1. Whenever you see a staff member, dream up an evolution question and ask them, ideally in front of a group of children. Why did that feature evolve? From what did that evolve? Etc. Not only will the staff person be excited (staff members are typically pro-science), but they will remember the curiosity of their visitors and might in the future help to redesign signage. And the children nearby will absorb your acceptance of evolution as an interesting part of reality.

2. Drop a note into the institution's "Suggestion" box as you leave, explaining how increased emphasis on evolution would be an attraction. Give your e-mail address and politely ask that they contact you (if you're into that) if you can offer help/assistance. Give detailed suggestions if you have them (e.g., "mention speciation process for Galapagos tortoises"). Or, if you are outraged, add "for the love of God..." Adding, "I'll donate more money to the zoo if you do it..." can get the staff's attention pretty quickly.

3. Zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens, and natural history museums desperately want their members to stay members, so tell them you'll renew your dues only if they upgrade their plaques. If a couple dozen people say the same thing, the institutions will do something, even if it's expensive (it is). The trick, of course, is to get a few other members to be similarly concerned and vocal, so send an e-mail to all your friends and urge them to get on board.

4. If you take your class on field trips to these places, design an exercise that charges your students with designing more interesting, evolution-based plaques. If you have a digital camera, you can take pictures of the existing plaques for use back in the classroom. Then get your students to send the ideas (slickly packaged) to the director of the place you visited. The students will enjoy being simultaneously engaged in both science and social change. Or not...but it's worth a try.

5. If you're thinking about taking your class on a field trip to a museum, contact their education department first and ask them which exhibit signage might help to educate students on the Life Science components of your state's science standards. You should explain to them, carefully and politely, that "conservation," "habitat destruction," and "animal rights " are not part of the core standards, and that you are instead interested in teaching the unifying concept of biology: evolution. It's on the "standards", it's on the test, and it's interesting. Conservation, pollution, and habitat destruction are hugely important...but they are not on the SAT or the GRE (for a reason). If they say the signage doesn't treat evolution at all, find the museum in your area that does. Why load your class onto a gas-guzzling diesel bus to read about global warming, anyway! Museums will respond to market pressures, so demand some interesting science. (If you want to hear more about how zoos avoid evolution: here you go.)

6. If you know a thing or two about evolution, bring a Post-It pad the next time you visit one of these places, and share some of this knowledge with others by attaching notes to pre-existing plaques. E.g., "Chimpanzee and human DNA are only 2% different!" Then stand behind some shrubbery and watch how the next visitor reacts...it will be more entertaining than watching the lions get fed.

7. If your kids are old enough to enjoy a little fun, park yourself in front of a primate exhibit and get them to ask bystanders, "are humans really evolved from non-human ancestors?" Then adopt a chimp-like gait and moan, "Me want answer! Me want answer!!" Kids will just love this.

8. If your job is to design plaques, use your position of power to secretly introduce real science, plaque by plaque. If you need support (books, articles, ideas, etc.), contact an evolutionary biologist at a nearby institution of higher learnin' and tell them you need help. Or ask me, and I'll try and put you in touch with somebody good. And keep quiet about your activities: asking for permission will just be asking for trouble. And don't worry, replacing the existing conservation verbiage on labels won't turn viewers into SUV-buying monsters...zoo visitors are already against habitat destruction and the clubbing of baby seals.

9. If you are the director at one of these joints, why not re-invigorate your educational mission by adding evolution to exhibits? Chances are that your staff members accept and enjoy evolution (and gravity, etc.) and would be delighted to take a stand against lameness and ignorance. Or think of the media exposure (and new membership numbers) if you had a "design a plaque" competition each year, targeted at local schools who are doing their "evolution units" as part of the romp through the school science standards. Or consider hosting a Darwin Day celebration on February 12th (featuring, of course, Galapagos tortoises and other beasties that Darwin came across on his voyages).

10. Write an editorial in a newspaper or magazine. Editorials lamenting the sad state of plaques will be especially noted in the journals read by staff of zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens, and natural history museums. I have no idea what these journals might be (Today's Zookeeper, perhaps?), but I'm sure dozens of them exist. In particular, argue that zoos don't need yet another exhibit label on extinction risk of cute animals...what they need are exhibits that get visitors excited and interested about life.

10. Lobby your favorite company to become a sponsor of pro-evolution signage. But read this first, so that you know what you are up against.

11. If you are filthy rich but don't think you'll be around too much longer, why not make a really big splash in your will by leaving a large amount of money to a zoo or other museum? Stipulate that they can only have the money if they agree to construct a big evolution exhibit at the entrance or if they incorporate an evolutionary theme into all the signage. Or, if you're filthy rich and healthy, consider donating the money now so that you can be around to make sure they do a good job making evolution their educational mission.

12. If you are rich but would rather have a national effect, why not help fund a traveling exhibit that would spread a media-friendly evolutionary message to any zoo or natural history museum that had a strong committment to real science. Here is the exhibit I want my zoo, the Philadelphia Zoo, to feature at the entrance:

Bronze replicas of a fish (in artificial pond), an early amphibian, an early mammal, an early primate, and several lineages of hominids, all arranged on top of bronze phylogentic "tree" inlaid into the sidewalk. Humans are not displayed, but their proper phylogenetic position is denoted by bronze footprints next to a plaque that says, "Stand here for photo op." Such an exhibit would attract national attention, and would be loved by all. Of course, most visitors would stand next to the Neanderthal statue, looking dumb, but it would initiate "conversations" about human origins by every single visitor to the zoo, which means millions of people (especially school kids on field trips). The exhibit would help persuade people that humans are, indeed, evolved from non-human ancestors, a fact that is currently accepted by only 12% of U.S. adults. Sure, the exhibit would probably cost $120,000, but I bet it would pay for itself in 3 years. Below is a mockup showing just (some) primate evolution. Also below is an example of a person (me, actually; I'm the one on the left) posing next to a bronze gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo. You can click on the images to see larger versions with even more commentary.

 

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