Wesley Roberts has been teaching Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science and Astronomy for 27 years in Metro Nashville Schools, currently at Hume-Fogg. In the early 1990s he became interested in the Scopes Monkey Trial and studied it extensively. In 1996 State Sen. Tommy Burks introduced what was then called the “Monkey Bill.” Its stated purpose was to dismiss any teacher who taught evolution as fact, not theory. Mr. Roberts became an outspoken critic of the Monkey Bill and was interviewed for many national media seeking a story on this bill. This put him on the front page of The New York Times and also in articles carried by USA Today, worldwide AP, NBC, ABC, and even the BBC. He also did numerous radio interviews nationwide and was a guest on The Diane Rehm Show on NPR. The bill was defeated in the State Senate when it failed to garner the support of Lt. Gov. John Wilder.
Since that time Mr. Roberts has remained active in evolution education. In 2011, when the legislature proposed the bill that passed in 2012 that he refers to as “Teach the Controversy” bill, Mr. Roberts testified before the Senate Education Committee and the House Subcommittee on Education along with Molly Miller of Vanderbilt University and two University of Tennessee professors. The bill passed, but Mr. Roberts is currently working toward a legal move to overturn it.
**Stay for a special planetarium show on evolution**
8:15 p.m.
Natural Selection: Darwin's Mystery of Mysteries
A visually stunning program in which a young Charles Darwin voyages aboard the HMS Beagle observing the diversity of life around the world. With Darwin as your guide, you'll discover how species compete and adapt to changing environments over time. Cost: $4 for members, $6 for non-members. More info>>
Coming Soon
June 20, 2013
7 - 8 p.m.
The Maker Revolution: Moving from Consumer to Creator
Speaker: Chris Lee