In honour of the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his dangerous idea.
Charles Darwin: Evolutionary Thinking. Exhibition at Otago Museum, level 3, Dunedin. On now through 2009, free entry.
www.otagomuseum.govt.nz/charles_darwin_evolutionary_thinking.html
2009 BioEd Conference. Christchurch Convention Centre, 12-15 February.
One of six coordinated international events celebrating the birth of Charles Darwin, the “Darwin 200 Symposia”. These meetings are being run under the auspices of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), Commission on Biological Education (CBE) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
awcmee.massey.ac.nz/IUBS_BioEd_2009/index.htm
Public plenary lectures. 13-15 February. 1.30pm, Christchurch Convention Centre.
13 Feb: Anat Yarden on Bridging between the dynamics of biological discoveries and high-school biology education.
14 Feb: Douglas Futuyma on Teaching Evolution and the Nature of Science.
15 Feb: Alan Dixson on Sexual Selection and the Origin of Human Mating Systems.
awcmee.massey.ac.nz/IUBS_BioEd_2009/plenary.html
Collapsing Creation. A play at the James Hay Theatre, Christchurch, on Darwin and his dilemmas. 12 February, 7.30pm
Darwin Lectures. National Radio six-part series available as podcast and MP3.
www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/the_darwin_lectures
Celebrating Darwin. Bird Hall, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, 17 February, 6-7pm. Dr Simon Pollard, Canterbury Museum´s Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, will celebrate Darwin´s life and show how his theory of natural selection is one of the most significant breakthroughs in scientific history.
Birthday Symposium. 12 February, 9am-5.15pm, Fisher and Paykel Appliances Auditorium, Owen G. Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Rd, Auckland. A celebration of Darwin’s legacy and 150 years of (R)evolution. Free public seminars.
The University of Auckland’s Bioinformatics Institute and the School of Biological Sciences will hold a symposium that brings together leading national and international thinkers who will speak of the impact of Darwin on their research in biology, medicine, history and literature. This event has been designed to appeal to a general audience. Morning and afternoon tea provided. Reservations not required.
darwin.org.nz
A Tangled Banquet. Woodlands Cafe, Gordonton (Waikato), 12 February, from 6pm. Celebratory buffet dinner to be preceded by a ‘Struggle for Existence’ twilight cricket match, weather permitting. $35/head. Contact David Riddell and Annette Taylor, number8@ihug.co.nz
Café Scientifique. BBC, Victoria St, Hamilton, 17 February from 7.30pm. Alison Campbell of Waikato University will lead a discussion of Darwin’s legacy.
The Art Instinct. Denis Dutton’s book on Darwinian aesthetics is to be released by Oxford University Press on February 12.
Darwin Day International. Information on events around the world can be found at darwinday.org
