Brightest Young Things

This past weekend Amy (with camera in tow) and I ventured down to the mall to check out the recently opened David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Natural History Museum. The 15,000-square-foot space attempts to replaces the woefully out of date previous installation by giving visitors a 6 million year tour of the evolution of humans using the latest data and fossils. And it couldn't come soon enough, with Intelligent Design still sneaking it's way into classrooms, the Creation Museum going strong, and the most recent polls still showing that well over half of Americans do not believe in evolution, legitimate science needs all the help it can get.

A poll taken in 2005 ranks the US second to last in belief in evolution in a list of 34 Western countries. This staggering ignorance of the American public must have been on the minds of the many anthropologists, scientists, designers, project managers, and artists in charge of presenting this information at the museum. I mean, when you mount a plaque stating the Hope diamond is 45.52 carats, you don't have to worry that only 39% of the people reading it are going to believe it. Yet the exhibit never confronts the controversy head on, although there are many "How Do We Know?" blurbs throughout, the information is simply presented as the facts that they are. While this was probably the right way to go, I was still hoping to see some matter-of-fact dismantling of ridiculous Christian beliefs. The museum has every right to inform children that their parents and teachers are liars who believe in magic.  Oh well.

There is a strong focus on the fossil record, of course, with a wonderful array of skulls and skeletons, striking life like busts created by artist John Gurche, and interactive displays and movies. The misconception of a straight line of evolution between fish and businessman is squashed and classy bronze sculptures out in the open take the place of cheesy manequins behind glass cases. Don't worry though - you can still get your fill of cave woman titties. There are also large segments of the hall devoted to the emergence of human characteristics, such as walking upright, toolmaking, and an eerie re-creation of cave paintings with music played on a 35,000 year old flute. The effect of ancient climate change is shown on our ancestors as well, creating a sense of connectedness.  A few of the interactive displays involve merely pushing buttons or sliding things around, while others are more immersive, such as one that morphs your picture into Encino Man.

The entire hall is awash in earth tones. Appropriate, since much of the content is derived from digging in the dirt for bones of filthy, brown-skinned monkey people, but when coming in from the vibrant Ocean Hall or the simulated thunderstorms of the Mammal Hall, it's a little bit of a downer. I think a chance was missed here to really give the wing a fresh modern look and break out of the mold.  I mean, the Creation Museum has kids riding dinosaurs and pretty graphs full of fake data and the Discovery Channel has state of the art CGI, this is what the masses are going to respond to, for better or worse.  I'm not suggesting dumbing down everything, keep the in depth information there for those of us that want it, but you gotta pretty up the rest in order to entice the visitors who are far less removed from Homo heidelbergensis than you think.  Hopefully once you reel them in with shiny things that make noise you can learn em somethin'.

As with many of the areas in the museum, it is a large open space, which ends up making it a confusing journey of where do I go next.  With no distinct beginning or end the story is hard to understand as a whole for those not already familiar with the basics. I would have preferred the museum to force you into a specific path (follow the Homo neanderthalensis footprints perhaps) with some sort of short intro film to get your bearings straight before plunging into the convoluted world of our ancestral family tree.  Regardless of these shortcomings, it's well worth the trip, considering the price tag of $0. The study of human origins is by far the most misunderstood field of science, and quite possibly the most important if we are to understand our place in the world.  Fully taking in the new Hall of Human Origins can be a truly eye opening and humbling experience.

Learn more about the Natural History Museum and the Hall of Human Origins here: http://www.mnh.si.edu/
Help keep Creationism out of public school here: http://www.au.org/

Previously in Misc/Awesome:

• 4/19: HAPPY National High Five Day!
• 4/17: Hangin' Tough with The D.C. Rollergirls
• 2/24: BYT Archives: Geek It Out
• 12/28: Terrible Boyfriend/ Girlfriend Generator.
• 12/1: The John Waters Advent Calendar-it starts today
• 11/28: It Chooses You: All I Want for Christmas is Everything from Miranda July's Pop-Up Shop
• 11/3: Things I'd Move to Minnesota For
• 9/6: PHOTOS: Maloof $$ Money Cup
• 9/2: PHOTOS: Chantilly Model Train Show
• 9/1: Libby's List: 5 Things I Want Right Now...