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Science and Art 
 Darwin2009: Spiral of Life Mural SeriesBack to Science and Art >>
Spiral of Life III: Animal Evolution Education advisor Dave Mintz
Located in the Kid's Kingdom, Worlds of Discovery building
"Spiral of Life III: Animal Evolution" installed at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. In this piece, the evolutionary history of the Animal Kingdom is explored in more detail. The main branches are marked by evolutionary milestones. These milestones include easily observeable characteristics like fur or four limbs and more sophisticated traits like the presence of central nervous system or different kinds of eyes. The milestones help to understand some of the major distinctions between animal phyla.
In "Spiral of Life III," evolutionary milestones are marked on the branches of the spiral to tell the story of the evolution of animals. Some characteristics included are easily observable like the presence of a skull or feathers, and others more sophisticated like the development of a central nervous system. The display of milestones helps separate different groups of animals and also easily orders them in time. Not all branches of the Animal Kingdom can be easily discovered at the Zoo so branches that correspond to popular animals from the Zoo's collection are highlighted and illustrated with animals. The mural at the Zoo is accompanied by an activity where visitors can add an animal. Using a handout, visitors are guided to identify certain physical characteristics of their chosen animal to determine its taxonomic group. The handout is limited to 7 potential outcomes based on the collection of animals present at the Pittsburgh Zoo and characteristics deemed observable. |
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Copyright 2011 Joana Ricou
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