Current Exhibits at the Sterling Morton Library

Walter Crane - A Floral Fantasy in an Old English Garden

Coming Soon!

Flora! illuminated...

March 12 - June 30, 2010.

Flora! illuminated..., a non-traditional alphabetical exploration of spectacular plant images from the Suzette Morton Davidson Special Collections of the Sterling Morton Library will open on March 12^th.

Snippets of song lyrics, poetry and prose have been selected to accompany these brilliant images to create a memorable experience for visitors.

The exhibit will highlight some rarely seen artwork and rare books revealing the extraordinary beauty and depth of the library's collections... and of the plant world!

Darwin's Flowers: Unlocking Natural Selection has closed, but you can still view the exhibit and much more on the exhibit website. Click on the banner below to view!

Worth His Salt: Joy Morton and the Plan of Chicago and Make Big Plans, Daniel Burnham's Vision of an American Metropolis have been extended indefinitely. Be sure to stop in and see these fascinating exhibits before they are gone!

Ask the Experts about Charles Darwin

Common questions about Charles Darwin and evolutionary biology today.

The year 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's ground-breaking book, On the Origin of Species. We asked modern-day scientists to answer frequently asked questions about Darwin, his theory of evolution by natural selection, and the relevance of his ideas for researchers today. What were Darwin's key ideas and how are modern scientists using them? Click on one of the questions below to view the video clip.

Who was Charles Darwin?

Why was Darwin so interested in plants? Why did he write four books about plants after On the Origin of Species?

Darwin wrote about pollination as a partnership. The flower gets pollinated and the pollinator gets food. Why do so many orchids "fake out" their pollinators and never offer any reward for services? Isn't this contrary to Darwin's theories on natural selection?

Did Darwin study pollination systems in the flowers of other, non-orchid, plants?

Darwin once wrote to a friend that the evolution of flowers was an "abominable mystery." Why was this topic such a mystery in Darwin's day?

Did Darwin have any religion beliefs?

Andrew Hipp, what are the implications of Darwin's work for your own research?

Did humans evolve from monkeys?

How does natural selection work?

How are modern humans related to Neanderthals?

Can we learn anything about humans from looking at modern primates?

Isn't evolution just a theory that's still unproven?