The European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) is pleased to announce an Outreach Fund, available globally to promote evolution-related activities, with a total annual budget
of 15000 euros. The goal of this initiative is to promote knowledge about evolution to the general public. Applications for funding will be accepted for educational initiatives that
promote evolution, translation of evolutionary material (books, films, websites) intended for a general audience, public outreach seminars, public exhibitions, etc. Applications will be
accepted twice yearly (deadlines March 15, September 15); (application form) and should be submitted by email to ESEB office (Subject: Outreach).
The applications will be evaluated by the Outreach Committee:
Sally Otto (University of British Columbia)
Santiago Elena (University of Valencia)
Isabelle Olivieri (University of Montpellier)
Bas Zwaan (University of Leiden)
I have a question … and may have the answer! - a book about Evolution
Applicant: R. Campos, Portugal
Funding provided: € 2000
The goal of the activity is to produce a book about evolutionary biology based on questions and answers obtained directly from children.
These questions and answers will be obtained through a contest open to children aged between 5 to 17 years old. Expert comments and answers will also be provided for each question.
The book will be freely available on the web (in Portuguese and English) and a limited run print version will also be produced (in Portuguese).
This activity will help address the scarcity of educational resources about evolution available in Portuguese for children as well as for anyone who is interested in biodiversity and evolution.
The Evolution of Evolutionary Thought
Applicant: T. Jenkins et al., Switzerland
Funding provided: € 2000
The aim of this project is to trace the evolution of evolutionary thought from pre-Darwinian times to the present in a visually striking way, producing a web-based "infographic"
(available in French, Spanish, and German) and associated poster. Standing at the intersection of science and art, this infographic will show through an innovative use of colour, text and graphics
how selected evolutionary theories have themselves evolved. By integrating design and content, our aim is to show, directly and visually, how evolution by natural selection has come to be established and reveal the beauty underlying evolutionary theory.
Unnatural History: What bizarre biology can teach us about evolution
Applicant: L. Loewe et al., United States
Funding provided: € 1000
In celebration of Darwin Day 2012, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, holds a public outreach event that combines a variety of activities to engage the public in interesting conversations about evolution.
This proposal funds a workshop for high school teachers associated with the event, where faculty and staff from the J.F. Crow Institute share their expertise with local educators.
The workshop will both enhance their knowledge-base and provide them with three specific activities that they can implement in their classrooms.
We believe that by working with high school teachers we can have a much amplified effect on the public understanding of evolution and science in general.
Improving Understanding of Evolutionary Concepts for Secondary School Teachers
Applicant: F. Rizinjirabake and E. Kalisa, Rwanda
Funding provided: € 1500
This project aims to offer a better understanding of evolutionary biology to teachers of evolution biology in Rwandan high schools.
We will organize provincial workshops for Rwandan high school evolutionary biology teachers, reviewing evolutionary processes and discussing common misconceptions of evolution.
We will also develop an evolutionary biology module syllabus to provide to participants, who currently lack evolutionary biology books or materials for use in their classrooms.
Whale of a Tail: What Skeletons Tell Us about Marine Mammal Evolution
Applicant: A. Stewart and H. Kucera, Canada
Funding provided: € 2000
A major challenge when teaching evolution is the need for appealing examples that are visual, clear and concrete.
The diverse collection of marine mammal skeletons at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC) will be used to demonstrate the evolution of mammalian adaptations to the marine environment.
We will develop high school focused labs through a "virtual lab" to be delivered by videoconference, as well as a set of photos and text to be used in an interactive website.
The goal is to provide access for students and teachers around the world with the unique opportunity to see adaptation and convergence in bone structure over the evolutionary history of marine mammals.
Bringing Awareness about Evolutionary Theory to the Academic Community and General Public of North Sulawesi, Indonesia
Applicant: P.J. Tasirin, Pacific Institute, North Sulawesi, Indonesia
Funding provided: € 2000
Evolutionary theory is not a part of most curricula in Indonesia, even at the university level. Consequently, the mechanisms of evolution by natural and sexual selection remain poorly understood.
This outreach project aims to increase awareness and knowledge about evolutionary theory and about Indonesia's own evolutionary heritage.
The outreach efforts will involve
1. Workshops and field trips aimed at high school students
2. Seminars aimed at university students and scientists
3. Public outreach seminars within the community
To supplement these oral presentations, ESEB Outreach funding will support the creation and exhibition of different media representations of evolution (posters, movies and interactive maps)
as well as hands-on activities (e.g., comparative morphology of Sulawesi macaques).
Field trips will introduce students to concrete examples of evolution by sexual selection (e.g., macaques and hornbills).
Spanish-Language Translation of "Evolution in the News"
Applicant: J.P. Weintraub, Durham, NC, USA
Funding provided: € 2500
This outreach project will translate the existing "Evolution in the News" stories and video podcasts (see here: https://www.nescent.org/eog/podcasts.php) from English into Spanish so that they can be disseminated to Spanish speaking students throughout the world, in collaboration with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent).
This collection of stories about recent breakthroughs in evolutionary biology and evolution's applications to society includes links to background literature and classroom resources, as well as short (7-10 minute) video podcasts featuring interviews with scientific experts.
Evolutionary games with everyday materials - activities for primary and secondary school teachers and students
Applicants: R. Guidetti, M. Bisanti, A. Pederzoli, Modena, Italy
Funding provided: € 2000
This project aims to develop a series of 20 games and activities using everyday materials (e.g., straws and pins) that demonstrate evolutionary principles.
