Saint Paul Selected to Host Smithsonian Exhibit
Saint Paul School of Theology has been selected to host the traveling exhibit Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human? through a national competition offered by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the American Library Association (ALA).
“Saint Paul is very excited to be one of just six theological seminaries in the country to be selected to host this unique and fascinating exhibit,” said Seminary Exhibit Coordinator Dr. Nancy Howell. “No one will want to miss seeing the seminary transformed into a science museum, and we have an impressive line-up of programs planned, with offerings for children and adults. We hope everyone will join us in a conversation about what it means to be human.”
In addition, scientists and other experts from the NMNH Human Origins Program will visit the seminary’s Kansas Campus in Leawood, Kansas, to host events for the community, including a clergy program, educator workshop, community conversation, and more. Through panels, interactive kiosks, hands-on displays, and videos, Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human? invites viewers of all ages to learn about the milestones in the evolutionary journey of becoming human and encourages a public conversation that opens multiple perspectives on what it means to be human — one that embraces the ideas and beliefs of non-scientists and fosters a greater appreciation of the complexity of the science of human evolution. Seminarians, alums, clergy, schools, churches, and the community are encouraged to visit and engage in conversations that matter scientifically and theologically. This exhibit is free and open to the public for viewing February – May 2025. Later this fall, additional details will be announced regarding visiting hours and registration for special event programs. To have news and updates delivered to your inbox, we invite you to subscribe to Saint Paul emails at https://app.donorview.com/Pq5ln. Are you interested in volunteering as an exhibit docent? If so, please contact Dr. Nancy Howell () for more information.
Exhibit Virtual Tour
While the exhibit is no longer available at Saint Paul School of Theology, we invite you to enjoy a virtual video tour led by Dr. Rick Potts.
Exhibit Programs & Events
Human Origins Experts
Dr. Rick Potts
Rick Potts, Director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program, Dr. Rick Potts is a paleoanthropologist at the National Museum of Natural History, where he also holds the Peter Buck Chair in Human Origins. Since joining the Smithsonian in 1985, Rick has dedicated his research to piecing together the record of Earth’s environmental change and human adaptation. His ideas on how human evolution responded to environmental instability have stimulated wide attention and new research in several scientific fields.
Bridging across many research disciplines, Rick’s field projects are located in the East African Rift and southern and northern China. His latest work in the Rift Valley of Kenya has gained international attention as the first project to obtain a long drill core from an early human site in Africa, which will provide a detailed climate record spanning the past 500,000 years. Rick received his Ph.D. in biological anthropology from Harvard University in 1982, after which he taught anthropology at Yale University and served as curator of physical anthropology at the Yale Peabody Museum. Rick is curator of both The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and a new, accompanying traveling exhibition called “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?” He is also the author of the companion book, What Does It Mean to Be Human?
Lee Meadows, Ph.D
Lee Meadows, Ph.D., is a science educator based in Birmingham, Alabama. He has written and spoken across his career on the teaching of evolution in the Deep South and is the author of The Missing Link: An Inquiry Based Approach for Teaching Evolution to All Students and co-author of Making Sense of Science and Religion: Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond. A teacher at heart, Lee has taught high school chemistry, physics, and physical science; college chemistry; and many teacher education courses, especially science teaching methods. He guided the launch of Alabama STEM Council as its first Executive Director, focusing the work on building the STEM education system Alabama needs for a thriving workforce. Before that he worked as professor in the School of Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, guiding science teachers to improve their practice especially with better skills for inquiry and implementing science and engineering practices. Meadows is a member of the Broader Social Impacts Committee of the Program on Human Origins of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Briana Pobiner
Briana Pobiner is a paleoanthropologist whose zooarchaeological and taphonomic research centers on the evolution of human diet (with a focus on meat-eating), but has included topics as diverse as human cannibalism and chimpanzee carnivory. Since joining the Smithsonian in 2005 to help put together the Hall of Human Origins, in addition to continuing her active field, laboratory, and experimental research programs, she leads the Human Origins Program’s education and outreach efforts, including managing the Human Origins Program's public programs, website content, social media, and exhibition volunteer training. Briana has more recently developed an additional research program in evolution education and science communication. She is also an Associate Research Professor of Anthropology in the Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology at the George Washington University.
Dr. Jim Miller
Jim Miller is an honorably retired ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) with an AB in American Studies for the University of Maryland, an MDiv from Union Presbyterian Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Marquette University. Immediately following seminary, he served for five years on the staff of the Department of Engineering Mechanics, North Carolina State University. He has served as an ecumenical campus minister at Michigan Technological University (1975-1981) and the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Chatham College (1984-1996). For nearly ten years he was the Senior Program Associate for the Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He was the founding Secretary/Treasurer and four-term past President of the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith. Since 2008 Jim has served as co-chair of the Broader Social Impacts Committee of the Program on Human Origins of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2020.
Exploring Human Origins: Promoting a National Conversation on Human Evolution is administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s (NMNH) Human Origins Program.
During events, photographers and videographers will take photos, screenshots, and videos that may be used in future Saint Paul School of Theology marketing materials and/or broadcast via live-stream or recording. Virtual events may be recorded and made available online and on social media to the public. By attending this event, you agree to be photographed and/or filmed and give permission to use your likeness in promotional, virtual, and/or marketing materials. You hereby give Saint Paul School of Theology (SPST) the right to take pictures and/or recordings of you and grant the perpetual right to use your likeness, image, or photo, without compensation or approval, in any medium, including social media. You waive and release from any liability SPST, its affiliates, and its students, board members, employees, donors, and each and all persons involved.