It is not unusual to see evolutionary biologists around the world involved in celebration activities on February 12th — the reason? Charles Darwin’s birthday! UCMP and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) are no exception and this year the activities overlapped. Two years ago, NESCent initiated the Darwin Day Roadshow in order to bring evolutionary science to schools and museums around the country. This year, Lisa White was asked by NESCent to bring the Roadshow to Urban Promise Academy, a small Oakland Unified School District middle school serving students in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland, CA. Presenting to Ms. Alison Ball’s 7th grade classroom on February 15, 2013, Lisa highlighted research at the UCMP, profiling examples of evolution from the Understanding Evolution website, while conveying why the science of evolution is important and relevant.

To the enjoyment of the students, Lisa brought in an array of fossils for the students to touch and see the tangible evidence for evolution up close. Lisa also spoke about her own education and training, what it is like to be a paleontologist, and how she came to work at the UCMP. Lisa said “the students were such an inspiration and their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn more about paleontology suggests the next generation of potential scientists are alive and well in classrooms like Urban Promise Academy.”