Darwin was organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with:
The Museum of Science, Boston
One of the world's largest science centers, the Museum is ranked sixteenth among the "50 Overall Top-Rated Attractions" in the Zagat Survey's "U.S. Family Travel Guide" and one of the top two science museums nationwide. The Museum's interactive, hands-on exhibits and lively staff demonstrations show the excitement and relevance of science, engineering and technology in daily life. In 2001, the Museum launched the innovative Current Science & Technology Center (CS&T), which offers up-to-date science and technology news stories through staff and guest researcher presentations, exhibits and media. In 2004, the Museum launched the National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL) to foster learning about how technologies are created and used by offering educational products and programs for pre-K through 12 students and teachers, creating curricula, supporting an online resource center, and engaging in partnership and outreach with other institutions. As part of its mission of advancing technological literacy, the NCTL is also collaborating with other science centers across the country to create exhibits and programs that engage visitors in engineering, help them explore cutting-edge technologies, and encourage them to consider and discuss the interactions between technology and society. In 2005, the Museum renovated its Human Evolution exhibit. Located in the Human Body Connection Discovery Space, the exhibit explains evolution, exploring the evidence for it offered by life forms, fossils, and genetics. Encountering live animals, computer interactives, and hands-on activities, Museum-goers investigate prehistoric stone tools, skull and skeletal models, and their own genes in a taste experiment to learn about evolution and natural selection.
The Field Museum, Photo by Mike Siorek
The Field Museum, Chicago
Chicago's Field Museum is one of the world's great institutions of science, environment, and culture, focusing on research and public learning. More than 225 Field Museum scientists conduct work in more than 40 countries and in state-of-the art laboratories. Field Museum scientists study a treasury of nearly 23 million specimens and objects from ancient mummies, to plants and animals, to Sue, the biggest and most complete T. rex ever found.
Formed from the collections of the World Columbian Exposition in 1893, the Museum first opened its doors to the public in a one million-square-foot, neo-classical building in 1921. Today it presides over Chicago's lakefront Museum Campus, its majestic halls and acres of exhibitions welcoming visitors from all over the world.
Throughout the Museum, nearly forty exhibitions engage visitors in the excitement and adventure of learning. Visitors can explore an Egyptian tomb; watch real fossils being uncovered by skilled preparators; discover the world of soil science; and enjoy our ever-changing roster of important and engaging temporary exhibitions from around the world.
The Field Museum is proud to be a collaborator on the Darwin exhibition. This exhibition, and the Field's own 27,000-square foot permanent exhibition, Evolving Planet (opened in March 2006), are the latest example of how The Field Museum fulfills its public obligation to share current science with a broad public.
The Royal Ontario Museum Toronto, Canada
Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is Canada's largest museum of natural history and world cultures. Created in 1912, the Museum has six million objects in its collections and galleries showcasing art, archaeology and natural sciences. The ROM conducts important scientific and academic research around the world in partnership with prominent institutions and governments, placing it among leading knowledge producers and communicators. The ROM recently underwent a $211-million expansion and renovation project known as Renaissance ROM. Designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind in a joint venture with Bregman Hamann Architects, this project has transformed the museum through bold new architecture that provides 300,000 square feet of new and renovated space, including 40,000 square feet of additional gallery space, and improved public amenities. The new galleries, public spaces, and a new wing, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, opened in stages from December 2005 to 2007.
Natural History Museum London, England
Winner of the 2004 Large Visitor Attraction of the Year award, the Natural History Museum is also a world-leading science research center. Through its collections and scientific expertise, the Museum is helping to conserve the extraordinary richness and diversity of the natural world with groundbreaking projects in 68 countries. The Museum is committed to encouraging public engagement with science. This has been greatly enhanced by the Darwin Centre, a major new initiative, which offers visitors unique access behind the scenes of the Museum. Phase One of the project opened to the public in 2002 and Phase Two opened in 2008.
