UW-Madison to host bash for Darwin’s 200th birthday

Feb. 12 marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, the founding father of evolution, and scientists, historians and other Wisconsin scholars are planning a daylong celebration in honor of the British biologist and his legacy.

The event, the fourth annual Darwin Day celebration, will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the new Microbial Sciences building, 1550 Linden Drive. Featured speakers include Sean Carroll, a UW–Madison professor of genetics and one of the world’s leading evolutionary biologists; Patricia McConnell, an authority on dogs and dog behavior; and Jeremy Jackson, an eminent scientist from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography who will speak on evolution and extinction in the oceans.

The Darwin Day celebration, which is free and open to the public, will also include afternoon sessions showcasing the research of UW–Madison faculty, a panel discussion on science and the media, a teachers’ workshop and a book-signing event.

A complete schedule for UW–Madison’s Darwin Day celebration can be found here.