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 Calendar of Events
OCTOBER—African Biodiversity
From its grassy savannas to its high mountains, the African continent is home to a diversity of habitats that have long supported a rich variety of species and an amazing array of human cultures.
Learn how Field Museum scientists work with African colleagues to document and protect Africa’s incredible cultural heritage and abundant wildlife.
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FEATURED SCIENTIST
 Chap Kusimba, Ph.D.
Anthropology Department
Curator of Anthropology, African Archaeology and Ethnology
Chapurukha (Chap) Kusimba, a dual resident of Kenya and the United States, studies the historical relationships of East African people with each other and wildlife—particularly the role that elephants played in opening up impenetrable areas to agro-pastoral farming.
Kusimba co-directs anthropological and archaeological research in Tsavo National Park, located 150 kilometers inland of the coast. Tsavo was an important source of trading goods headed for medieval Asian and European states and empires through East African ports and harbors. Some of the most desirable objects included ivory, cat skins, rock crystals, and rhino horns.
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PUBLIC PROGRAMS
| October 10 & 11 |
Centennial Tribute to Louis Leakey
Adult Program
Tickets Required
Visit www.leakeyfoundation.org
or call (312) 665-7400
To honor the 100 years since legendary anthropologist Louis Leakey (1903-1972) was born, the Leakey Foundation will host a weekend program featuring an all-star cast of human origins and evolution experts.
In collaboration with The Field Museum, this gathering of paleoanthropology’s leading scientists will trace the trajectory of the Leakey legacy up to the present day.
Mother and daughter expedition leaders Maeve and Louise Leakey will lead the program as participants discuss recent news-making fossil discoveries and the important role that human origins research plays in conserving Great Ape populations.
Guests can attend illustrated talks, hands-on demonstrations, and other activities that explore such topics as the earliest human technology, a Neanderthal’s diet, and the evolutionary significance of mothers and grandmothers.
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October 18
10 – 11:30 a.m. Family Program (6-8 year-olds)
12:30 – 2 p.m.
(9-12 year-olds)
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Family Workshop: “Animal Mask Making”
Family Program
$10, members $8
Registration Required (312) 665-7400
Stare into the eye of a tiger and then create a mask for your own face! Gathering inspiration from the animals in our halls, children will create animal faces and heads using paper, cardboard, yarn, paint, feathers, and more. |
October 19
2 p.m. |
Lecture: “Interactions or Conquest? Enduring Cultural
Mosaics Among Pre-industrial East African Societies”
Featured Scientist Dr. Chapurukha Kusimba
Adult and Family Program
Free with Museum Admission
Delve into the heart of Africa as anthropologist Chap Kusimba discusses interactions between people and wildlife in pre-colonial East African societies from 700 to 1700 A.D. His talk will focus especially on the role of the elephant in shaping the cultural and biological diversity of the ecosystem around Tsavo National Park.
Discover how the elephant has always had an important presence in African culture, and how its impact on the landscape—breaking down impenetrable bamboo, rooting up trees, and weeding out waterholes—have directly influenced the development of African societies by making many areas more fit for human habitation. |
October 25
2 p.m. |
Scientist Roundtable: “Issues of African Biodiversity”
John Bates and Bill Stanley
Adult and Family Program
Free with Museum Admission
Learn about the role of natural history museums in Africa and the value of museum-based scientific research for conservation. You’ll see unusual mammal specimens from The Field Museum’s collection and hear from zoology department scientists as they discuss their African research.
Learn about genetic diversity of tropical birds in Africa, small mammals living in the forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains, the evolution of African birds, and the effects of forest fragmentation in Tanzania.
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Year-round
Thursday & Fridays
12:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday
11:30 a.m.
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Gallery Tour—All Things Living: Explore Biodiversity
All Ages
Free with Museum Admission
Explore fragile ecosystems as you learn about Field Museum scientist’s latest research.
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FEATURED EXHIBITION
 Africa
The African continent is home to a rich diversity of habitats that support an amazing variety of plant and animal life. Explore the ecosystems of the Great Rift, a place where the continental plates pulled apart more than 40 million years ago to form 35 separate lakes that hold thousands of fish species found nowhere else on Earth.
Learn more about Africa’s vast savanna region, a grassy plain that covers one-third of the continent. Discover how endangered savanna animals, such as the giraffe, black rhino, and hippopotamus, survive as megaherbivores, eating large quantities of vegetation between them and thereby sustaining the savanna itself.
Permanent Exhibition
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RELATED LINKS
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Introduction | Investigate Biodiversity | YBC | Meet the Scientist | Explore Global Diversity | Events and Programs | Take Action! | Teaching Biodiversity | Biodiversity Exhibition | Credits
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