Museum lecture traces historic Beagle voyage

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts the final offering of its Charles Darwin Lecture Series on Tuesday, November 24 -- the 150th anniversary of Darwin's landmark publication of "The Origin of Species." Join Museum paleontologist and science historian Paul Brinkman for a free presentation titled "Charles Darwin's Beagle Voyage and the Origin of 'The Origin.'"

Dr. Brinkman completed his PhD in History of Science at the University of Minnesota with research in the history of 19th-century natural sciences, especially geology and paleontology. He has published a number of articles on Darwin, museum history, and the history of American vertebrate paleontology. His second book, The Second American Jurassic Dinosaur Rush, is due out next year from the University of Chicago Press.

Please RSVP to museum.reservations@ncmail.net -- be sure to specify the event name and date. This lecture is free of charge and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors to the Museum and auditorium will open at 6:00 pm and the presentation will begin at 6:30 pm.

The Museum, in collaboration with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) and the W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology at North Carolina State University, has presented several talks throughout 2009 to commemorate the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "The Origin of Species." The series showcases the Triangle region of North Carolina as a hot spot for evolutionary biology research and features prominent researchers from area universities. Stay tuned to the Museum's website [www.naturalsciences.org] for Darwin-themed events scheduled for 2010.