ae rub " In the Field The Bulletin of The Field Museum November/December 1993 1893-1993 The Field Museum Exploring The Earth And Its gd “‘YoqubuLysem OD 8 °4S YA0T OXF S@lLduedugqiy T YELUOSUaL WS we ” ? is ie By James Balodimas The Bulletin of The Field Museum In the Field November/December 1993 we 8 1893-1993 The Field Museum A complete sched- Exploring ule of activities, The Earth And Its including many pro- People grams relating to the opening of “Africa” SO SUSY SU, ee’ WN SONZ ove YU LESSENS a “os frica” — The Field Museum’s new permanent exhibit on the cultures and environments of the continent — opens November 13 in the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Wing west of Stan- ley Field Hall. The $4-million exhibit represents a collab- orative effort among African and African- American scholars as the narrators and designers of their own peoples’ stories. State- of-the-art presentations and one of the finest collections of African artifacts in the world will help visitors come to a deeper understanding of Africa’s diversity. Five years in the making, the new exhibit presents a portrait of Africa’s cultural, geo- graphical, political, and social diversity. The very look and feel of the continent, its past, present, people, and their worldwide influence, emerge in a new light. “The ‘Africa’ exhibit is designed to open new doors of understanding about African peo- ples, cultures, history, and daily life,” said Museum President Willard L. Boyd. “The scope and diversity of this exhibit symbolize Field Museum’s commitment to greater under- standing of the world’s people and environments.” Although no museum exhibit can cover all of Africa in depth, “Africa” presents West, Central, East, and North Africa and the African Diaspora during various historical periods. “Africa” provides the visitor with a broad introduction to the African continent and peo- ple of African descent. More than 340 artifacts, including magnifi- cent art objects from Benin, the Cameroon grasslands, and Zaire appear in the context of their use. In 15,000 square feet of space, a series of seven true-to-life settings are designed to produce a “you are there” feeling. Visitors enter “Africa” by a lively and fes- tive marketplace that is a re-creation of a bustling street in Dakar, Senegal. We meet a Senegalese family and join in their celebration of Tabaski, a Muslim holy day. Continuing on the journey, we survey the major art-producing regions of the Cameroon grass- lands and Zaire. We next discover the significance of mining and metal- working and the social context of Benin bronzes and carved ivory. We next explore Michael Crichton, king of the dino- saurs, receives the Founders’ Council 10 Museum curators returning from the field report some good news on the Award of Merit. conservation front. The Field rae the savanna environment and investigate the geology and evolutionary oddities of Africa’s Great Rift. And eventually we meet the com- plexity of the desert ecosystem on a caravan trip across the Sahara to the Kano marketplace. Finally, the African Diaspora section pro- vides experiences that help visitors examine a number of questions, including how and why slavery happened. In the Americas, we contemplate the adap- tations and innovations brought to our contem- porary world by descendants of those slaves, and learn the various ways by which they maintained their ethnic identity and pride with- in a multicultural society. The best contemporary scholarship and extensive community involvement helped to make this exhibit extraordinary. The Museum held public forums to enlist community partici- pation in the content and scope of the exhibit, John Weinstein / A112460.1BW DALAI LAMA VISITS THE FIELD MUSEUM The Dalai Lama, in Chicago to attend the Parliament of the World’s Religions, dedi- cates the Museum’s refurbished Tibet exhibit, while monks from his Tibetan monastery cre- ate a sand mandala to the healing Buddhas. Story, Page 11 as well as scholarly symposia on several topics treated in the exhibit. In support of its efforts to create new approaches to exhibit development, the Field Museum was awarded a $1 mil- lion grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fund for Cultural Innovation, the first institution in Chicago to receive a grant under the newly established fund. SPONSORS OF ‘AFRICA’ EXHIBIT © jhe lead corporate sponsor for the “Africa” exhibit is the Sara Lee Foundation, which makes contributions on behalf of Sara Lee Corporation. In addition, Sara Lee Corpora- tion will sponsor a series of celebrations related to the “Africa” opening, including the Women’s Board’s Centennial Ball on November 5. As part of the evening’s festivities, the sec- ond segment of the spectacular “Images in Motion” series, highlighting the cultures and the environments of the African continent, also will be underwritten by Sara Lee Corporation. In support of its efforts to create new appproaches to exhibit development, the Field Muse- um this year was awarded a $1 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Fund for Cultural Innovation. The Rockefeller Foundation provided grants that funded the earliest planning, community forums, other outreach programs and the “Africa” Project School Program. The Joyce Foundation helped the Museum to secure the best contem- porary scholarship and extensive community involvement, and has provided for a series of spe- cial programs and resources for educators and the general public. A major award from the National Endowment for the Humanities funded the anthropology and history sections of the exhibit, which includes Contemporary Senegal, Cameroon, Benin, _ Metallurgy, Caravan Across the Sahara, and the African Diaspora. Other patrons and in-kind contributors include The Chicago Community Trust, Chicago Park District, General Electric Foundation, General Mills Foundation, Illinois Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Savings of _ America, Woods Charitable Fund, Inc., and many other corporations and individuals. Above, copper alloy sculpture in honor of the Queen Mother, the highest ranking woman in Benin society. Center, “Car Rapide,” reverse glass painting by Mor Gueye. Bottom left, “the door of no return” in the House of Slaves, Goree Island, Sene- gal. On the cover: BaKongo nail fetish. Photo A112463.1BW by John Weinstein ‘AFRICA’: A CHANGING CONTINENT, A CHANGING MUSEUM By Willard L. Boyd President, The Field Museum n November 13, the Field Museum opens the first of its two Centennial exhibits. It is about cultural and environmental change in Africa and the impact of that change on the rest of the world, particularly on the citizens of Chicago. The exhibit is designed to open new doors of understanding about African peoples, cultures, history, and daily life. The scope and diversity of the exhibit also tells us something about change at the Field Museum as it enters its second century with a renewed commitment to greater understanding of the world’s people and environments. “Africa,” located in the Daniel F, and Ada L. Rice Wing west of Stanley Field Hall, takes an interdisciplinary approach to change. It examines the impact of nature on culture and the impact of culture on nature, focusing on the Like the Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, You could try to take it with you. But why not do something that will provide for the Museum’s second century of service? For more information about life income and estate gifts, please call or write: Melinda Pruett-Jones Director of Major Gifts and Estate Planning The Field Museum Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois 60605-2496 (312) 332-8868 In the Field November/December 1993 Vol. 64, No.6 Editor: Ron Dorfman Art Director: Shi Yung Editorial Assistant: Steven Weingartner In the Field (ISSN #1051-4546) is published bimonthly by The Field Museum, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL 60605-2496. Copyright © 1993 The Field Museum. Subscriptions $6.00 annually, $3.00 for schools. Museum membership Includes /n the Field subscription. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect policy of The Field Museum. Museum phone (312) 922-9410. Noti- fication of address change should include address label and should be sent to Membership Department. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to In the Field, The Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, !L 60605-2496. Second class postage paid at Chicago, Illinois. November/December 1993 2? The Field Museum The Earth And Its interconnectedness of geological, biological, and cultural change. Cultural change is the focus of exhibit segments devoted to communi- ty and family life, art and society, and com- merce. Other segments introduce the differing physical environments of the Great Rift, the savanna, and the Sahara Desert, and the impact of those changing environments on flora, fauna and people. The exhibit is also about the enormous impact of Africans in the world, especially in the Americas. Today more than 100 million people of African descent live outside the con- tinent of Africa. The account of their struggle and their worldwide cultural impact is present- ed in a section on the African diaspora in the Western Hemisphere. “Africa” concludes with a resource center and a video presentation about the important roles of Africans and African Americans today in Chicago and throughout the Americas and the world. “Africa” also continues the Museum’s move toward interdisciplinary presentation. Historically our exhibits were divided into sep- arate halls of Anthropology, Botany, Geology, and Zoology. In the Pacific exhibits, in “Mes- sages from the Wilderness,” and now in “Africa,” these disciplines are brought together. Moreover, “Africa” represents a major stride in the Museum’s effort