2012-01-26 / Communities

Multi-Media ‘Adventure’ Explores Evolution

Discover the link between di- nosaurs and modern birds, when “Charlie and Kiwi’s Evolutionary Adventure” recently opened at the Montshire Museum of Science.

The “Adventure” unfolds in an intimate theater on a giant digital storybook screen. Audiences travel back in time during the 12-minute video, “Charlie and the Very Odd Bird,” starring Charlie and his great, great, great, great grandfather as they discover how and why the flightless kiwi is still a bird.

Through the charming drawings of Peter Reynolds, award-winning illustrator of “Judy Moody” and other children’s books, visitors see how Charlie comes to understand the origins of birds and why they are all so different from each other.

The exhibition invites visitors to see evidence that dinosaurs are the ancestors of modern birds by view- ing the bones of a dinosaur and ar- chaeopteryx (one of the first birds) and comparing them to those of a modern crow.

An interactive computerized ex- hibit station allows visitors to ad- just the speed up time so they can witness the evolution of birds with their own eyes. Intriguing puzzles show how birds have adapted to a variety of environments.

One exhibit includes an assort- ment of living birds of the same species. Visitors observe the slight differences between the birds by examining the colors, shapes and sizes of their beaks, legs and feet.

Variations like these in natural populations are the source of evolu- tion by natural selection. Through a variety of discovery boxes, visitors play games, work puzzles, and par- ticipate in hands-on activities that enhance understanding of evolu- tionary concepts.

“Charlie and Kiwi’s Evolutionary Adventure,” funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, is a project of the New York Hall of Science, the University of Michigan, the Miami Science Museum, and the North Museum of Natural History and Science.

The Adventure will be at the Montshire through May 6. For hours and other information, go to www.montshire.org.

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