Darwin at MASP
The Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo has outdone itself with its current exhibit, visiting from the Museum of Natural History in New York City. The exhibit chronicles the life and work of Charles Darwin and the discoveries that led to his theory of natural selection. Darwin traveled extensively in South America, and the exhibit opens with several walls displaying his quotes about various Brazilian cities.
Included in the various offerings are several live animal displays which are by far the highlight. You can see turtles and Galapagos tortoises as well as iguanas and frogs. I engaged in a staring contest with the orange iguana who quickly lost interest and conceded by vigorously shaking his head and sticking out his tongue. There are also many interesting specimens including insects and butterflies that help to illustrate the process of natural selection. Lastly, there are interactive touch-screen-driven computer programs for children that help to illustrate some of Darwin's ideas.
The Darwin exhibit will be on at MASP until July 15. All of the display placards are in Portuguese. Plan to go early in the day if you want to avoid the large school groups that begin to arrive after lunch. For more infomation click here.