to work closely with the people whose cultures and environments are represented in our collections and exhibits. Its developers consulted extensively with Chica- go’s diverse communities and resource institu- tions and with scholars and consultants from the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Africa. “Africa” advances the integration of new and old exhibit techniques. Visitors will not only view great art from several African cultures, but will encounter numerous educa- tional aids designed to engage them actively in learning about Africa. The entire four-year process of exhibit development has been documented by WTTW- TV for a PBS special, “Africa: A View from the Field,” that will be broadcast in the Chicago area November 17 at 8 p.m. (Check local schedules for dates and times.) Supplementing the exhibit is a carefully planned array of programs by our Department of Education. These include the training of more than 100 volunteer exhibit interpreters who are attending day-long sessions once a week for ten weeks in preparation for their work with the exhibit. The Harris Loan Center has organized experience boxes covering trade in Africa, metallurgy, the art of Cameroon, and African music and its influence in the Ameri- 1893-1993 Exploring People cas. Training sessions are being held for ele- mentary and high school teachers to demon- strate how they can use the “Africa” exhibit and materials in their curricula. The “Africa” resource center will provide topical information and direct visitors to other institutions where they can find significant exhibits, programs, and information. “Africa” and its related programs have been financed by both private and public funds. The Rockefeller Foundation provided the initial planning grant and an additional contribution for community initiatives. The major corporate sponsor is the Sara Lee Foundation. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Fund for Cultural Innovation provided $1 mil- lion grant to support the unique development process involved in the “Africa” project. A Joyce Foundation grant promoted extensive community involvement by underwriting a series of special programs and resources for educators and the general public. Other contrib- utors include the Chicago Community Trust, the General Electric Foundation, the General Mills Foundation, Savings of America, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, and the Woods Charitable Trust. Major public support has come from the Chicago Park District, the National Endow- ment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, and the Illinois Humanities Coun- cil. Many individuals and family foundations have also contributed generously to the exhibit, including the William C. Bannerman Founda- tion; Richard Colburn and Robin Lucas / the Negaunee Foundation; Mr. and Mrs. Lester McKeever; and Ruth 8S. and Nellie R. Stickle. My wife, Susan, and I made an early donation. The exhibit will be introduced to Chicago with a wonderful “Images In Motion” show on the Museum’s north facade running from November 5 — 18, from dusk until 9 p.m. The presentation runs in a continuous cycle and will feature major images from the exhibit. This second of four “Images In Motion” programs is sponsored by Sara Lee Corporation. “Africa” is an extraordinary exhibit. It was conceived and executed by a talented staff in cooperation with many people throughout the city, the country, and Africa. It is a concrete example of the Museum’s commitment to enhancing cultural understanding and change, and reflects the focus which the entire Museum will take in the years ahead through our Center for Cultural Understanding and Change. HUNGRY SNAKES ARE THE LEAST OF THEIR PROBLEMS Rosert F. Incer, the MacArthur Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, recently returned to Chicago from Sabah, Malaysia, where he com- pleted a two-year project to monitor frog and tadpole populations in two national parks. The purpose of the study, which was supported by the MacArthur Foundation, was to estimate population size and determine the extent to which individuals move around and whether breeding activity is constant throughout the year. Inger monitored tadpole populations by capturing, identifying, and releasing tadpoles at 50 stations. Adult frogs were captured, marked, and released. The marking was done by inject- ing the frogs with passive transponders that bore a unique 10-place code that could be read with a hand-held wand. At present, about 1,000 transponder-fitted frogs are hopping around Sabah. If current life span estimates for several of the large species are correct, marked frogs will remain “readable” for some time — bar- ring encounters with hungry snakes, of course. The information Inger has collected so far will help to establish baseline data on frog popula- tion sizes in an essentially pristine area. This data may then be compared with population sizes in developed areas, and thus be used in efforts to curb the worldwide decline of amphibian populations. € The State University of New York Press has published two volumes of papers from the Museum’s 1989 and 1990 Spring Systematics Symposia edited by MatrHew H. NiteEckt, cura- tor of fossil invertebrates, and Doris V. NIrEcki, associate in the Department of Geolo- gy. Evolutionary Ethics discusses the “moral corollaries of the theory of evolution” involved in such interpretations as Social Darwinism and sociobiology. History and Evolution explores the slippery distinction between the narratives that result from consideration of “Caesar crossing the Rubicon or a trilobite crawling across the bed of a Paleozoic sea.” € The Department of Botany’s WILLIAM BurcGeEr, MicHAEL DiLLon, and GreGorY MUELLER attended a symposium entitled “Neotropical Montane Forests: Biodiversity and Conserva- tion” at the New York Botanical Garden. The symposium was attended by more than 120 participants from Latin America, Europe, and the United States. The three Field Museum botanists delivered papers at the symposium, which provided an excellent opportunity for the discussion of issues and the exchange of ideas on the topics of biodiversity loss and con- servation in Latin American tropical forests. € IGNaAcIo CASANOVA, interim curator of meteorit- ics in the Department of Geology, presented two papers at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society in Vail, Colorado. The Society was founded at the Field Museum 60 years ago (August 1933), with geology curator Oliver Farrington named as its first honorary president. Just prior to his departure for Vail, Casanova gave a public lecture at the Adler Planetarium entitled “From Stardust to Planets: Meteorites and the Early Solar System,” which was attended by more than 100 people. He sur- veyed the latest results of meteorite research and introduced the two courses on meteoritics he will be teaching this fall (one at Adler and another at The Field Museum). = Peter Crane, the MacArthur Curator of Fossil Plants, is the 1993 recipient of the Schuchert Award, presented annually to an outstanding paleontologist under zy the age of 40. Previous recipients include David M. Raup, the Sewell L. Avery Dis- tinguished Service Pro- fessor of Geophysical Sciences at the Univer- sity of Chicago (and former dean of science at the Museum), and Stephen J. Gould, the writ- er (The Panda’s Thumb, Bully for Brontosaurus, etc.) and Harvard University paleontologist. € MicuakL DiLLon, curator of vascular plants, was among some 40 participants from the Unit- ed States, Canada, and Australia in a computer- ization workshop at the University of California at Berkeley that discussed sMAScH (the Specimen Management System for Cali- fornia Herbaria). SMAScH was developed by the Museum Informatics Project in collaboration with the Advanced Technology Planning Group at U.C.—Berkeley. The conference focused chiefly on relational data models for botanical collections, and their implementation on a UNIX-based network platform. Other top- ics discussed at the conference included the development of authority files for nomenclatu- tal, geographic, and bibliographic information; imaging and bar-coding; mapping tools; and data-sharing and intellectual-property issues. € Steve GoopMAN and WILLIAM STANLEY (both of Zoology) were in Tanzania for two months this summer to study the effects of forest fragmen- tation on small mammals. While there they also started a new project on the biogeography of small mammals in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains — a project that will focus on the distribution of mountain-dwelling animals in some of the oldest and most biologically diverse regions of Africa. € Grecory MUELLER has been promoted to asso- ciate curator of mycology in the Department of Botany. He and ELizABeTH PINE, a summer intern from the Illinois Math and Science Academy (who won the 1993 Westinghouse Science Talent Search for her previous work with Mueller) recently spent five weeks in Costa Rica collecting fungi in the oak forests of that nation. Mueller also worked on devel- oping the local infrastructure required for future studies in this area with Roy Halling of the New York Botanical Garden, Jullieta Carran- za of the University of Costa Rica, and Luis D. Gomez of the Las Cruces Biological Station. € The Museum’s Center for Evolutionary and Environmental Biology (CEEB) has promoted RupIGER BieLer to associate curator in the Department of Zoology. Bieler’s work on the evolutionary biology of mollusks, and especial- ly of marine snails, has earned him worldwide recognition. COLLECTIONS GROUP HAS VARIED CALENDAR his has been an eclectic year of pro- grams and activities for the Collections Committee, the Museum’s newest spe- cial interest donor group. The Committee was formed to increase awareness of the Museum’s