Media Advisory

WHEN: Friday, March 11, 4 p.m.

WHO: The Florida Museum of Natural History and TEDxUF Club will lower a 140-foot-long printed portion of the ‘Tree of Life’ from the top of the University of Florida Century Tower. The complete tree including all 2.3 million named species on the planet would be 400 times longer. The display is a small representation of the tree and includes about 5,500 flowering plant species.

WHERE: University of Florida Century Tower, Corner of Newell Drive and Stadium Road east of Turlington Plaza, Gainesville, FL 32611

WHAT: The “Tree of Life” project is the key to understanding and recording all of Earth’s biodiversity. Scientists use the tree to monitor diseases, discover new medicines, improve and conserve field crops and measure the effect of climate change based on the interconnections between plants, animals and other organisms. Doug Soltis, a distinguished professor with appointments in the Florida Museum and UF’s biology department and Genetics Institute, and his team will discuss the work behind creating a map of Earth’s species to fuel future investigations and discoveries.

The Florida Museum will also present a pop-up station with different activities allowing visitors to explore the topic in greater detail from 3 to 6 p.m.

DETAILS: To browse the current “Tree of Life” online, visit www.etreeoflife.com or www.opentreeoflife.org.

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Writer: Maria Espinoza, PRintern@flmnh.ufl.edu
Source: Douglas Soltis, dsoltis@botany.ufl.edu
Media contact: Paul Ramey, pramey@flmnh.ufl.edu, 352-273-2054