling Make it interactive Make it accessible & welcoming to people of all ages Make it dynamic Plan it to show how science and scientists work Plan it for change

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10 Smithsonian s Human Origins Collections

11 Orientation Area (Ocean end) 1. Introduction to the family tree 2. Time ranges of when various species lived 3. Simple introduction to the evidence of change through time 4. Primates and genetics (look at later)

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14 1 Evidence of Evolution

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16 David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins

17 What Does It Mean To Be Human? Core concepts about human evolution communicated in the exhibition: 1. It didn t happen all at once. 2. Abundant evidence for the accumulation of adaptations: related to how we walk, how our brains work, how we interact with our surroundings, how our social behavior became so elaborate

18 What Does It Mean To Be Human? Core concepts about human evolution communicated in the exhibition: 3. Human ancestors evolved in dramatically changing surroundings survival challenges 4. The benefits of particular adaptations came at a cost (one of the hallmarks of evolution)

19 What Does It Mean To Be Human? Core concepts about human evolution communicated in the exhibition: 5. There is continuity in the evolved characteristics of humans with those of our primate relatives. 6. The human family tree is branching and diverse (like the family trees of virtually all other living things).

20 What Does It Mean To Be Human? Core concepts about human evolution communicated in the exhibition: 7. Discoveries pertinent to human evolution help uncover changes in some of the defining qualities of our species (H. sapiens) yet public usage of the word human is broader than what science and evolution deals with. 8. New discoveries (motivated by new questions) continually refine [fill in the blank]

21 8. New discoveries (motivated by new questions) continually refine - age of fossils & artifacts (thus the timing of key evolutionary milestones) - fossils that extend the range of variation of previously identified species (and might represent new species - - a prime topic for scientific debate) - the technologies at our disposal for e.g., recovering DNA from fossils; examining microscopic structures related to growth of teeth & bones; measuring chemical composition of teeth & bones relevant to diet; estimating ever-refined ages of sediments & objects - the differences & similarities between humans and other great apes (e.g., eye-tracking in babies; primate tool kits) - -

22 Emphasis on the process of science

23 Origins W H A T D O E S I T M E A N T O B E H U M A N? Exhibition Research Education