The games will be aimed at primary and secondary students, with sufficient instruction to be used directly by educational staff without expert assistance.
Activities and instructions will be made available at Pikaia (www.pikaia.eu; the first Italian website entirely devoted to evolutionary topics) in both Italian and English.
Educational materials will also be promoted in workshops targeted at teachers and students, in collaboration with Memo Educational Centre.
Evolutionary outreach: tools for the analysis of evolutionary concepts for high-school teachers
Applicant: Massarini et al., Buenos Aires, Argentina
Funding provided: € 1750
This outreach initiative will promote a better understanding of evolutionary biology among spanish-speaking high school teachers through distance learning courses and regional
workshops in Argentina. The distance learning courses will be web-based and will develop a deeper understanding about evolutionary processes, as well as exploring common misconceptions about evolution.
The workshop will bring members of the "Sharing Science" group to two locations in Argentina to train teachers in the use of evolutionary modules in the classroom.
Seavolution
Applicant: Anseeuw et al., Roesselare, Belgium
Funding provided: € 2000
This project targets secondary school students in Belgium to teach key evolutionary concepts: variation (between and within species); selection (natural and artificial); and convergent evolution.
One component, Seavolution@class, will provide course packages for three self-contained experiments.
A second component, Seavolution@lab, offers secondary school students to participate in hands on workshops, using marine organisms to teach evolutionary concepts.
A third component, Seavolution@seminar, will host a public seminar by a specialist on evolution of marine organisms in response to natural and anthropogenic selection.
→ The web site can be found here.
Evolution Matters: A translated guide
Applicant: Hugo Gante, Basel, Switzerland
Funding provided: € 1500
The purpose of this funding is to translate ESEB's "Evolution Matters: A Guide to the Creationism/Evolution Controversy" into Portuguese. This guide provides extensive
information about the evidence for evolution and addresses widespread misunderstandings about evolution. Its translation into Portuguese will extend the reach and value of
this already-developed website.
A Comparative Embryonic Developmental Database
Applicant: Eric Rottinger and Mattias Ormestad, Eze sur mer, France
Funding provided: € 3000
The funds will be used to build a comparative embryonic developmental database with freely accessible information about variation in animal development and its relation to
metazoan evolution. The proposed database will be implemented in an existing platform (http://www.kahikai.org/) and will
serve as an illustrated atlas allowing the public to visualize developmental variation among metazoans and to place this information easily into a phylogenetic context. The website
will be easily accessible to teachers, students, as well as to the general public.
Bringing the understanding of evolution to Turkish primary schools
Applicant: B. Duygu Özpolat and Erol Akçay, Tulane, USA
Funding provided: € 1700
This outreach initiative will allow the non-profit organization Hard-workers for Evolution to distribute informational packets to science teachers in Turkey associated with
the Turkish translation of the Understanding Evolution website. This information
package will include a brochure about evolution and a CD containing an offline version of the website (http://EvrimiAnlamak.org
in Turkish), as well as printable website articles.
→ blog and brochure
Evolving Evolutionary Ideas
Applicant: Rita Campos and Alexandra Sá Pintos, Vairão, Portugal
Funding provided: € 2000
Funding from ESEB will allow the development of teaching kits for use in Portuguese elementary schools, where evolutionary concepts are currently not taught. Funding will
be used to develop and build 20 kits and to pay for travel expenses of visits with the kits to schools during the school year. The kits will include flower seeds to
demonstrate genetic drift, buttons and plastic pearls with different colours to demonstrate natural selection, cards with images of different organisms to demonstrate how
taxonomy relates with evolution, small mirrors and genealogical trees to demonstrate the heritability of characters.
→ blog "O Jogo da Evolução/Playing Evolution" and report of activities
Twelve Spotlights on Evolution
Applicant: Sylvie Salamitou and Dominique Joly, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Funding provided: € 3000
An award from the ESEB Outreach fund will allow the development of an exhibition entitled "Twelve spotlights on Evolution" composed of 12 posters. Each poster will
include photographs and short descriptions that illuminate an important aspect of evolution. This exhibition will present both basic notions of evolution and up-to-date research
results, explained in a very accessible way and designed to interest a general audience. The posters will be displayed to the general public at scientific events and at places
such as student libraries and shopping malls in the Paris area.
→ The 12 posters are completed: Poster 1; Poster 2; Poster 3;
Poster 4; Poster 5; Poster 6; Poster 7;
Poster 8; Poster 9; Poster 10; Poster 11; Poster 12
References Poster 13. If you are interested in the pdf files, please contact Sylvie Salamitou
A philosopher in nature. Evolutionary theory explained to children.
Applicant: Johan Braeckman and Johan De Smedt, Gent, Belgium
Funding provided: € 2500
A large empirical literature in educational psychology indicates that children and adolescents hold false beliefs about evolutionary biology. Given the importance of educational
materials in the home environment, there is a need for children's books that explain evolution and natural selection in simple terms
[See website example www.evolutietheorie.be]. Funding from the ESEB Outreach Fund will
allow the illustration of a children's book designed to convey ideas like natural selection and descent with modification, to be distributed at least to primary schools in Flanders,
Belgium and The Netherlands. The book will initially be written in Dutch and available for translation.
