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Human Origins Exhibit Entrance

What Does It Mean To Be Human?

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to think and question all that you see and hear.

- adi ben hur, israel

A being that is distinguishable from an animal and insect. To have a soul that will live for eternity. To be made in the image of God.

- Jacquelynne, South Carolina

What it means to be human is to be alive and to have a big brain and to walk on two feet

- Jackie orange, Truckee California

"To err is human; to forgive, divine"" because "A little learning is a dang'rous thing" and "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." And of course, searching for purpose in a meaningless world.

- Elizabeth, New Brunswick, Canada

To be human is to vividly feel the complex emotions selective to us and apply them to the people and environment that you love.

- Dash, Seattle

As we explore what it means to be human, consider the possibility that our species is merely a stepping stone in the grand narrative of evolution. What implications does this have for our self-identity, our responsibilities to the planet, and the legacy w

- CleopatraWhite, France

Being human means to be free and believe what you want to believe in. Also, do what you want to do.

- Sean, NJ

To be human is to take the accident of our existence and question why?

- Ethan, Miami FL

Never give up searching for truth through science.

- Luciano Otero, Brazil

A actual living,breathing fuctional creature that was created to experince the life that was given to us here on earth.

- Linda, florida

To be human is to freely act on your desires and to have the ability to acknowledge that others are able to express themselves freely as well. Also one must be genetically human (have a living body, capacity to think profound thoughts, etc).

- Kevin, United States

Being human is to survive all evolutionary variations and processes. Today we are aware that nothing happened overnight for what we are and look like. Being human is knowing that we are still and will always be evolving.

- B, Foothill College

Featured Research

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image of Homo floresiensis; LB1, skeleton

'Hobbits' on Flores, Indonesia

New digs and geological dating in Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia, show that Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the “hobbit” for its small size, became extinct around 50,000 years ago – tens of thousands of years earlier than originally thought.

For Teachers

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AP Biology Curriculum Materials

Are you an AP Biology teacher? Click here for freely downloadable curriculum materials aligned to the AP learning objectives that use human case studies to teach core evolutionary principles and a resource to help teachers create a comfortable and supportive classroom environment for teaching evolution.

Lesson Plans

Comparison of Human and Chimp Chromosomes (Grades 9-12)

Investigating Common Descent: Formulating Explanations and Models (Grades 9-12)

Human Evolution: Religious Perspectives

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The Hall of Human Origins offers a welcoming place to explore one of the most exciting areas of science, the study of human evolution. Despite strong public interest in the science, however, many people find this topic troubling when viewed from a religious perspective. Representatives of diverse religious communities encourage a larger, more respectful understanding of both the scientific evidence and religious belief.

Featured Media

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Rock or stone tool

How To Tell a Rock from a Stone Tool

How can you tell if a rock is actually an early stone tool? Watch this video to find out.

Video Thumbnail of Rick Potts from "Designing the Exhibition"

Designing the Exhibition

This video takes you behind-the-scenes into the process of designing and building the Smithsonian's Hall of Human Origins.

Fun Facts

Why do we get goose bumps? 


 

The body hair of all mammals automatically stands up when cold, creating a fluffy layer of warmth. When we’re cold, the muscles around the hair follicles contract – a reflex left over from when our ancestors had long body hair. But since we don’t have much body hair, all we see are the goose bumps on our skin.