ethnographic collections and to enhance collec- tors’ knowledge. Members exchange ideas and information on ethnographic collections and collecting during educational programs and activities presented throughout the year. Under the leadership of Mr. and Mrs. James J. Glasser, this group of Chicago area collectors has seen a variety of informative programs that suit members’ interests. The year began with a presentation by a visiting scholar, Dr. Yuri Berezkin, on “Peoples and Prehistoric Cultures of Central Asia.” In May, associate conservator Christine Del Re demonstrated techniques for properly caring for collections. At mid-year members enjoyed a gala din- ner/preview of “Masters of the Arctic: Art in the Service of the Earth,” at which they talked with curators about the traveling exhibit of contemporary masterworks of indigenous peo- ple of the Arctic Circumpolar region. In a departure from the traditional lecture format, the Collections Committee introduced a series of in-depth, behind-the-scenes tours of the Museum’s collections. Dr. Bennet Bronson, chairman, Department of Anthropology and curator of Asian archaeology and ethnology, led the first eye-opening tour into the Asian Textile storerooms. Most recently, Committee members visit- ed the Winnetka home of fellow member Mrs. James W. Alsdorf, whose private collection includes objects dating from 7000 B.c. to recent times. Members were inspired by the collec- tion’s depth and entertained by Mrs. Alsdorf’s anecdotes and lively discussions about various objects. The Collections Committee wraps up the year with a preview of the Museum’s newest exhibit, “Africa.” For details, see the calendar listing on page 6. To join the Collections Com- mittee, send a check for $50 to The Field Museum c/o The Collections Committee; or call Julie Sass at (312) 322-8874. 3 November/December 1993 William Simpson (left), chief prepara- tor and collections manager of fossil ver- tebrates, and Pablo Puerta, a paleonto- logical technician from the Museo Pale- ontologico Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, Chubut Province, Argentina, work ona cast of Field Muse- um’s Astrapotherium specimen that will be shipped to Trelew for a new exhibit on evolution and Pata- gonian mammals. The skeleton of the large Cenozoic-era beast was discovered in Argentina in the 1920s by Field Muse- um paleontologist Elmer Riggs. It is the only specimen of this species in the world. The original fossil will be part of the Field Museum’s exhibit on evolution that will open in November 1994. The Museo Pale- ontoldgico has offered Field Muse- um casts of the skulls of two unusual Pata- gonian carnivorous dinosaurs, Carnotau- rus and Abelisaurus, and the two institu- tions expect to undertake other cooperative ventures in the future. James Balodimas / GN86903,19 UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS Oftavio Missoni, the featured designer of the 28 Shop Fashion Show on September 10 sponsored by Mar- shall Field’s at The Field Museum, being- greeted by Heather Bilandic, president of the Museum’s Women’s Board, and Dan Skoda, Marshall Field’s president. Seven hundred fifty guests were in atten- dance; the event has raised $100,000 over the past three years to benefit the Field Museum. LIBRARY FRIENDS any members of the Museum may be Miss that they have access to the 250,000-volume Field Museum Library. The Friends of Field Museum Library are keenly aware of the Library’s importance and have actively supported its role since 1990. The Library, one of the largest natural-his- tory research libraries in the world, is a vital scientific resource. It supports the collections- based research of the Museum staff and the international scientific community. Supple- menting the research holdings, the Mary W. Runnells Rare Book Room houses spectacular Special Collections. The Friends ot Field Museum Library, led by Worth Smith, appreciate and support the acquisition and preservation programs of the Library. Annual Friends programs reflect the Library’s special nature and vital role within the Museum and beyond. Earlier this year Olivier Rieppel, curator of fossil amphibians and reptiles, used an array of original works and reprints to illustrate a pre- sentation on the historical development of the philosophy of natural history. MEMBER PROGRAMS AT DUSABLE, MEXICAN MUSEUMS Field Museum members can take advantage of reciprocal privileges at the DuSable Museum of African American History and the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. In celebration of the opening of “Africa,” members are invited to visit the DuSable Muse- um free during the month of November. Present your Field Museum member’s card at the Du- Sable Museum entrance, 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago. The DuSable Museum is open daily LIBRARY FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY GIFT OF ' THE FRIENDS OF FIELD MUSEUM LIBRARY For an April presentation, Charles Jarvis of the Natural History Museum (London) brought 35 herbarium sheets collected by John Clayton (1683-1773). These specimens formed part of the material on which Gronovius’s Flora Vir- ginica (1739, 1743, 1762) was based. Jarvis, an expert in the early history of botanical explo- ration, has worked extensively with many of the earliest botanical collections in the world, including those of Linnaeus. His lecture was complemented by a slide presentation on con- temporary wildflowers by Thomas Lammers, assistant curator of vascular plants at the Museum. Last summer, the Friends were treated to a special program on the history, development, and role of the Library by Peyton Fawcett, librarian, and Benjamin Williams, associate librarian and librarian of special collections. The Friends of Field Museum Library except Thanksgiving. Call (312) 947-0060 for information. The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, 1852 W. 19th Street, Chicago, invites Field Museum members to visit the annual “Holiday Mercado” on Friday, December 3, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, December 4 and 5, from neon to 5 p.m. Hundreds of items from Mexico will be on sale, including ceram- ics, jewelry, toys and dolls, books, Christmas ornaments, and much more. Selected items are reduced 10 to 40 percent, and Field Museum members will receive an additional 15 percent discount on all items during these days. Present your Field Museum membership card to receive the discount. Call (312) 738-1503 for details. closes this year with a program on the role of the Library in current research programs in Africa and in the development of the “Africa” exhibit. To join the Friends of Field Museum Library, send a check for $100 to The Field Museum c/o The Friends of Field Museum Library, or call Julie Sass at (312) 322-8874. CENTENNIAL KICKOFF he Field Museum celebrated its 100th | birthday September 14 with a special program and black-tie dinner for 500 guests. Among those attending were members of the Board of Trustees, the Founders’ Coun- cil, and the Women’s Board. Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, and John Rogers, president of the Chicago Park District, were also on hand for the event, which marked the beginning of the Museum’s ten- month centennial celebration. The festivities began with cocktails in a tent on the west terrace. Afterwards guests adjourned to the James Simpson Theater for a program featuring remarks by Museum Presi- dent Willard L. Boyd and brief speeches by Governor Edgar, Mayor Daley, and Rogers. The program concluded with a viewing of the centennial video, produced by Commonweatlh Edison with the assistance of Kurtis Productions. President Boyd began by thanking those who had made the evening possible — particu- larly Tiffany & Company, which underwrote the dinner. He then introduced Governor Edgar, noting that the Museum is playing an integral part in the governor’s program to improve early childhood education and family life. Mayor Daley characterized the Museum as “both a tribute to the past and an endowment for the future,” and praised the first Marshall Field and his descendants for having faithfully watched over the Museum’s continuing devel- opment. Rogers, who is in effect the Museum’s landlord, said it was an “ideal tenant,” and expressed confidence that it would “remain a source of pride and enrichment for another hun- dred years.” After the video, the guests moved to Stan- ley Field Hall for a dinner highlighted by a giant birthday cake produced by the Sara Lee Corporation, dancing to the music of the Stu Hirsh Orchestra, and a Champagne toast with libations courtesy of Moét & Chandon. As souvenirs of the event, each guest was given a copy of the centennial publication, The Natural History of the Field Museum, and a crystal paperweight by Tiffany & Company. The only flaw in an otherwise perfect evening was that the premiére showing of “Images in Motion,” scheduled as the finale, was rained out. In addition to Tiffany, Sara Lee, and Moét & Chandon, corporations contributing to the centennial celebration were Helene Curtis, Inc., sponsors of “Images in Motion,” and John Nuveen & Co., underwriters of The Natural History of the Field Museum. November/December 1993 4 At the Centennial Dinner: Christina and Ron Gidwitz (left). He’s a Museum trustee and president of Helene Curtis, Inc., sponsor of the first “Images in Motion” show. Below, Desiree and John Rogers, presi- dent of the Chicago Park District. CALENDAR OF EVENTS IMAGES OF AFRICA IN MOTION he Field Museum will have its north face transformed into colorful optics again Friday, November 5, when the second “Images in Motion” shows visions of “Africa,” the new permanent exhibit. Vibrant moving images from this extraordinary exhibit will move across the exterior wall behind the Museum’s classical columns as the columns themselves reflect a spectacular swirl of color. Of course, admission is free. You can watch the show on the Museum grounds, on a boat in Lake Michigan, on a blanket in Grant Park, or at any spot that gives you an unob- structed view of the north facade. “Images in Motion II’ is being underwrit- ten by Sara Lee Corporation. The specially designed, mega-image projection and picture animation are produced by Technique Mirage, Inc., of Atlanta. “Images in Motion II — Africa” will run November 5 - 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., about four hours each night, for 14 nights. The presentation, which is 10 minutes in length, runs in a continuous cycle. Images of ceremonial artifacts including ritual masks, Cameroon bead work, Nigerian bronzes, weaponry and wood carvings will offer a glimpse of “Africa,” a dynamic exhibit scapes from Saharan scenes to modern city life also will appear on the building’s exterior. “Africa,” an exhibit that encompasses the African continent as well as the diaspora of people of African descent, opens to the public Saturday, November 13. that took five years to complete. African land- andr THE SMART WAY TO HAVE FUN. The Women’s Board of The Fiel6 Museum ,,cordially invites you and your family to a ea Celebration 4 Featuring: Activities: The Stu Hirsh Orchestra?’ * For Everyone Ages S and Under The Jesse White Tumblers A Special Arrival by Santa Claus Peruvian Tops Animal Stamps Dino the Dinosaur Hanukkah Dreidls Bean Bag Toss Mr. Imagination Egyptian Hieroglyphics Dinosaur Puppets Choir of St. Gregory Episcopal School Mexican Paper Flowers Storytelling A Potpourri of Entertaining and Participatory Mr. Imagination Face Painters Activities for Children of All Ages Pawnee Earth Lodge Place for Wonder An Assortment of Holiday Tea Refreshments Museum Scavenger Hunt Origami Ages G6 to 12 Reservations are limited and will be accepted in the order received. African Dance Party attire is encouraged. Japanese Kites African Dolls No early admission to party. Rice Wildlife Research Station Mexican Tin Animals No tickets will be sold at the door. God’s Eyes Paper Pterodactyl For further information, , please call the Women’s Board Office, (312) 322-8870. Photos with Santa R.S.V.P. Family Holiday Tea Celebration at The FielO Musum Wednesday, December 1, 19945 Number of Tickets Adult Members at $10 each Adult Non-members at $15 each Children’s tickets at $5 each (age 13 and under) Total Name Enclosed is my check for $ Address Please make check payable to The Field Museum. City, State, Zip Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for tickets, and mail with this coupon to: Holiday Tea Celebration, Field Museum Women’s Board, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605. Phone NOVEMBER/DECEMBER EVENTS 11/14 cos, Humanities Festival Humanities Festival IV: From Communica- tion to Understanding, a series of programs presented by the Illinois Humanities Coun- cil focusing on African and African-Ameri- can culture, 1-4 p.m. Featured are performances by Malian storytellers, a panel discusssion headed by University of Chica- go history professor Ralph Austen, and dramatizations of the works of Nobel laure- ate author Naguib Mahfouz by the Court Theater Repertoire Company. Tickets for each program cost $3 and are available through the Orchestra Hall Box Office. For information, call 312/435-6666. 11/20 soccis Symposium & Performance “Being African: What Does it Mean?” is a one-day series of lectures and panel discus- sions ; afterwards, L‘Unite Culturelle Inter- nationale will dance, sing, and share customs of the people of Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea. See program on opposite page. 11/21 cis, Members’ Lecture "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. . . But Why?” is the title of a lecture presented by Dr. Thomas Lammers, assistant curator of vascular plants, at 1:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 1. Dr. Lammers will discuss flowers and their ecological importance. Admission is $3 for members, $5 for guests. Tickets will go on sale at 1 p.m. For information, call 312/922-9410, ext. 453. rae nets ollections Cc ommittee — * The Field Museum * 11/9 sin _ Library Program Friends of Field Museum Library hosts a program demonstrating why the library is a valuable resource for current research pro- grams in Africa and for development of the “Africa” exhibit. The program will feature a lecture, slide presentation, and tour of the exhibit. Refreshments will be served at 5:30 p.m.; the lecture will begin at 6 p.m. Call Julie Sass at 312/322-8874 to register. 11/10 &11 Wednesday and Thursday Members’ Preview Members and their families are invited to a preview party for “Africa,” 3-8 p.m. Wednesday, 5-8 p.m. Thursday. Members will be able to meet Museum staff; the Museum Store, Africa Shop, and Picnic in the Field will be open. A cash bar will serve beverages. For information, call 312/922-9410, ext. 453. Collections Committee members can take an in-depth look at the enthnographic col- *~ lections featured in the “Africa” exhibit, and talk with exhibit developers and conserva- tors. Refreshments will be served at 5:30 Sass at 312/322-8874 for program and il id-all performances membership information. are free with regular Museum admission. Thanksgiving Day Museum is closed. p.m.; the program begins at 6 p.m. Call Julie 11/25. 11/26 & 27 African Festival & Market “African Presence in Chicago” is a two-day festival of African and Afro-Caribbean cul- tures. Featured are music and dance perfor- mances, an ethnic market, and a fashion show of ethnic costumes. The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is free with regular Museum admission. Call 312/922-9410, ext. 288, for information. T 2 ; T Thursday Family Holiday Tea The annual celebration of the winter holi- day season, presented by the Field Museum Women’s Board as a gift to the children of Chicago. For tickets, mail in the reservation form on the previous page. 12/16 suns ‘Wine Tasting Sample a variety of champagnes and sparkling wines of the world at “Sparkling Celebration at the Field Museum,” 6-8 p.m. Wine expert Mary Ross will be on hand to talk about the wines. Light hors d’oeuvres will also\be served. The Museum Store and Africa Shop will be open, and members will receive a 20 percent discount on all purchases. Tickets are required; reservations must be received by December 10. Admission is $30 for members, $35 for guests; all participants must be at least 21 years of age. Call 312/922-9410, ext. 453. TAP 2B mas Christmas Day Museum is closed. A Brachiosaurus is not the only oversized creature in the Museum. Herewith a holiday festival of gigantic proportions. See detailed schedule on the Visitor Programs page. BEING AFRICAN: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Symposium and Special Performance Saturday, November 20 “Being African: What Does It Mean?” is a one-day series of lectures from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. African and African-American scholars from a variety of disciplines will discuss African heritage and the significance of being African. Dr. Deborah Mack, “Africa” exhibit director and senior developer, will give the opening remarks; exhibit developer Dr. Musi- fiky Mwanasali will be the symposium modera- tor. There will be question-and-answer periods before lunch and at the end of the day. The symposium costs $7 for adults ($5 for mem- bers, students, and seniors). In a special performance following the symposium, L'Unite Culturelle Internationale, a Senegalese ensemble, will dance, sing, and share the customs of the people of Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea between 3:15 and 4:15 p.m. Stilt walkers, musicians, and griots (oral historians) will be among the performers. The performance costs $5 ($3 for members, stu- dents, and seniors). A reception will follow in the Rice Center. Refreshments from African countries will be served with a cash bar. Admission for both the symposium and the performance is $10 for adults ($6 for members, students, and seniors). For more information, call 312/322-8854. Symposium speakers are: Maxwell Owusu, Ph.D., professor of anthropol- ogy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Owusu, a native of Ghana, gives the keynote talk on African identity in societies where vibrant, flourishing ancestral customs have been influ- enced for hundreds of years by Arabs, Euro- peans, Indians, and Chinese. be acy as Skull-$1,000 4g Re Neck Vertebrae-$400 Bone > Back Vertebrae-$250 Pi ii.