With approaching anniversaries of Charles Darwin's birth (Feb. 12, 1809) and of publication in Philadelphia of his On the Origin of Species (November 1859), the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is leading a celebration of evolution.

"Surviving: The Body of Evidence"

What it is: The Penn Museum's new, interactive exhibit - its most ambitious in decades, with six major sections - explores the process of evolution and how it made us what we are today.

If you go: The exhibit is open daily except Mondays through May 2009 at the museum, 33d and Spruce Streets. Admission is $8. Information: 215-898-4000.

Year of Evolution

Dozens of events are planned at various institutions over the next year (many of them in 2009).

A sampling:

Lecture: "The Importance of Lucy," by the hominid skeleton's discoverer, paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson (2 p.m. May 4 at the Penn Museum).

Exhibitions: The work of Charles Darwin (American Philosophical Society Museum) and of geneticist Gregor Mendel (Academy of Natural Sciences).

Movies: Evolution-related IMAX films (The Franklin).