Department of Anthropology celebrates ‘Darwin Day’
Tyler Loher
‘Charles Darwin,’ known day-to-day as Dr. Paul Brinkman, NC State University, Head of History of Science Research Lab and Curator of Special Collections, waits before announcing the next set of trivia questions on Feb. 12.
February 12, 2019
Charles Darwin’s 210th birthday hit the scene like an international party animal in Morton Hall on Tuesday night.
The Darwin Day party was hosted by UNC Wilmington’s Department of Anthropology. Party-goers were treated to a game of Darwin trivia, a parade of scientific costumes, readings from professors dressed in Darwinian garb, lightning talks by UNCW professors from various departments, cake and other refreshments. The winners of the contests received a prize and round of applause for their achievement.
Often celebrated as an international event, Darwin Day aims to educate people around the world on Charles Darwin’s scientific discovery. Education institutions around the globe participate in the event hailing support for the pioneer of evolution.
The winners of Darwin Trivia, junior Maddison Smith, freshman Sarah Dutton, and freshman Adriana Henrich said that they were excited to win on Tuesday. When asked about the Darwin readings, Adriana Henrichs said, “I am surprised at how much he [Darwin] hated those lizards.”
The group laughed in agreement.
During the readings, Dr. Patricia Kelley, Professor Emerita of Geology at UNCW, read a passage written by Darwin which called some native lizards of the Galapagos “stupid, ugly and sluggish animals.” The crowd laughed at some of the passages about the lizards.
To participate in the trivia, the crowd was instructed to get into groups and come up with a name. The name of the winning group was “DarWin,” with runner-up teams with names such as “The OG Finches” and “Daddy Darwin.”
The event ended with UNCW’s Anthropology Club taking photos in the Darwin photo booth set up for the occasion.
