Darwin Day To celebrate the contributions of Charles Darwin to the science of biological evolution and our understanding of life on Earth, each year on February 12th (Darwin's birthday) the Center for Earth and Space Science Education at Tyler Junior College partners with other East Texas science institutions to present special "Darwin Day" events. We have done this for the last several years, but next year we are expanding. For Darwin Day 2015 the CESSE will partner with The University of Texas at Tyler, The Discovery Science Place, and the Ingenuity Center to offer several events spread over a two-day period. On Thursday, February 12, the CESSE will present short films in the domed theater. At the same time, UTT will also present similar film screening. The films will include portions of "Your Inner Fish", a PBS series starring author and paleontologist Neil Shubin, the discoverer of Tiktaalik, a fossil link between fish and land animals. Short discussions will follow each screening facilitated by professional biology faculty and graduates. Activities will be set up in the CESSE classroom to allow visitors a hands-on experience with evolution and natural selection, and booths will be set up on both TJC and UTT campuses to promote the events. On the evening of Feb 12th, author, biologist, and philosopher of science Massimo Pigliucci will be the keynote speaker at UTT. Then on Friday, Feb 13th, the CESSE will be the site of all-day teacher's workshops providing area educators professional development in the science of evolution. Each event will be free and open to the public. I strongly encourage everyone to make plans to attend and help support science literacy and outreach in East Texas.
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