Exhibit opens a door to Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands, a naturalist’s paradise and the crucible for “the most enduring and important episode in evolutionary science,” are revealed in all of their historical and scientific splendor in a new exhibit at the Zoological Museum.

The exhibit, “Galapagos Quest: The Wisconsin Connection,” documents the volcanic Pacific islands, and their natural and human history through the prism of the Wisconsin scientists who’ve visited, collected and studied there over the last several decades.

Photos, artifacts, letters, maps, bones and bird skins are used to tell the story of the islands made famous by naturalist Charles Darwin who visited there in 1835 and, years later, used the islands’ animal inhabitants to help illustrate his theory of evolution.

For nearly 30 years, UW–Madison scientists, notably Zoological Museum researcher Elizabeth Pillaert, have salvaged the remains of already-dead birds, tortoises, marine iguanas and other animals native to the islands. The work has enriched the collections of Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador, and helped legions of scientists and conservationists studying the islands’ wildlife.

The free public exhibit, curated by Natasha Nicholson, is in 123 Noland Zoology Building, 250 N. Mills St. The exhibit, open weekdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m., will be displayed until the end of the year.