Conclusion

In this concluding chapter, the author ties together several key themes: the significance of museum funding, the importance of making human evolution exhibits relevant to today, the challenge of connecting our deep past to our present and ourselves to other primates, and the critical need to overcome the reluctance to address race directly within human evolution exhibits. Additional topics include requisite concepts and knowledge to convey to visitors, the significance of art and ambience within science exhibits, the limitations of London’s Natural History Museum as an “outgroup” for comparison with U.S. museums, and ethical considerations inherent in exhibits about humans. The author emphasizes her recommendation to connect our ancestral past to our contemporary concerns via evolutionary medicine, thereby helping people to understand and accept the evidence for evolutionary theory. She likewise recommends direct engagement with religious visitors.