Moore, Quammen to keynote on 'Celebrating Darwin's Legacy'

Randy Moore will open the 35th interdisciplinary symposium sponsored by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, at 7 p.m. March 26, Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St. Conference theme is "Celebrating Darwin's Legacy."

Moore's talk, "The Creationist Down the Hall: The Extent and Impact of Teaching Evolution and Creationism in Public Schools," will lead off the conference. Moore is the H.T. Morse-alumni distinguished teaching professor of biology at the University of Minnesota, where he teaches courses about evolution and creationism, and has written several books about the evolution-creationism controversy, including "Evolution 101," which he co-wrote with Janice Moore. Moore's talk is free and open to the public. A reception at the museum starts at 6 p.m.

On March 27, David Quammen, Wallace Stegner professor in western American studies at Montana State University, will present a second keynote lecture on "Charles Darwin: The Secret Life of a Cautious Revolutionary." His talk starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union and is free and open to the public. An award-winning science, nature, and travel writer, Quammen's work has appeared in National Geographic, Outside, Harper's Magazine, RollingStone magazine, and The New York Times Book Review. He is the author of 11 books including "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution," and "The Song of the Dodo."

To register for the conference or for additional information, visit www.unl.edu/plains or contact the UNL Center for Great Plains Studies at (402) 472-3082.

Symposium sponsors include the Center for Great Plains Studies, Nebraska Humanities Council, Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Nebraska Foundation, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska State Museum, UNL departments of History, English, Psychology, and Geosciences, and Honors Program, and KZUM 89.3 FM; and with participation from the UNL departments of Anthropology, Classics and Religious Studies, Mathematics, and the School of Natural Resources.

In conjunction with the symposium, the Great Plains Art Museum is showing an exhibition, "Celebrating Darwin's Legacy: Evolution in the Galapagos Islands and the Great Plains," to March 29. Paul A. Johnsgard, Foundation professor emeritus of biological sciences at UNL, is guest curator for the show. The museum is free and open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30-5 p.m. Sundays (closed Mondays, holiday weekends and between exhibitions). For more information, contact the museum at (402) 472-6220 or visit the website: www.unl.edu/plains.