—<— Hand-$10 $50 1 Diy eS) Foot-§10—3 $ | FAMILY WORKSHOP: KWANZAA CELEBRATION Saturday, November 6, 1 p.m. — 3 p.m. Adults with children grades 2-6 Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday celebrated from December | 26 to January 1 that celebrates unity, identity, and purpose in fami- lies and communities. In this workshop, you’ll make your own | Kwanzaa decorations from simple materials. Cost is $9 per partici- pant ($7 per member participant). Call 312/322-8854. Obioma Nnaemeka, Ph.D., professor of French and women’s studies at Indiana University, Indianapolis. “Understanding the Survival of African Women in a Post-Colonial World.” Women’s strategies for dealing with cultural change as members of local and global commu- nities. Cheryl Johnson-Odim, Ph.D., professor of his- tory, Loyola University. “Half the Sky: Women in the African-American Community.” Preserv- ing and transmitting culture while struggling against oppression. Lansine Kaba, Ph.D., professor of African American studies, University of Illinois- Chicago. “Pan-Africanism: Is There an African Culture?” Seemingly disparate societies — Yoruba, Zulu, Tuareg, and many others — do share an underlying unity of African-ness. Ibrahim Sundiata, Ph.D., professor of African American studies, Brandeis University. “Speak- ing in Our Tongues: African American Cul- ture.” How Africans influenced peoples of the Americas in a variety of ways that were rooted in their ancestral homelands and contributed to the making of the American continents. LAST CHANCE! OWN A BONE (THE GIFT IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME) Rib-$100 Make your holiday gift one that will last [almost] forever: a bone of Brachiosaurus Your friends and family will be amazed and delighted to find their names among the sponsors of the world’s largest mounted dinosaur. Choose from the scapula, a femur, a tail vertebrae, or the skull (which housed a brain smaller than a human fist). A great gift for dinosaur enthusiasts that will keep on giving for generations! The Field Museum will send you a personalized certificate for each gift recipient, along with a receipt for your tax-deductible contribution. Names of the sponsors will appear on the permanent donor plaque for the Brachiosaurus exhibit, to be installed January 1994. For more information, call the Field Museum Development Office at (312) 922-9410, ext. 639 ee hehe ean Sonate ces eeasssceecscsad LEUIBEAN DSN Dice reac eee eee a ad Yes, I'd like to “Buy a Bone” to build the Brachiosaurus: ae Name (as you would like it to appear on the donor plaque and personalized certificate) Bone | Your name Your address & city/state/ZIP. (To list more sponsor names, please attach a separate sheet of paper) Phone No. Total $ Remember, the Museum will send the certificates and receipt to you. Personal checks are accepted_ Only one check needed when sponsoring more than one bone. Please make checks payable to THE FIELD MUSEUM. Mail to:Development Office, The Field Museum* Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 Gift of Membershi Is Now Worth an Extra Quarter Buy a new or renewal membership for a friend and receive three extra months free! Fifteen months of membership for the same low price as twelve. A Field Museum membership guarantees members an invitation to the parties in June 1994, before the public opening, to preview the Museum’s Centennial Festival exhibit featuring dinosaurs. Complete the form below and drop it in the mail, or call the Membership Department at (312) 922-9410, ext. 453. (Offer valid through June 30, 1994, for new and renewing individual, family, senior, and student mem- berships only.) Free admission Free coat checking and strollers Invitation to Members’ Night Exhibit preview parties Free subscription to In the Field 13-month wall calendar featuring exhibit photographs Reduced prices on selected magazines 10% discount at all Museum stores Use of our 250,000-volume library Discount on classes, field trips, and seminars for adults and children Members-only tour program Opportunity to attend the annual children’s Holiday Tea Children’s “dinosaur” birthday card 10% discount at Picnic in the Field VV VV VVYVVY VVYVVYY GIFT APPLICATION FOR Name Address ‘City Sta ctnemes 27:tp Home phone Business phone GIFT FROM Name Address City tate a AID Home phone Business phone SEND GIFT CARD TO @ jogs (Drecpienr MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES IS months 27 months C) Individual — ont Year $35 /-ew® years $65 IS months 27 months C) Family — ent year $45 /-ewOvyears $85 (Includes two adults, children and grand- children 18 and under,) onthe @) Student/Senior — ome year $25 (Individual only. Copy of I.D. required.) C) Field Contributor — $100 - $249 C) Field Adventurer — $250 - $499 C) Field Naturalist — $500 - $999 C) Field Explorer - $1,000 - $1,499 All the benefits of a family membership — and more C) Founders’ Council — $1,560 Send form to: Membership Department, the Field Museum, Roosevelt Rd. at Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605. Or charge your gift member- ship by phone: (312) 922-9410, ext. 453 7 November/December 1993 VISITOR PROGRAMS Phil Cochran, Nov. 13 Saturday, November 6 10am & 12 noon Celebrating our Centennial Tour Take an exciting look at the Field Museum's fascinat- ing 100 year history, from our beginnings with objects from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, to The Field Museum's dynamic role in the world today. 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Discover arachnids, bugs, and other arthro- pods during a visit to the Arthro- Cart. 1:30pm Tibet Today and Bhutan, Land of the Thunder Dragon A slide presentation takes you to Lhasa, Tibet and the small Himalayan country of Bhutan. Sunday, November 7 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart 1pm Celebrating Our Centennial Tour Saturday, November 13 “Africa” Exhibit Opening Program 9:30am Musa Mosley performs African American Drumming 10am Ceremonial libation, raffia cutting & opening remarks. Special guests include Prince Aboubakar Njiasse Njoya, Ph.D. 10:30am Chicago Children's Choir in a program of African & African American Songs 11am - 3pm Venus Blue quilt demonstration (quilt maker fea- tured in the “Africa” exhibit) 11:15 Spirits of the Ancestors Afro- Caribbean Stilt Walkers 12noon Victor Clottey and Atiba Dances of West Africa 12:45pm Phil Cochran African influenced Jazz Ensemble 1:30pm Ndikho Xaba Contempo- rary and traditional music of South Africa 2:15 pm Dede Sampio Afro-Brazil- ian music 3:00pm Darlene Blackburn and the Calumet High School Dance Club accompanied by Ravanna Bey African and African American Dance The “Africa” opening day program is sponsored in part by The Joyce Foundation. Sunday, November 14 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Saturday, November 20 10am & 12 noon Celebrating our Centennial Tour 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Sunday, November 21 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart 1:30pm “Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue...But Why?"Lecture by Dr. Thomas G. Lammers, Assistant Curator, Botany. Tickets are $3 members and $5 for guests. Call the Membership Department at (312)922-9410, ext. 453 for tickets & more information. Friday, November 26 Celebration of the African Presence in Chicago Marketplace & Festival 10am - 5pm Meet Nigerian, Ethiopian, Liberian, Ghanaian, Haitian, and Jamaican merchants at the marketplace where copper and brass jewelry, dolls, leather and ceramic masks and many other items will be for sale. 12noon Ndikho & Nomusa Xaba African Echoes performance of South African music, dance and poetry. 1:30pm Nathaniel Morley Bahami- an performance for children focus- ing on our similarities 3:30pm Rafo International Combo De Chicago Performance of con- temporary and traditional Afro- Caribbean music. Program co-sponsored by The Field Museum and the Commission on Human Relations, Advisory Council on African Affairs of the City of Chicago and The Joyce Foundation. Saturday, November 27 Celebration of the African Presence in Chicago Marketplace & Festival 10am - 5pm Meet Nigerian, Ethiopian, Liberian, Ghanaian, Haitian and Jamaican merchants at the marketplace where copper and brass jewelry, dolls, leather and ceramic masks and many other items will be for sale. 1:30pm “Our Native Land in Fash- ion” A family fashion show featur- ing Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Belize and Panama. 3:30pm The Ghanatta Interna- tionale Band led by Dan Boadi Per- formance of West African music and dance. Sunday, November 28 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Saturday, December 4 11am - 3pm Egyptian Hieroglyphs Activity Discover the ancient Egyp- tian form of picture writing as our scribe writes your name in hiero- glyphs. 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Sunday, December 5 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Saturday, December 11 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart 1pm Tibet Today and a Faith in Exile A slide presentation which takes you to Lhasa and other places now open to tourism in Tibet. 2 - 4pm Egyptian Hieroglyphs Activity Sunday, December 12 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Saturday, December 18 11am - 3pm Egyptian Hieroglyphs Activity 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Sunday, December 19 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart Sunday, December 26 11am - 4pm Arthro-Cart November/December 1993 $ The giant squid being removed from the Shedd A John Weinstein / GN86932.19A quarium for reinstallation in the Field Museum. “Giants of the Earth” programs, December 27-31 GIANTS OF THE EARTH DECEMBER 27-31 Giants of the Earth Stories with storyteller Nancy Donoval. Daily at noon Balloon Animals by James Edge. Daily, noon—4pm Monday, December 27 Giants of the Earth 10am - 4pm See giant squid & octopus models being restored. Have your photo taken with Brachiosaurus’s skull. Participate in making a giant animal mural. Meet museum curators dis- playing giant algae, giant crystals, the giant wandering albatross and more. 1pm The “Big & Bad” Film Series featuring: Mothra Tuesday, December 28 Giants of the Earth 10am - 4pm Have your photo taken with Bra- chiosaurus’s skull. Compare animal sizes to yours. Meet museum cura- tors displaying giant coconuts, giant clams, the giant elephant bird egg and more. 1pm The “Big & Bad” Film Series featuring: Them Wednesday, December 29 Giants of the Earth 10am - 4pm See specimens being prepared for the research collection.Take a close-up look at the cross section of a redwood tree. 1pm The “Big & Bad" Film Series featuring: Tentacles Thursday, December 30 Giants of the Earth 10am - 4pm Participate in a self guided journey through the museum looking for gigantic artifacts. Meet museum curators displaying giant spiders, giant prehistoric animal bones, and more. 1pm The “Big & Bad” Film Series featuring: Mysterious Island Friday, December 31 Giants of the Earth 10am - 4pm Celebrate the last day of the year by looking at enlarged microscopic creatures, comparing your weight to that of a dinosaur, and adding your special touch to an animal mural. 1pm The “Big & Bad” Film Series featuring: Godzilla vs. Megalon Daniel F. & Ada L. Rice Wildlife Research Station Videotapes, computer programs, educator resources, books and activity boxes about the animal kingdom are available. Daily 9am-5pm Webber Resource Center Native Cultures of the Americas Books, videotapes, educator resources, tribal newspapers and activity boxes about native peoples of the Americas are available. Daily 10am—4:30pm Harris Educational Loan Center Chicago area educators may bor- row activity boxes and small diora- mas from Harris Center. For more information call: (312) 322-8853. Open House Hours: Tuesdays 2:30-7pm Thursdays 2:30-5pm Saturdays 9am—5pm Place For Wonder A special room of touchable objects where you can discover daily life in Mexico, in addition to an array of fossils, shells, rocks, plants and live insects. Weekdays: 12:30-4:30pm Weekends: 10am—4:30pm Pawnee Earth Lodge Walk into a traditional home of the Pawnee Indians of the Great Plains and learn about their daily life dur- ing the mid-19th century. Week- days: 1:00 pm programs Saturdays: 10am—4:30pm; Free tick- eted programs at 11, 12, 2 & 3. Sundays: 10am—4:30pm Ruatepupuke: A Maori Meeting House Discover the world of current Maori people of New Zealand at the trea- sured and sacred Maori Meeting House. Open daily 9am-5pm Africa Today: Resource Center Books, periodicals, videotapes, educator resources, and activity boxes to complement the new “Africa” exhibit. Opens November 13, 1993. FOUNDERS’ By Steven Weingartner he king of the dinosaurs came to the Field Museum in August. Not Bra- chiosaurus, or even Tyrannosaurus rex, but Michael Crichton—the real king of the dinosaurs. Crichton, who came to the Museum on August 21 to receive the Founders’ Council Centennial Award of Merit, is the author of the bestselling novel Jurassic Park, which in turn is the basis for the Steven Spielberg movie of the same name, which is well on its way to becoming one of the biggest grossing motion pictures of all time. The subject, of course, is dinosaurs. Enormous, mostly ferocious, fre- quently out-of-control dinosaurs. Actually, Jurassic Park is about more than just dinosaurs. Essentially it is a cautionary tale of technology quite literally run amok. But peo- ple went to the movie to see dinosaurs, and thanks to the special effects wizards in Holly- wood, it was dinosaurs they got, in spades. Crichton received the Award of Merit in recognition of his “bringing paleontology and other sciences supported by the Museum to the forefront of public attention.” Peter Crane, the Field Museum’s MacArthur Curator of Fossil Plants and Vice President for Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, introduced Crichton to a sold-out crowd in the Museum’s James Simp- son Theater following the award luncheon. In the course of a multi-faceted career, Crichton, who was born and raised in Chicago, has been many things: scientist, author of novels and non-fiction books, screenwriter and film direc- tor. But when he walked. on stage to thunderous cheers and applause, it was a safe bet that everyone present thought of him primarily as the man who brought dinosaurs to life. Crichton acknowledged the crowd’s warm welcome with a gracious verbal bow to Crane for winning the award from the Paleontological Society as the Outstanding Young Paleontolo- gist of the Year. “Tt’s something I mention,” he said, “because although the applause for me is very nice, I am floating my whole life on the surface of very serious work that’s done by practicing scientists who don’t always get that kind of attention and applause. But it is in fact their work that I’m drawing from, and I am certainly very grateful to them.” Crichton then spoke about how technology has been represented in Jurassic Park and other films he was involved in, either as a writer, or director, or both. These include The Andromeda Strain, WestWorld, Coma, The Great Train Rob- bery, Runaway, and Looker. (Much to Crichton’s dismay they also include the recently released Ris- ing Sun. More about that below.) Showing clips from his motion pic- ture oeuvre, Crichton demonstrated how his movies have fre- quently been several steps, and sometimes many giant strides, ahead of their time. The Andromeda Strain, for instance, made early use of an electronic soundtrack, closed-circuit TV, James Balodimas / GN86900.22 AWARD TO CRICHTON and computerized voice messages. WestWorld featured the first computer-generated image in the history of film, a one-minute segment that took several weeks to create. Looker suggested that such images would one day replace live actors and mechanical reproductions in films, as was indeed the case with Jurassic Park. In the latter, the dinosaurs were often (but not always) computer graphics—in effect, “very detailed cartoons. ” Runaway reflected Crichton’s interest in “computers, robots, and smart weapons enter- ing civilian life.” On this occasion it also pro- vided Crichton with an opportunity to take a swipe at his detractors, in particular Chicago- based movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. In their televised review of the film, Siskel and Ebert ridiculed a sequence in which a tiny smart missile chased down and killed a targeted individual. Crichton showed the sequence, then observed that many other critics considered it laughable “until, five years later, we saw footage from the Gulf War which looked exactly the same.” Movie critics aren’t the only people who have taken issue with Crichton’s work. A num- ber of science writers (notably Malcolm Browne of the New York Times ) have castigat- ed him for the supposedly “anti-science” tenor of his books and movies. Crichton admitted that he is often critical of science, writing what is properly known as dystopian science fiction, but denies any hostility. He also rejected the charge that his books and movies are detrimen- tal to scientific research by virtue of their adversarial stance. “Criticism that Jurassic Park is anti-sci- ence,” said Crichton, “is symptomatic of a very serious problem the country faces now and will face more in the future. It’s what has been called in America postmodernist academic fas- cism. One tenet of this really pernicious view is that criticism in itself is somehow dangerous and hurtful, and that people who criticize are upsetting someone, that we’re not being sensi- tive, and that therefore criticism ought to be stopped. In the real world we know that criti- cism is not dangerous, it is lack of criticism that is dangerous.” Crichton went on to say that it has always been his goal to give readers an entertaining story that also makes them think. “And it seems to me that we live in a world with really too lit- tle of either—too little entertainment, and much too little thinking.” On that note Crichton concluded his prepared speech, and began fielding questions from the audience. Asked for his opin- ion of the film adaptation of Jurassic Park, Crichton said he was pleased with the outcome even though it may have short-shrifted the book’s intellectual dimension. “It’s unwise,” he assert- ed, “for anyone to think that a major Hollywood motion picture is the same as a journal article. It’s not. It has dif- ferent goals. If it arouses peoples’ interest, if it pro- vokes them to read—if it gets them to go to a museum—then in large part ’ ve accomplished my job.” He made no such apologia for Rising Sun, however. Of that film he said little, merely speculating on its potential for causing diges- tive distress. “I’m at the age in my life,” he explained, “where if I think a movie is maybe going to make me want to throw up, I don’t go and see it. So I haven’t seen Rising Sun. ” Jurassic Park’s decidedly negative por- trayal of science—or at least science in civilian hands—prompted one audience member to ask whether scientific research should be subjected to government oversight. Citing the ineptitude of government as an argument against federal involvement, Crichton replied that he wished scientists would exercise caution and self- restraint. He said he personally knew scientists who had done just that—who had not pursued a risky line of research simply because it was possible to do so. The idea that “if I don’t do it, someone else will” is not necessarily true: “We have many times turned away from [dangerous] directions,” Crichton pointed out, “and it’s important we do that in the future.” Crichton has stayed away from Hollywood in recent years to devote more time to writing novels. He said he is writing a new book about sexual harassment in a high-tech company, and has two other projects in the works. But, he told the audience, given the disaster that Rising Sun turned out to be, he may soon feel obliged to get back into directing film adaptations of his books. Not that he looks forward to this prospect. “No one ever works in the movie business to meet a better class of people,” he said by way of explanation. “T have this really nice life,” he said, refer- ring to his preference for writing over film making. “And I hate to give it up. I’m able to do what I love most in life, and that’s to be a researcher.” The Founders’ Council Award of Merit is presented annually to individuals who have helped to further knowledge of natural history. The Award consists of a leaded crystal Tiffany globe and a $5,000 honorarium. Previous recip- ients of the Award include Sir David Attenbor- ough, zoologist and producer of natural history documentaries, and Stephen Jay Gould, a Har- vard University zoology professor and the cura- tor of vertebrate paleontology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Méwiers® Dovel