Where to Get Birthday Cake on Darwin Day: Humanist Chapter Events in Your Area

Last year we highlighted some of the events that AHA chapters and local groups held in celebration of Darwin Day. The American Humanist Association continues to encourage humanists to participate or host a local Darwin Day event, and here’s a list of activities taking place in honor of Darwin this year. Find one near you or use the below events for inspiration for planning your own!

 


East

Friday, February 12 at 6:30pm
Charles Darwin vs. Noah and the Ark: a celebration of Darwin Day!
Baltimore Ethical Society
Baltimore, MD

The Baltimore Ethical Society is celebrating the theory of evolution by hosting AHA’s very own Fred Edwords who will speak on “how evolutionary biology and other scientific fields utterly sink this creationist boat!” The talk will be followed by a potluck dinner for all.

Friday, February 12 at 7pm
SHSNY 8th Annual Darwin Day Celebration
Secular Humanist Society of New York
New York, NY

The Secular Humanist Society of New York is hosting Richard Milner who will perform Darwin, Wallace, and Other Voices in My Head by channeling the quirks, humor and wisdom of “famous dead white men” over a dinner buffet The evening will be filled with food, laughs, and friends.

Sunday, February 14 at 1:30pm
Skye Cleary: Existentialism, Evolution & Romantic Love
Humanist Hub
Cambridge, MA

Humanist Hub has decided to put a romantic spin on Darwin Day this year by hosting a conversation “about love: the good, the bad, the biological, and the existential” on Valentine’s Day, drawing on the philosophies of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. This talk will be followed by Darwin Day-themed activities and refreshments.

South

Monday, February 8 at 7pm
The Origin of the Controversy: Revisiting the Battlefields of Science and Religion
Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry
Charleston, SC

The Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry participated in Darwin Week in Charleston by sponsoring Dr. Ronald Numbers’s lecture “The Origin of the Controversy: Revisiting the Battlefields of Science and Religion” at the College of Charleston.

Saturday, February 13 at 4pm
Darwin Day Celebration Meeting
Myrtle Beach Humanists & Freethinkers
Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach Humanists and Freethinkers are showing the film Questioning Darwin, which “takes an in-depth look at the views of these Christians who reject Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.” Birthday cake will be served with a good helping of discussion following the film.

Sunday, February 14 at 6pm
Moral Instincts? Altruism in Humans and Other Animals
Humanists and Freethinkers of Cape Fear
Wilmington, NC

Humanists and Freethinkers of Cape Fear are celebrating Darwin Day by learning about evolutionary biology and its intersections with psychology from Dr. George M. Felis, who will discuss “three broad aspects of moral behavior and moral psychology which have been identified in other animals through both experiments and observations in the wild and connect them to three central ideas in ethics.”

Midwest

Wednesday, February 10 at 6:30pm
A Search for Truth that Shook the World: A Drama in One Act
Humanists of West Suburban Chicagoland
Naperville, IL

The Humanists of West Suburban Chicagoland are honoring science through arts with a dramatic reading of Charles Darwin’s decision to publish Origin of Species after finding out that Alfred Russel Wallace’s research through a conversation between Charles and his wife Emma. A potluck dinner will be served before the reading.

Thursday, February 11 at 7pm
Darwin Day Bash
End of the Line Humanists
Oak Park, IL

The End of the Line Humanists are having a birthday party in Darwin’s honor. This social event is their third annual Darwin Day party and includes birthday cake, a raffle, games and prizes, and evolution-themed presentations.

Thursday, February 11 at 7:30pm
Why Evolution is True
Omaha Metro Area Humanist Association
Omaha, NE

Members of the Omaha Metro Area Humanist Association will take a field trip to the University of Nebraska Medical Center to attend Dr. Ericson’s talk, “Why Evolution is True.” After the talk, they will all go to a nearby alehouse to continue the conversation and festivities.

West

Saturday, February 6 at 6:30pm
Darwin on the Palouse
Humanists of the Palouse
Washington State University, Pullman, WA

Darwin on the Palouse is a fun-filled day of learning starting with an open discussion on science education follow by their main event: a presentation by Glenn Branch from the National Center for Science Education on “After KItzmiller, What’s Next for Creationism?” and a presentation by historian Dr. Richard Carrier on “Ancient Roman Creationism: Scientific Pagans vs. Armchair Christians.” The night ends at their post-event social, the “Monkey Mingle,” where you can get your book signed, hang out with the speakers, and stuff your mouth with birthday cake.

Thursday, February 11 at 6:30pm
9th Annual Darwin Day Celebration
Humanists of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT

The Humanists of Utah will welcome Dr. Alan R. Rogers, professor of biology and anthropology at the University of Utah to speak on “recent discoveries in human and primate evolution and advances in modern evolutionary thinking.” The lecture will be followed with the serving of birthday cake!

Friday, February 12 at 6:30pm
Darwin Day Talk by Jeff Mitton: Recent Developments in Natural Selection
Secular Hub for Humanists, Atheists and Freethinkers
Denver, CO

The Secular Hub’s fourth celebration of Darwin Day includes an evening of mini-talks followed by a keynote address, “Recent Developments in Natural Selection Would Please Darwin,” by Jeff Mitton of the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado—Boulder. This will be followed by socializing and discussion with Jeff, as well as birthday cake.

Friday, February 12 at 6:30pm
“What Darwin Never Knew”
Central Colorado Humanists
Salida, CO

The Central Colorado Humanists will be showing the PBS Nova film What Darwin Never Knew to commemorate Darwin Day and will follow the screening with refreshments, discussion, and a birthday party.

Saturday, February 13 at 2:30pm
Collecting Evolution: The 1905-06 Galapagos Expedition that Vindicated Charles Darwin
Humanist Association of the Greater Sacramento Area
Carmichael, CA

The Humanist Association of the Greater Sacramento Area will host Dr. Matthew J. James, the chair of the Department of Geology and professor of paleontology and geology at Sonoma State University who will regale with adventures of the scientific collecting expedition to the Galápagos Islands conducted by the California Academy of Sciences in 1905-06. Refreshments will be served, and organizations will exhibit their activities.

Saturday, February 27 at 12pm
Darwin Day Luncheon
Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix
Mesa, AZ

The Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix are hosting a Darwin Day Luncheon filled with games, prizes, and “primordial soup.” They also encourage participants to figure out the pattern behind the meal prices—hint, “this year they are related to significant scientific events or phenomena rather than birthdays.”

 

How do you plan to celebrate Darwin Day? Here are some ideas:

  1. Find or create a Darwin Day event at www.darwinday.org.Our goal this year is to have over 500 Darwin Day events held around the world!
  1. “Like” Darwin Day on Facebook.We’ll be posting daily updates on the Darwin Day Facebook page, such as breaking news on science or evolution issues, information local Darwin Day events, sharable cover/profile images of Darwin and evolution, and more!
  1. Encourage your local government to issue a Darwin Day Proclamation.Meet with your city council members or state legislators to show their support of evolution by recognizing February 12 as Darwin Day. If you or your group has already successfully lobbied your elected official to support Darwin Day, let us know, and we’ll share your success with others on the Darwin Day website.

Darwin Day is a fun, educational celebration for humanists, atheists, science advocates, and all who support evolution in our schools and greater knowledge of science in our society.

Tags: