Dr. Briana Pobiner, a research scientist and museum educator for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., will present a program – “Teaching Human Evolution in an Age of Science Denial” – at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in the Grey Rock Room at the Lory Student Center.

Pobiner, who has a master’s and Ph.D. in anthropology from Rutgers University, has done extensive research on the evolution of the human diet, with a focus on meat-eating. She also has studied evolution education in formal and informal learning environments.

Since joining the Smithsonian in 2005 she has continued her field and laboratory work while leading the education and outreach programs for the museum’s Human Origins Program. She manages the Human Origins Program’s public programs, website content, social media and exhibition volunteer training.

Pobiner, who also serves as an associate professor of anthropology at George Washington University, will use her talk to present evidence from a recent study confirming that using examples of recent human evolution in high school biology classes increased student understanding, acceptance and interest in evolution.

Public invited

The talk, sponsored by CSU’s Department of Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts, is free and open to the public. A reception will follow Pobiner’s presentation.