Tuscooe a Michael Crichton autographs copies of Jurassic Park after his lecture, assisted by Madelyn Thompson, the Museum’s direc- tor of corporate and foundation giving. Below left, Crichton stands with Museum President Willard L. Boyd (right) and Pam and Doug Walter, co-chairs of the Founders’ Council, in front of Bra- chiosaurus, a beast that figures very prominently in the film version of Crich- ton’s book, The Field Museum Stores will offer Museum members a double d dis- / count on all purchases from December 10 through ‘December 24. Stop by the Main Store, Africa Shop, Egypt Store, or Children’ s _ Store and receive 20% off a ae sEpry ee from we / Field Masa Stores! i G November/December 1993 James Balodimas / GN86901.9A FROM THE FIELD Maps show progres- sive shrinking of for- est cover on Negros Island (right) and Mindanao (below) in the Philippines. SOME GOOD NEWS FROM THE FORESTS By Ron Dorfman Editor, In the Field ield Museum scientists returning from widely scattered tropical posts report that efforts to build local infrastructure to support conservation of biodiversity are beginning to pay off. In Madagascar, in Peru, and in the Philippines — which are all in danger of severe reductions in biodiversity over the next two decades — governments, academ- ic institutions, and the people themselves have acknowledged the crisis and sought ways to deal with it. In the Philippines, for example, the plun- der of the Marcos years has ended and the reform-minded administration of Fidel Ramos has appointed Angel Alcala, a Stanford Ph.D. well known for his work in marine fish ecolo- gy, to be secretary of the environment and nat- ural resources. That government department, says Larry Heaney, associate curator of mam- mals, had been part of the corruption during the Marcos era, permitting illegal logging that reduced the forest — the only native habitat in the island nation — to a mere eight percent of its natural cover. “Alcala has cleaned that up and reduced legal logging as well,” Heaney said, “and reforestation money is now actually getting to people who plant trees instead of to the bureaucrats.” Even more important, according to Heaney, is that grassroots environmental groups have been organized and are extremely active. “People are blocking bulldozers to pre- vent illegal logging, running educational pro- grams in rural schools, and organizing university students,” he said, “There’s a spirit of activism that just wasn’t there five years ago. And with the cleanup in the DNR and in the police agencies, people at least know they won't get shot for blocking illegal logging.” In all three countries, Field Museum scien- tists have been involved in efforts to build or strength- en conservation biology programs at | local universities. * Michael Dillon, curator of vascular plants, has worked closely with Peru- vian colleagues for many years; two of them, Abundio Sagastegui Alva and Isidoro Sanchez Vega, are Field Museum research associates in botany. Sagdstegui Alva was the principal organizer of a sympo- sium in northern Peru last April at which some 200 academics and representatives of industries like fisheries discussed issues of development and biodiversity. “These kinds of gatherings will be pivotal for educating the public, educating each other, networking, and interaction,” says Dillon, who spoke at the symposium. “They may create an atmosphere in which opportunities for young people become apparent, so students will go into science rather than law or whatever. One of the principal recommendations of the sym- posium is that they really need a curriculum from kindergarten through university stressing conservation and related topics. Lima [the capi- tal] can make laws, set aside parks, and still not be successful — the only thing that’s promising is educating the young kids. That will make or break the cycle of degradation.” Dillon himself November/December 1993 10 works with village schools in the areas in which he does research, hoping that the next generation of farmers and shepherds will be more attuned to ecological considerations. In Madagascar, the Field Museum has a formal agreement with the government to help train indigenous Malagasy scientists. “One of the problems there has been that decision-mak- ers are not well informed,” says Steve Good- man, a Museum field biologist. “But a new generation of scientists is coming up who are very knowledgeable.” Madagascar is an island in the Indian Ocean that has an extraordinary diversity of animal life, but with deforestation the ecological toll has been high; seven of the fourteen endemic primates, for example, are extinct, as are many bird species. “There are some protected areas,” Goodman says, “but people are destroying the areas around them. The population continues to increase, and the socio-economic problems are the same, so there’s no net effect. But it’s not often you see progress to support a national infrastructure, and that’s why this [training program] is so important.” The program is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund and is designed to give intensive support to young Malagasy scientists “from research idea to journal publication,” Goodman says. “The program includes lots of field train- ing and is limited to ten students at the master’s level or higher. So there’s a cadre of young sci- entists now who are excellent by any measure, and they are also teaching at the university.” On a grant from the Field Museum and the World Wildlife Fund, one of those students, Lucien Marie Aimé Rakotozafy, came to Chicago last summer to pursue research on bird fossils from Madagascar’s now deforested high plateau. In previously unexamined collections in London, Paris, and Madagascar, Rakotozafy had found three large birds of prey, much larg- er than any extant raptor species on the island and all gone extinct within the past 2,000 years of human habitation. Rakotozafy said he expects to find more new but extinct species after further study of museum collections and current excavations. In all these areas, the window of opportu- nity for preventing catastrophic damage is per- haps twenty years. Despite the drastic reduction of forest cover in the Philippines, for example, the remaining pockets of forest have enabled most species, including a highly diverse mam- mal fauna, to hang on. “If things go well, politi- cally and economically,” Heaney says, “if the Philippines can do what Taiwan and Malaysia have already done, then yes — 90 percent of biodiversity can be saved for the long term. But if there’s a return to the conditions of the Mar- cos era, within 20 years there would be at best 20 percent of natural biodiversity. The potential is real that the Philippines could be the first example of environmental collapse. If the last functioning watersheds in the mountains go, Philippine society will collapse. There'll be no source of clean water, agriculture will decline, electricity will become even more problematic. Twenty million people living in upland areas will be unable to survive. Lowland agriculture will collapse.” The good news, sort of, is that in recent years people in the Philippines have had some concrete demonstrations of why they need to preserve the remaining forests. The forest soil is actually an organic mat of roots, fungi, and decaying biomass that may be several meters deep and is capable of storing immense quanti- ties of water. With deforestation, this soil runs off, clogging hydroelectric dams and fouling coral reefs. As a result, there is no electricity in Manila for much of the day, fish have become scarce, and during the dry season, January to April, water is in short supply. When a typhoon hits, deforestation makes it worse; on the island of Leyte a few years ago, 7,000 people died in typhoon-related floods. “In the past few years,” Heaney says, “people realized they could change the system. The economy improved a bit; the middle class has developed some confidence. People now understand the problems caused by deforesta- tion. In the last election, for the first time, there was a lot of public pressure to find out who was. responsible [for having let matters get so out of hand], and those politicians lost. Those who won got the message. And some of the people who were elected were actually environmentalists.” Dillon, in Peru, has seen two of the areas he has been surveying as part of the Museum’s Flora of Peru project — the highland Bosque Montecito and the coastal desert — placed on the government’s high-priority list for conser- vation. “This is the window,” he says, “the last chance we’ll have, over the next twenty years. Abundio and Isidoro are out doing the grunt work, gathering the data. Not everything can be saved, and we need the data to decide what to save.” For Peruvian scholars like Sagastegui Alva and SaAnchez Vega, the Field Museum is an irreplaceable resource; both men were here for six weeks this summer working with Dillon on floristic inventories. Several generations of Field Museum curators have devoted their aca- demic careers to the flora, fauna, and people of Peru, so the Museum’s collections and library are key to understanding the ecological history of the country. The Museum’s roots in the Philippines are not quite so deep, though a number of curators have worked there over the years. Heaney first went to the islands in 1981, pursuing studies in evolutionary biogeography. Three years ago, he obtained funding from the MacArthur Founda- tion to do advanced training in conservation biology for Filipino biologists who in turn train their own students and colleagues. The pro- gram supplies computers, lab equipment, and field supplies for the use of Filipino researchers. Each year the MacArthur program also brings four Filipino scientists to Chicago for intensive study of