Darwin Stuffed and Put on Display at the American Museum of Natural History

Charles Darwin can't get any rest. Nearly a century and a half after his death, some people are still trying to poke holes into his theory of evolution. Now the American Museum of Natural History has created an exhibit and accompanying website that examines Darwin's life and work and takes issue with creationists' opposing "theories." The AMNH website takes on creationists' opposition to evolution, saying "Creationism, including Intelligent Design, does not offer a scientific alternative to the theory of evolution.... For 150 years since the publication of Darwin's "Origins of Species", the theory of evolution by natural selection has not been seriously challenged by any other scientific explanation." The exhibit reveals some interesting facts about the famous naturalist: Darwin was sent to Cambridge by his father to study to be a doctor then a clergyman. Darwin's idea of "survival of the fittest," often applied to economic theories, was in fact inspired in part by political economist Reverend Thomas Malthus' "Essay on Population." And he was not the first person to think up the idea of evolution--his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, once speculated about it, among others. In fact, the idea of evolution was speculated upon by many scientists at the time, but it took someone like Darwin, and his fortunate opportunity to sail on the H.M.S. Beagle, to gather up the data needed to support it. According to a Telegraph report, the AMNH could not find a single corporate sponsor to cover the cost of the $3 million exhibit and relied on private donors instead.