The Smithsonian Human Origins Program’s Approach to Public Outreach and Communication about Human Evolution

Briana Pobiner* and Richard Potts

The Smithsonian Human Origins Program, under the leadership of program director Rick Potts and public engagement lead Briana Pobiner, has a three-pronged approach to the increase and diffusion of knowledge about human evolution: world-class research, a permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History, and public engagement efforts. In 2015, we launched a new public engagement effort: a traveling exhibit on human evolution, “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?”. This required the translation of a 15,000-square-foot, 3-dimensional exhibit into a 1200-square-foot one, largely in panel format. During the first phase of this program, in partnership with the American Library Association, this exhibit travelled to 19 public libraries across the US over two years (2015-2017). A small group from the Smithsonian, including the two authors, went to each library and led public programs there. In 2019, the second phase of the program consisted of a pilot expansion during which the exhibit travelled to two religious seminaries. From 2023-2026, during the third phase of the program, the exhibit travelled to six more public libraries and six more seminaries. We will present the general approach of the Smithsonian Human Origins Program to public engagement on human evolution, outline the goals of the traveling exhibit, describe the four programs that occurred at each traveling exhibit venue, emphasize the added storytelling element of the exhibit narrative, and report on the program outcomes for the first phase of the program as assessed by an independent evaluator.