The Wake

To the average person the topic of evolution is thought of as less a field of study than a hot-button issue, the source of commotion regarding its teaching in public schools. For scientists like Bell Museum director Scott Lanyon, evolution isn’t about legal and political squabbles but about the work of mapping the branches that trace evolution’s path and show connections between species.

Lanyon is involved with a research project called “Assembling the Tree of Life.”

“Science has shown that all organisms are descended from a common ancestor,” Lanyon explains. “The tree of life is a genealogy for how all the species on the planet are related to one another.”

Lanyon’s research, done in collaboration with professors at three other universities, is one of four “tree-of-life” projects going on at the Bell Museum. His work focuses on “one of the major branches of the bird tree of life,” which includes the Western Hemisphere species of blackbirds, warblers, sparrows, cardinals, and tanagers.

Lanyon, who has a Ph.D in evolution, was working as a curator at the Field Museum in Chicago in the 1990s when the University of Minnesota began its international search for someone to lead the Bell Museum. He describes the museum at that time as being one that “had some great history but had fallen on some hard times,” Lanyon accepted his current position as director of the Bell because he was interested in trying to build up the research and teaching programs at the museum.

Now, the Bell Museum’s multiple roles include welcoming school groups and sending teachers into the community to help people learn about the natural world. Additionally, the museum hosts faculty research and maintains collections that represent the biological diversity of the upper Midwest. Regular events presented by the Bell Museum include Café Scientifique, which involves scientists presenting on topics of interest at various local venues, and Science on Screen, showings of science-related films that are then evaluated by faculty members.

For more information on the Bell Museum, visit http://www.bellmuseum.org/.