Tree Thinking - Understanding evolution

Focus:	Science Communication
Type of funding:	Individual funding programmes
Programme:	CZS Plus
Funded institution:	Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Around 4,500 people visit the Phyletic Museum in Jena every year, around half of whom are children and young people. The exhibition on the subject of evolution is being modernized and didactically revised in line with the times.

Goals

The current exhibition space on the subject of evolution is almost 20 years old and is to be redesigned for the general public. The modernization includes aspects of the necessary accessibility, didactic communication and internationalization. Additional digital offerings are also planned.

So-called "tree thinking" is the basis for understanding evolution. There are generally various myths about evolution, such as the perfect adaptation of animals to their environment. These myths hinder the understanding of evolution or often even misguide it. The Phyletic Museum would like to expose these misconceptions in the context of modernization. To this end, socially relevant aspects of evolutionary research, such as climate change or species extinction, will be highlighted. It also aims to show how science works and argues, not least to counter the hostility towards science in certain political and social circles.