Science comes to town
Visitors are asked, ‘What does it mean to be human?’
“It’s really an opportunity for the community to come together and talk about a very interesting and important topic.” — Stephen Fitzgerald, community librarian
MILPITAS — What does it mean to be human?
Inside the Milpitas Public Library, a historic part of the building that normally stores magazines and newspapers has been transformed into a 1,200-square-foot Smithsonian exhibition about human evolution, sparking conversations that revolve around that philosophical question.
Moving through the space on Saturday, visitors glanced at replicas of early human skulls, sauntered from one education display to the next and interacted with touch screen kiosks that displayed the faces of their ancestors. They include the Sahelanthropus tchadensis, an extinct humanlike species that lived from 6 to 7 million years ago in West-Central Africa.
Visitors scribbled the answers to the question “What does it mean to be human?” on sticky notes, then tacked them onto a display containing thoughts from other librarygoers.
The responses included: “To reproduce,” “Have emotions,” “Get good grades” and “To play Minecraft,” a popular video game.
“It’s really an opportunity for the community to come together and talk about a very interesting and important topic,” said Stephen Fitzgerald, community librarian. “What’s more important than finding out who we are as a species?”
Sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the American Library Association, the free exhibit opened at the Milpitas library on Nov. 25 and ends Dec. 22. It includes poetry workshops, documentary screenings and book group discussions and lectures, including a talk on Tuesday evening with paleoanthropologist Rick Potts, the curator of the traveling exhibition.
Nineteen libraries nationwide will be hosting the exhibit for four weeks at different times. The Milpitas library exhibit is the only one in California.
Venkat Karanam, a San Jose software engineer, stopped by the exhibit after taking his son to story time late Saturday morning.
Karanam said when he looked at the displays he became more aware that humans are responsible for the planet’s continued existence.
“We are the best species who can help the planet and other animals,” said Karanam, a vegetarian who feels that being human means playing a huge role in improving the environment.
Humans, it turns out, share genes with all living organisms — even banana trees and chickens, one display pointed out.
Compared to chimp brains, human brains have more white matter in the cerebral cortex, which reflects more connections between nerve cells and a greater ability to process information, a display comparing the MRI images of the two brains showed.
More than 40 educational displays are featured in the exhibit, illustrating information about what early tools were used to butcher animals, the use of ancient symbols to communicate, how early humans socialized and how scientists are able to decipher the age of fossils through a variety of tests.
Dr. Victoria Leiphart, a Fremont physician, visited the library after her yoga class. Having grown up outside of Washington, D.C., she was eager to get another taste of the Smithsonian Institution in person.
“I’m a science person,” she said. “I was a biology major in college so I find this fascinating.”
Visiting the exhibit was part of a family outing for Annabelle Harper, a fifthgrader at Capri Elementary School in Campbell. She came with her mom and dad.
“I’m interested in ancient humans and things like that,” Annabelle said. “I’ve just always been fascinated.”
Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves also stopped by the exhibit Saturday, bringing family and friends who were visiting from the Los Angeles area.
The mayor shared his own thoughts about the origins and evolution of the human race.
“Being human means an accumulation of knowledge and wisdom — mentally, physically and spiritually,” he said. “We’re at the peak of evolution, and we should be proud we are born at this stage.”