“Wallace & Darwin, the Two Faces of Evolution Theory” Exhibition July 31, 2009

Did you know that Singapore was once the base for the other ‘father’ of the Theory of Evolution?

Having travelled the wild places of the Malayan Archipelago, the equally brilliant but lesser known Alfred Russel Wallace came up with the idea of evolution the same time as Charles Darwin, ‘father’ of the Theory of Evolution. And Wallace was also the first person to call our beloved Durian the “‘King of Fruits”.

Our Southeast Asian region was the laboratory where Wallace first tested his own Theory of Evolution. Wallace also wrote extensively about his exciting explorations of Singapore’s much loved Bukit Timah Hill forests. It was during his epic eight-year journey through our Asian region that Wallace was able to accumulate an unbelievable collection of 125,660 wildlife specimens, of which 1,000 species were new to Science.

Armed with his intimate knowledge and understanding of life and nature in the Southeast Asian region, Wallace collaborated with the other great thinker Charles Darwin and together, the biggest of ‘Big Ideas’ was born.

This August, the Singapore Botanic Gardens will stage an exhibition exploring the achievements of Wallace and his role in pioneering the idea of Evolution to mark its 150th anniversary in 2009. The Gardens’ anniversary happily coincides with the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s publication of his historic book, On the Origin of Species in 1859, the first showcase for the Theory of Evolution, and the 200th anniversary of his birth year, 1809.

The exhibition will explain the Theory of Evolution in simple, easily understandable terms and tell the story of the two naturalists who collaborated to come up with the thoughts that revolutionised our understanding of life forever.

This intensely educational exhibition will also entertain with its colourful images of biodiverse tropical Nature – of Wallace’s favourite beetles from Singapore’s forests, of stick insects that mimic twigs, and of butterflies that pretend to be poisonous, all in the name of the survival of the species.

The event will be held at Singapore Botanic Gardens – (Library of Botany and Horticulture, Botany Centre).

Official Website: http://www.sbg.org.sg/