The Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Program at Texas A&M University presents
Darwin Day 2021
An annual celebration of all things biology
Friday, February 12th
4:45 pm (Central) via Zoom
(see more Zoom info in the box at the right or below on a mobile device)
We are pleased to announce the 2021 edition of Darwin Day, beginning on Friday, February 12th. This year the Darwin Day committee is working hard to bring you an exciting Darwin Day and continue our recent tradition as a community outreach event. While this year’s event will be completely online, we have developed plans to make this worth everyone’s time, and avoid, as best as we can, the tedium of the virtual format. (Download flyer)
Keynote Speaker
This year’s Darwin Day keynote speaker is Dr. Joseph L. Graves, Jr. (see also Wikipedia) from North Carolina A&T State University. Dr. Graves is a geneticist who works on aging, and also a prominent scholar on racism in science, including evolutionary biology.
He has authored/co-authored over 100 papers and two books, namely The Emperor’s New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium and The Race Myth: Why we pretend race exists in America.
Dr. Graves will give his address on the Friday afternoon at 5 pm. The title is “African Americans in Evolutionary Science.”
Schedule
This Darwin Day, the two hour virtual event will comprise the keynote address by Dr. Joseph Graves Jr (5-6pm), followed by one hour of interactive activities. Three concurrent sessions will commence around 6pm – each in a separate breakout room on Zoom. Attendees can chose to join any of these sessions and may leave and join other rooms if they wish to. After the breakout sessions (about 6:45pm) we will cap the event with a costume and art contest. Attendees can dress up as their favored biologists or plants/animals/life forms. Best costume winners will receive a prize. Attendees can also display bio-themed artwork and compete for prizes.
Breakout Sessions:
Breakout Room 1: Forum on Darwin, Race, and Gender
Theme: TAMU students and faculty will join Dr. Graves and discuss Darwin’s ideas on race and gender and how his thinking influenced later generations of evolutionary biologists.
Appropriate for: All ages, with adult guidance suggested for younger children.
Duration: Approximately 45 minutes.
Breakout Room 2: Trivia Games
Theme: Fun and entertaining bio-themed trivia games led by TAMU EEB students.
Appropriate for: All ages
Duration: 40-45 minutes
Breakout Room 3: Treasure Hunt
Theme: A game designed for children where they will find biological treasures they have at home.
Appropriate for: Children age 4 and above
Duration: 40-45 minutes
At the end of the breakout sessions, attendees may return to the main event and participate in the costume and art contest. The event will end around 7pm.
YouTube Outreach Link for Monday, Feb 15: https://youtu.be/gkOMvtu_aWc
YouTube Outreach Link for Tuesday, Feb 16: https://youtu.be/sYovyjy8V5g
This year, outreach events will be held the following week (Feb 15th-17). In lieu of booths, we are inviting labs and individuals to submit pre-recorded presentations (7-10min). These can be video recordings of demonstrations, multimedia presentations, displays or other forms. We will provide guidance on the specifications for these videos. These presentations will continue on our theme of ‘Celebration of all things biology’ and be aimed at the general public and school children. (Download Outreach flyer)
Presentations will be streamed on YouTube Live (Premiere) and will be advertised to community members, school and college students, and as wide an audience as possible. After Darwin Day, these recordings will remain online as part of the EEB YouTube channel.
Information, Sign-up and Materials
If you are interested in putting together a presentation, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/HRJKQhx2WXKwGXax9
We need volunteers to help us pull off this online event, reach as much of our intended audience, and help us with various logistical tasks – nearly all of them from the comfort of your couch. Please sign up to volunteer here: https://forms.gle/6xzDQj86kwBiFWTy8
