For Immediate Release Contact: Nancy O'Shea (312) 665-7100 (For Media Use Only) GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER An Extraordinary Man with a Mighty Vision We are the architects of our own fortune and the hewers out of our own destiny. George Washington Carver Many people today know George Washington Carver largely from the myths that have grown around him... none of them true. The fact is, he didn’t invent peanut butter; it had existed in many cultures for centuries. Neither did he create 300 new products from peanuts—though he created some, and collected many others. The truth about Carver is much more interesting than the myths. He was a man with a fascinating life story and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, who overcame tremendous odds to become one of America’s most versatile scientists. He was a trail-blazing proponent of sustainability, who believed that “nature produces no waste” and neither should man. He was a humanitarian whose primary goal was, as he put it, “to help the farmer and fill the poor man’s empty dinner pail.” This complex and intimate portrait of one of America’s best known names—and least-studied men —emerges from The Field Museum’s new exhibition: George Washington Carver. It follows Carver’s entire life and career, revealing both his struggles and his remarkable achievements as scientist, conservationist, educator, and humanitarian. It brings together more than one hundred artifacts from Carver’s personal life and work, along with animated and live videos, interactive displays, a diorama of Carver’s childhood farm, and a re-creation of the Jesup wagon, his mobile classroom. The exhibition is organized by The Field Museum in collaboration with Tuskegee University and the National Park Service. It is sponsored in Chicago by Motorola Foundation and Sara Lee Foundation. Continue>>