March 2012

Posted March 15, 2012

Blade and Bone: The Discovery of Human Antiquity

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Kimberly Allen, Director of Development
March 15, 2012
816-926-8792

BLADE AND BONE: THE DISCOVERY OF HUMAN ANTIQUITY

KANSAS CITY, MO - The Linda Hall Library is going back in time, way back to the prehistoric past. The exhibition, Blade and Bone: The Discovery of Human Antiquity, opening Thursday, March 29, 2012, explores the ways in which early humans were perceived by the scientific community. Prior to the watershed year of 1859, (which also saw the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species) evidence documenting the existence of cave bears, mastodons, and dinosaurs had been discovered. Scientists of the period did not believe that humans participated in the epic procession; however, the discovery of human tools alongside extinct animal remains in a cave at Brixham, England, caused archaeologists to reconsider the evidence for human antiquity and their earlier opinions. Blade and Bone documents the discovery of human antiquity. Visitors to the exhibition will see the first published images of the fossil remains of Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, Homo erectus, and Australopithecus, as well as stone tools, excavations, and cave art.

An added visual touch will be the display of reconstructed skulls, bones, and tools from fossil hominids. Opening night will feature a lecture by Dr. Brian M. Fagan. The event is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited and e-tickets are required. The e-ticket registration form is available at www.lindahall.org/events. If you have questions, please email events@lindahall.org or call (816)926-8772 to leave a message. Blade and Bone: The Discovery of Human Antiquity runs through September 14, 2012.

Dr. Brian M. Fagan, best-selling author and Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, University of California-Santa Barbara, is an archaeological generalist, with expertise in the broad issues of human prehistory. He is the author or editor of 46 books, including seven widely used undergraduate college texts, and has contributed over 100 specialist papers to national and international journals. He is a Contributing Editor to American Archaeology and Discover Archaeology magazines, and formerly wrote a regular column for Archaeology Magazine. His discussion will focus on the ways in which the ice age gave birth to the first modern humans. His talk is the first in the "Relatively Human" lecture series. Other speakers in the series include:

Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 7 p.m. "Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins" presented by Donald Johanson, Founding Director, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University. Dr. Johanson led the team that discovered the world's best-known fossil, the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy.

Thursday, May 3, 2012, 7 p.m. "Neanderthal Genome Project: New Insights into Human Evolution" presented by Ed Green, Assistant Professor and computational biologist at the Baskin School of Engineering, University of California-Santa Cruz.

Thursday, May 10, 2012, 7 p.m. "The Pleistocene Meets Middle Earth: The Significance of the Indonesian Hobbits (Homo floresiensis) for Interpreting Human Evolution" presented by Matt Tocheri, Human Origins Program, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

The "Relatively Human" lecture series is made possible by support from Tuck and Susan Spaulding, Dr. Richard Gentile, Bob and Sally West, and the Linda Hall Library Annual Fund. The exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from the Victor E. Speas Foundation, Bank of America, Trustee and the Linda Hall Library Annual Fund.

The Linda Hall Library, the world's largest privately funded library of science, engineering and technology, is located at 5109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri. The Library, exhibition galleries and William N. Deramus III Cosmology Theater is open Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and the second Saturday of each month 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.


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Posted March 2, 2012

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Kimberly Allen
Director of Development
816-926-8792
March 1, 2012
MOONWALKING WITH EINSTEIN: THE ART
AND SCIENCE OF REMEMBERING EVERYTHING


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An epidemic of forgetfulness plagues our world. With iPhones and Google readily available, memorizing telephone numbers, addresses and other aspects of basic life just isn’t necessary anymore. However, that is not the case for Joshua Foer, journalist, author and 2006 U.S.A. Memory Champion. In his new book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, he explores a brief history of memorization and the declining role it plays in modern culture. As he worked to improve his memory for mnemonic competition, he learned much about how the brain operates and the process of elaborative encoding, which involves converting strings of numbers or shopping lists into visual images. Foer will explain all of this and more at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at the Linda Hall Library. This event is free and open to the public but reservations are required. For tickets call 816-925-8772 or go online at www.lindahall.org. A book signing will take place, courtesy of Rainy Day Books, following the lecture.

Foer, a Yale graduate, is a free lance journalist with a primary focus on science. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation and the online magazine Slate.He is also co-founder with Dylan Thuras of the Atlas Obscura, an online compendium of “The World’s Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica.”

The Linda Hall Library, the world’s largest privately funded library of science, engineering and technology, is open to the public free of charge. It is located at 5109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri. Library hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and the exhibition halls and cosmology theater are open the second Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.


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