AOF Activities & Events
For the 19th epic year, Sacramento-area science advocates and civic groups to bring you the utterly coolest, the remarkably singular, the most go-to event of science and human reason, the fabulous Sacramento Darwin Day Birthday Gala. This one will mark C. Darwin's 207th birthday.
And once again, it all will happen in the spacious John Smith Hall of the La Sierra Community Center, in Carmichael.
Darwin Day is a science-rush like no other, an annual celebration of scientific inquiry honoring of the life and work of the great Charles Darwin (b. 12 February 1809), sponsored worldwide by community and educational groups. This mind-growing event has a respectable history. Visit the International Darwin Day Foundation, and learn.
Doors will open at 2 o’ the clock, post meridiem, the main program to begin at 2:30. Arrive early, tour the display tables, visit the vendors, grab some science swag, then find a comfy seat. Relax and enjoy the opening entertainment: vocals by Andi Griffith and Marie Bain, guitar work by Stephanie Dugas and Bill Peters, and bass accompaniment by Pat Cassidy.
Then be ready for the feature: Dr Matthew J James, Geology Department Chair of Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park. A fun and articulate speaker, Dr James specializes in the paleontology of the Burgess Shale fossil deposits, the natural history of the Hawaiian Islands, oceanography and general geology, and was the speaker at Sierra College's "Natural Museum Presents 'Collecting Evolution: The untold story of the vindication of Charles Darwin by the 1905-1906 Galpagos expedition'" (2013). He will reprise for us that brilliant talk.
From June 1905 to November 1906 [reads our summary] , the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco sent out an expedition of eight young men as sailor-scientists on [an] 89-foot schooner to collect specimens in the Galapagos Islands. Each of the collectors had a scientific specialty: birds, reptiles, plants, insects, fossils, rocks, mammals, and seashells. In total, they collected some 75,000 specimens, all still housed in San Francisco at the California Academy of Sciences. The enduring legacy of the 1905-06 expedition encompasses much of what we know about Galápagos today, including plant distribution, giant tortoise taxonomy and David Lack’s concept of Darwin’s Finches, which have become the textbook example of evolution in “Darwin’s living outdoor laboratory of evolution.”
Can you miss this? Obviously no. Until then, if curious, you can check out the good doc's science blog.
Rounding this fun event up will be more entertainment, snacks, and of course, yummy birthday cake. (It is Chucky D's birthday, after all.)
Admission: just $10.00 in advance (thru Feb 6), $15.00 at the door, or with your valid Student ID, $10.00. To purchase or for more information, please click to the main event website, http://sacdarwinday.info/.
