Most libraries provide bookmarks at the front desk, and often the supply is completely unguarded. One can, I’ve found, add one’s own bookmarks as long as they look semi-professional. So if you have some nice card stock and are good with scissors, print off a couple dozen of these (PDF containing 10 quotes) sneak them into your library, especially public school libraries. It’s good fun, and a good way to celebrate the Origin of Species‘ upcoming 150th anniversary. 
This illustration should be required wall art for all elementary school classrooms. But I’d love to find somebody who could modify it to show a possible wiener dog circa 10,000 years into the future, when dachshunds will surely be virtually legless, squirmy little logs that can only look longingly after thrown balls, unable to give chase. Kids would love it. And kids would demand to know more about the process of artificial selection.
Illustration from British Museum of Natural History. 1981. Origin of Species. University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Would also love to find an artist who would make a whole series of these graphics (hairless cat, silkie chickens, etc.) so that teachers could more easily explain artificial selection and descent with modification to youngsters. Any art majors out there in need of a project?? Cats, dogs, and cute ponies appeal to kids in ways that fruit flies, nematodes, and E. coli and cannot. And even if they did, scientists don’t spend enough time producing educational graphics like this one. Should be a requirement for every government grant award: 1 (one) image that might be understandable to a 1st grader. Would also be nice to have a series of visually attractive images showing evolution caused by natural selection. I wish I could draw. Sob. My sister got all the art alleles, and all I got was a dingy little Y chromosome.
And as parting treats for the blog reader who has read this far, here’s a link to a video of Darwin the Dachshund chasing a mechanical ball, and an adorable photograph of a wiener dog puppy in a bun.
I actually have no idea what Emma favored. But she had 10 kids, and early paintings of her suggest she was quite the babe. I think she would have liked these. And you, the female evolution fan, would, too…as would, of course, guys who are fans of female evolution fans. So here’s the pattern. Wearing these on date nights helps ward off frisky creationists just like garlic perfume repels vampires. Creationists will run off screaming into the woods, and you can then continue your quest for a decent chap who’s equally fond of natural origins.
Sure wish we could get the above in a two-piece bathing suit. That would be a hoot at the beach. Could call them “natural selections” or even “sexual selections” without too much of a stretch (though the Lycra would be stretchy).
UPDATE: There is an Emma Darwin alive and kicking even today (in UK), a descendant of one of Emma’s 10 kids. She’s a novelist, among several talents, and apparently a rather successful one. She helps unveil Darwin-related plaques on occasion, which she vastly prefers over plaques featuring The Ancestor (as his family calls him) as an old man.
(1 more) UPDATE: So I spoke with somebody on the phone today who says she would LOVE a pair of these, but can’t knit. Anyone willing to knit her a pair? She’d be a great model for these. Though I cannot release her name to you, she’s a person of considerable influence, and is somebody deserving of a free pair of knickers. You’d accrue good geek karma points, for sure, and I’d send you the yarn and some silly tattoos in gratitude.
One of my futile little projects is to inject Charles Darwin cutouts into K-12 classrooms around the world. Thanks to illustrator Carl Buell, I now hold the keys to a really massive (230 MB) Photoshop file of Darwin, and I’ve been helping him materialize in locations around the world. Below is a photograph I received this evening of one of the Darwin clones in action, at the Bancroft School in Massachusetts. I’m working on a nice Google map that shows where the locations of all the current clones (approximately 12). I want thousands of him.
Getting Darwins into classrooms around the country and abroad would be a fun prompt for teachers to include more evolution, surely, but I also see Darwin as a great role model for explaining the whole scientific process to kids. He had 10 kids, had an insatiable appetite for the scientific process, and often combined the former with the latter. Currently, science programs don’t have a recognizable person associated with “what is science?” and I think Charles Darwin can fill this role well. The only exception to the statement I just made is perhaps Albert Einstein, since kids love his wild hair and extended tongue, plus he was rather smart. But Einstein had multiple mistresses and used them frequently, I gather, so I don’t think he’d pass the routine background check prior to use in public school lesson plans (plus his image is owned by Corbis). If you know of a school with a poster printer and a brave teacher who might want a portable Darwin, send me a note. If you are filthy rich and want to help fund the Darwin cut-out project, please also send me a note.
I saw the image below in a Science article, and thought I’d scan it and share it here so that others could use it in their talks on the origin of religion or on the reproductive advantage displayed by religious genotypes. Now it’s probably no huge surprise that kids are creationists. I.e., when asked, many think that objects — rocks, plants, us, etc. are made by somebody or something rather than being formed or evolved by a natural process.
Image and caption from Culotta, E. 2009. On the origin of religion. Science 326:784-787.
But the interesting question, to me at least, is whether the endlessly imaginative creation stories for religions have evolved (in a way) to appeal to children for this very reason. I view creation stories as a critical part of how religions transmit themselves to the next generation. Creation myths that appealed only to adults wouldn’t last long, I think. Similarly, religions that completely lacked fun, childish creation myths would die even faster. But all of this underscores the need to teach science to really young kids, since that is the age when kids are actually interested in where rocks, plants, and humans come from. Even if the details are a tad too complex for the youngins, teaching kids that the scientific process can help us find real answers is a good goal for elementary science lesson plans. Waiting to inject kids with a love of science in middle school is fine, but it’s a bit too late.
Every holiday season I’m asked, “Can you recommend any pro-evolution books for my grandkids?” I used to send them answers, but I’ve stopped. Instead, I send them to Charlie’s Playhouse, which maintains a growing list of such books. Each book is reviewed, too, so you can get a good sense of whether it fits the kid you are shopping for. If you are a grandparent and want to inoculate your grandkids against the wacko views of their parents (i.e., your kid), sending pro-evolution books is just what you need. Will make holiday gatherings 20% livelier, too.
Pro-evolution books for kids (image from Charlie's Playhouse)
Every public school library should have a copy of On the Origin of Species. If you are in a position to donate a book to your school’s library, use that position of power to inject a little real biology onto the shelves. The donation might activate a few pitchfork-wielding delusionals, but it will be worth it. I just received a copy of Michael Keller’s graphical adaptation of it, and it’s great fun (buy your own) and might be great for middle schools. The first step is to look at what your kid’s school already has — it’s fun and easy to check. What does your local school have?
Curious George gets curious about his origins
Sometimes you just need a round image to round out an article or presentation, to stand out from the squares that dominate our life. And since the 150th anniversary of Origin of Species is next week (November 24th!), here you go:
I designed this to appeal to kids, and have used my kids to assess the product. My boy says the image looks “cool,” so I hope I’ve hit my mark. If you have a kid that needs to make a presentation about a famous person…urge them to choose Charles Darwin.
I know I recently posted the good news about the 100th Pet-Named-Darwin entry, but I noticed that we now have 101, and the latest addition is really cute. So here he is, napping on top of his brother:
Photograph by trismet.
The producer of Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus is coming to Swarthmore College in early December. Randy will be screening his new movie, Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy and also giving a talk titled, “Don’t be such a scientist” (the title of the book he just wrote). If you happen to be in the area and want to join us, please come. Both events are free and open to the public. Sponsored by Swarthmore College Sigma Xi Society.
Download flyer. More details at the Swarthmore College Biology Department web site.
