Science and Art
Darwin2009: Exhibit at Phipps Conservatory
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VEGGIE VARIATION
Humans have been agents of evolution since the dawn of civilization, and we live with the evidence of artificial selection every day. We can observe it in horses, dogs, plants,etc. When Darwin wrote “On The Origin of the Species,” he used the example of domestication to help his readers begin to see how ubiquitous evolutionary processes are.
This display brings together several very familiar common vegetables that all belong to the same species, to illustrate the effect of artificial selection or domestication. The concept sketches below use a spiral to suggest the common origin of the plant breeds, due to limited space, the plants were planted in a fan pattern reminiscent of leaves.
The display freshly planted.
Veggie Variation overlaid with digital sections. From right to left: cauliflower, kale,broccoli, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts.
Sketches for Veggie Variation. The spiral shape suggests the common origin of the different breeds.
Accompanying signage informed the audience of key concepts. Education extension
This exhibit was accompanied by the lesson plan “Veggie Variations“ for K-3.
Concepts covered:
Species
Variation
Artificial selection
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Mystery Seed Activity
This activity took an example of domestication back to the visitor’s kitchen.
Visitors were encouraged to observe, taste and smell several breeds of basil and try to identify them with a set of labels. With guidance by a volunteer staff person, they found the names and talked about domestication.
Visitors were also invited to pick a “mystery seed“ from a jar and take it home to plant.
The web page (to the left) was made available to help visitors identify their growing basil. Student groups were challenged to do the same and discover how different the development of the plants was.
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