Join the Florida Museum in celebration of renowned naturalist Alexander von Humboldt’s 250th birthday! This FREE event features a talk by best-selling author Andrea Wulf and a special performance by the Gainesville Master Chorale.
Enjoy the sounds of the Gainesville Master Chorale as they set the stage for your voyage of adventure and discovery with the author. Wulf’s beautifully illustrated presentation will bring the extraordinary figure of Alexander von Humboldt to life and reveal his incredible contributions to our understanding of the world today.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Tickets are NOT required.
Schedule:
7-7:45 p.m. – “This Finely Woven Earth” performance by Gainesville Master Chorale under direction of Will Kesling
8-9 p.m. – Presentation by Andrea Wulf followed by Q&A and book signing
“The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World” and “The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt” are available for purchase at the Florida Museum gift shop. Members receive a 10% discount.
The Gainesville Master Chorale will perform “This Finely Woven Earth,” contemporary music encompassing earth, air, fire, water and wildlife. In 1828, von Humboldt commissioned family friend and renowned German composer Felix Mendelssohn to write and perform the “Humboldt Cantata.” The “wilkommen,” or welcome, from the cantata will open the program to be followed by a variety of beautiful and even funny choral selections on the theme, This Finely Woven Earth. This concert will celebrate Humboldt’s global perspective and the present-day significance for the conservation and ecology of the planet.
Andrea Wulf reveals the extraordinary life of the visionary German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and how he shaped our understanding of nature today. Though almost forgotten today, his name lingers everywhere from the Humboldt Current to the Humboldt penguin. He was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery, whether climbing the highest volcanoes in the world or racing through anthrax–infested Siberia. Perceiving nature as an interconnected global force, Humboldt discovered similarities between climate zones across the world and predicted human-induced climate change. He turned scientific observation into poetic narrative, and his writings inspired naturalists and poets such as Charles Darwin, William Wordsworth and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and politicians such as Thomas Jefferson. Wulf also argues that it was Humboldt’s influence that led John Muir to his ideas of preservation and that shaped Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden.” Wulf traces Humboldt’s influences through the great minds he inspired in revolution, evolution, ecology, conservation, art and literature. In “The Invention of Nature,” Wulf brings this lost hero to science and the forgotten father of environmentalism back to life.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., join the Florida Museum for a special BOOK CLUB in anticipation of critically acclaimed author Andrea Wulf’s visit on Oct. 6. Dive into the life of intrepid explorer and visionary scientist Alexander von Humboldt and discuss his lasting impact as we celebrate his 250th birthday! For more information or to RSVP, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/book-club.
If as a result of a disability you need a special accommodation, please contact the membership office at members@flmnh.ufl.edu or 352-273-2047 (TDD 711) at least 10 business days prior to the event.
The Florida Museum may photograph or video visitors for educational and promotional purposes. Attendance to a Florida Museum event constitutes the attendee’s consent regarding the possibility of appearing in Museum marketing materials.
