Rare and Manuscript Collections

Charles Darwin

For the sixth year, the Cornell-affiliated Paleontological Research Institution celebrates the Charles Darwin's ideas and his 203rd birthday with a variety of public events, including several panel discussions featuring Cornell faculty members.

Feb. 12, "The Present and Future of Climate Change," lecture by Thomas Lovejoy, president of The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment and founder of the PBS program "Nature," 5 p.m., Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

Feb. 13, "Adaption and Extinction in the Wake of Climate Change," panel discussion chaired by Robert Ross with panelists Warren Allmon, Gregory Dietl, Charles Greene and Drew Harvell, 5 p.m., 158 Goldwin Smith Hall.

Feb. 14, "Climate Change and Our Gardens, Farms and Natural Landscapes," panel discussion chaired by David Wolfe with panelists Jonathan Comstock, Larry Chase and Joseph Yavitt, 5 p.m., 162 Goldwin Smith Hall.

Feb. 15, "Climate Change Past and Present": Thomas Cronin, geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, will illustrate the application of paleoclimate records to contemporary challenges in climate change research, 5 p.m., Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith.

Feb. 15, Darwin Trivia Night, for those 21 and older, 8 p.m., Big Red Barn.

Feb. 16, "Local Climate Change's Effect on Hop Production," lecture with Steve Miller, New York state's first hop specialist followed by a beer tasting, 6 p.m., Big Red Barn.

Feb. 17, "Adapt Your Tail Off!" a party to ring in Darwin's birthday in evolutionary style. Evolve yourself a pair of wings, antlers, claws or a tail and wish Charles a happy birthday. Prizes for most advanced, most primitive and "you tried your best!" costumes. Free, 7-11 p.m., Big Red Barn.

Feb. 18, Darwin Days' Family Day, Museum of the Earth, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"Climate change is in the news as an issue of the present and the future, but climate change has happened many times in the past, and has had dramatic effects on biological evolution, including the emergence of humans," said Warren Allmon, director of PRI and the Hunter R. Rawlings III Professor of Paleontology at Cornell. "Studying the effects of climate change in Earth history doesn't just tell us about the past. It can also tell us a lot about the future."