Smithsonian Will Add Evolution Exhibit; Explore Religion and Science

USA Today reported last week that the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum will open a new 15,000 square foot permanent exhibit next March on the "discovery and understanding of human origins." The Museum has also created a Broader Social Impacts Committee to address the interaction between religion and science. However Jim Miller, co-chair of the committee and an official with the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith, says that the evolution exhibit is "a scientific exhibit so it's not there to make a religious point." But, he says, he hopes the new exhibit, which opens on the 100th anniversary of the Museum on the National Mall, will provide an opportunity "for sound scientific discovery to enrich religious experience." [Thanks to Institute on Relig. & Public Policy for the lead.]