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As the formal part of our public event was ending I rose from my chair and dashed to the back of the room. We had just led a community conversation with forty people about the meanings of evolution. Nineteen different public libraries around the country are hosting the Smithsonian Institutions traveling exhibition Exploring Human Origins What Does It Mean to Be HumanAs cochair of the Smithsonians Human Origins Programs Broader Social Impacts Committee I am part of a team facilitating supporting events. I wanted the family in the back of the room to know we appreciated their participation and the thoughtful way in which they expressed their concerns about the theory of evolution. Given that over a third of the U.S. public share their belief that God created the Earth and humans in their current form 10000 years ago I suspected many more dashes to the back of the room would be in my future. A community conversation is one of four events in support of the traveling exhibition the other events include an evening science presentation a workshop for educators and a private tour and discussion with local clergy. Dr. Rick Potts director of the Smithsonians Human Origins Program and curator of the traveling exhibition is participating in all of the events and encourages a unique approach to public engagement with science. The traveling exhibition and science presentation illustrate how science has shed light on our connectedness to the natural world and the origins of sharing caring and innovation. The exhibits title questionWhat Does It Mean to Be Human and the supporting events invite individuals and their communities to discuss how scientific discoveries about human origins relate to their personal understanding of the world and their place in it. The father of the young Earth creationists family that I spoke with described himself as an engineer and explained that his family loves science but not the kind that teaches that human beings have evolved. The conversation they wished to have with me was not about age dating or fossil evidencequestions my Ph.D. in geology ought to help me to answerbut instead they wanted to know that if humans evolved about when did we get a soul I do not share this concern and I am not confident of a unique answer but I am familiar with the variety of ways theologians might respond. Tackling the Evolution Conundrum BY Connie Bertka Cochair of the Smithsonian Institutions Human Origins Programs Broader Social Impacts Committee unfortunately research in science education has revealed that many teachers avoid teaching evolution and students avoid learning it if they feel it conflicts with their religious beliefs. Carnegie Science Fall 201524