conservation biology at the Field Museum and Brookfield Zoo. “These are young faculty or people from government offices or conservation organizations,” Heaney says, “the cream of the crop, tremendously bright people who’ve never seen a modern library or research collection or a modern zoo. They know what they want to do, they just don’t have the resources. They go back and change the content of the courses they’ve been teaching, they develop new courses, they put people on field work instead of laboratory studies. I’ve been just amazed at how effectively they’ ve been taking advantage of these opportunities.” Diane Alexander White / GN86929,28 Diane Alexander White / GN86916.34 John Weinstein / GN86922.2 By Steven Weingartner na speech welcoming the 14th Dalai Lama to the Field Museum on September 3, anthropology department chairman Bennet Bronson observed that the Tibetan spiritual leader first expressed an interest in the Museum in 1908 — seventeen years before he was born. Bronson was alluding to the Tibetan Buddhist belief that every Dalai Lama is the incarnation of ¢ his predecessor. Which is to ; say, the present Dalai Lama is literally one and the same man as the previous Dalai Lama. During a 1908 trip to China, the13th Dalai Lama granted an audience to Field Museum anthropolo- gy curator Dr. Berthold Laufer, who was in Asia to purchase Tibetan books and ¥ objects for the Museum. In the course of their meeting the Dalai Lama questioned Laufer at some length about the Museum, then extended his best wishes for the success of the pro- jected Tibet exhibit. The Dalai Lama (a Mongol title that means “Ocean of Wisdom”) is the spiritual and iemporal leader of the Tibetan people, who practice a distinctive form of Buddhism. He visited the Field Museum as the guest of honor in a ceremony to rededicate the Field Muse- um’s recently renovated Tibet exhibit. The cer- emony coincided with the Dalai Lama’s participation in the Parliament of the World’s Religions, held in Chicago from August 28 through September 5. The ceremony, which took place in Stan- ley Field Hall before an audience of some 400 Museum guests, began with a song of blessing performed by monks from the Dalai Lama’s Drepung Loseling monastery in Dharmsala, India. Introductory remarks were then made by Daniel Gémez-Ibafiez, the Executive Director of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. Following brief speeches by Field Museum president Willard Boyd and Bennet Bronson, the Dalai Lama spoke of the need for world peace and the role religions have in working toward this goal. Adding emphasis, and not a little poignan- cy, to the Dalai Lama’s FROM THE FIELD message was the backdrop for his speech, an eight-by-eleven-foot painting mounted behind the podium. Created by Field Museum exhibit designer Jeff Hoke, this huge illustration depicts Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. Once the official residence of the Dalai Lama, the palace is now occupied—as is the rest of the country—by the Chinese, who over- ran Tibet in a 1949 invasion. The Dalai Lama has not seen the palace since March 1959, when he fled to India in the wake of an abortive uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama now makes his home in Dharmsala, India, which is also the seat of the Tibetan govern- ment-in-exile. In the years since his escape he has worked tirelessly to focus international atten- tion on the plight of his homeland and to pre- serve the beleaguered Tibetan culture. Mean- while, however, the situa- tion in Tibet has steadily deteriorated. Under Chinese _/ tule thousands of monasteries were demolished, and the » sacred objects and artifacts they contained have been looted or destroyed. This destruction and the obvious thrzat it poses to the survival of Tibetan culture was a major factor in the Field Museum’s decision to renovate the Tibet exhibit. The effort required more than a year to complete and entailed con- servation work on objects, writing new labels, and the creation of a new display environment. The exhibit draws on the 4,500 objects in the Museum’s Tibet collection, which was assem- bled by Berthold Laufer from 1908 to 1910. Also in the collection is a letter sent by the Dalai Lama to the Field Museum in 1961 in recognition of the opening of the original Tibet exhibit. This letter was just one of the many familiar objects the Dalai Lama saw when he toured the exhibit after concluding his speech. Many of the secular objects in the collection — textiles, personal accessories, cooking utensils, and the like — were produced in eastern Tibet, where the Dalai Lama was born and raised. (Incidentally, the Dalai Lama is a man of humble origins, the son of peasant farmers. But his circumstances soon changed when, at age two, he was recognized as the incarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.) Diane Alexander White / GN86914,29 Above, President Boyd (left) wears a silk damask khatag, a scart of greeting, that the Museum gave to the Dalai Lama, but which the Tibetan leader later returned as his own sign of respect. With them are Bennet Bronson, curator of Asian archaeology and ethnology (right) According to Bennet Bronson, who and exhibit designer accompanied the Dalai Lama and his Jeff Hoke. entourage on the tour, the Tibetan leader was especially interested in these objects, and paused frequently to study them closely and read their Jabels. “Probably because they reminded him of his childhood,” Bronson explained. Bronson reports that, overall, the Dalai Lama was delighted with the exhibit. Like so many Museum-goers before him, he even made sure to give the exhibit’s temple bell a tap with the swinging wood clapper. His one criticism of the exhibit was an amiable one: The copper and bronze religious figures were “too shiny.” In oval at left, the Dalai Lama admires a display of temple accessories. Near left, monks from the Drepung Loseling monastery perform sacred music on tra- ditional instruments; below left, the Sen- gyey Medlha, a man- dala of colored sands made in the Museum “The Dalai Lama prefers the patina of age by the monks and to a highly polished finish,” says Bronson. dedicated to the The Dalai Lama left the Museum after medicine or healing touring the exhibit, but many of those present Buddhas. stayed on to attend a performance of sacred temple music and masked dances by monks from the Drepung Loseling monastery. The monks played on a variety of traditional instru- ments, including cymbals, bells, drums, and twelve-foot-long trumpets. They also sang in the multiphonic technique (intoning three notes of a chord simultaneously) and per- formed the “Deer Dance,” “Dance of the Sacred Buffalo,” “Skeleton Dance, ” and “Dance of the Rainbow Beings.” Like the Dalai Lama, the Drepung Losel- ing monks were in Chicago to participate in the Parliament of the World’s Religions. How- ever, they spent much of the week at the Field Museum fashioning the “Sengyey Medlha,” a sand mandala dedicated to the medicine or healing Buddhas. Comprising sacred symbols rendered with fine, colored sand grains, sand mandalas are created as a meditative exercise and are normally disposed of upon completion; however, “Sengyey Medlha” was temporarily preserved for public display in the Webber Resource Center. It was scheduled to be poured into Lake Michigan in a closing cere- mony on October 30. 11 November/December 1993 Diane Alexander White / GN86929.22 Eleven days in the Caribbean sun, with birding, snorkeling, spelunking, exploration of magnifi- cent Mayan ruins, and wildlife observation in the rain forests of Belize and Guatemala. From Belize City, we'll sail up a narrow, winding jungle stream to the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, home of howler mon- keys, huge iguanas, and fabu- lous birds including Jabiru storks — the largest flying birds in the Western Hemisphere. A trip down the Hummingbird Highway brings us to Guanacaste Park, whose giant namesake trees sige play host to orchids, bromeliads, and other epiphytes. Meandering down the Macal River, we'll see five- foot iguanas sunning themselves on overhanging tree limbs. A short drive brings us to Rio Frio Cave in the Chiquibul rain forest, site of ancient Maya rituals. In the days that follow, we'll ferry across the Mopan River to the ruins of Xunantunich, a Late Classic period Mayan site, and then cross the Guatemalan border to visit Tikal National Park, where six square miles of Mayan ruins are under active investigation, and where abundant wildlife flourishes in the protected rain forest. Back in Belize, we'll fly to the small fishing village of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, where in three days we'll learn to snorkel and attempt the Belize Barrier Reef, sec- ond-largest in the world, and the Hol Chan Marine Preserve, the newest sanctuary of its kind. Don’t miss this exciting, fun- and fact-filled tour. The price of $2,598 per person, double occupancy, includes round-trip air fare from Chicago via New Orleans. wi At Tokomaru Bay, we will have the honor of being wel- comed onto the marae by descendants of Ruatepupuke, Field Museum's treasured and sacred Maori meeting house. This Maori family worked side by side with the Museum staff for more than a year to conserve and plan the reinstallation of the house in Chicago. The welcoming ceremony in Tokomaru Bay will be very special, and we'll have the choice of over- F nighting on the marae or in a hotel. Our guide will F be Dr. John Terrell, curator of Oceanic archaeology and ethnology. Elsewhere in New Zealand, we'll visit geysers and glaciers, sheep farms and literary landmarks, museums and mountains, churches and caves, all in the company of knowledgeable Field Museum and local guides. The cost is $3,750 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Chicago.