The History of Science and Technology Collection contains interesting materials worth highlighting. One in particular is The Book of Beasts. White's The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts was the first and, for a time, the only English translation of a medieval bestiary.

Bestiaries were second only to the Bible in their popularity and wide distribution during the Middle Ages. They were catalogs of animal stories, combining zoological information, myths, and legends. Great attention was given to bizarre, exotic, and monstrous creatures. Much of the content of bestiaries was drawn from much older sources including Aristotle, early English literature, and oral traditions.

White provides an excellent appendix that explains how the creatures of the bestiary influenced the development of allegory and symbolism in art and literature.

The book contains interesting images of beasts with descriptions of their nature and behavior. I would encourage you to take a peek at the book, it's surprising and entertaining.

The University of Wisconsin will celebrate Darwin Day tomorrow, February 13th! A full day event will be held at the Microbial Science building on the UW campus. The event is free and open to the public. Check out the activities planned for Darwin Day 2010!

The UWDC wants to help you get in the Darwin spirit with our Galápagos Collection. The collection of Galápagos materials that includes anatomical specimens, images, and papers at the UW-Madison Zoological Museum (UWZM) is unique and rare. Ten expeditions since 1969 to the Galápagos by UW-Madison scientists and researchers have produced a wealth of invaluable museum specimens: approximately 669 complete and 675 partial skeletons. In addition these expeditions have produced thousands of images and papers that up until now have not been preserved in any format.

The images in the collection are great examples of the animals found on the island and provide great views of the land. The image on the top left shows the Galápagos Tortoises with a great view of the landscape of the island. On the right is an image of the Galápagos Penguin and Marine Iguanas sitting on lava.

Celebrate Darwin's 201st birthday by taking at look at these images.