The Field Museum

Just last Sunday, Mr. Shakes and I drove past Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, and I looked at it longingly, wanting nothing more than to go in and gander at Sue and visit Pompeii: Stories from an Eruption. I love the Field Museum and can easily waste an entire day wandering its labyrinthine halls, pouring over each exhibit.

Today, I see that the Field Museum aspires to make me love them ever more deeply:

On Friday, Chicago's renowned Field Museum will become the latest institution to combat creationism with a new permanent exhibit detailing the process of evolution.

At a preview of the exhibit earlier this week, the Field's president said museums need to lead the defense of evolution because they don't face the same level of "intimidation" as schools.

John McCarter also warned that the United States is in danger of losing its position as a technological leader because efforts to add the religiously-based theory of intelligent design to school curriculums is undermining the culture of scientific inquiry…

Unlike some museums which directly challenge intelligent design, the Field's Evolving Planet exhibit simply leaves God out of the equation.

"There may be places to debate the conflict between evolution and intelligent design but that's in a philosophy class, not in a scientific institution," Lance Grande, head of collections and research at the Field told AFP.

Oh, stop it, Lance. You had me at hello.