AAAS Ads In Major Newspapers To Extend the Science Education Message

AAAS has placed online advertising in the Washington Post and the New York Times to reinforce its support for evolution education and science education in general.

The ads come after a year of national controversy over efforts to challenge the teaching of science in public schools by injecting “intelligent design” doctrine into science classrooms. AAAS has joined with other groups and individuals leading efforts to protect the integrity of science education; the association and its top officers have provided resolutions, op-ed commentaries, interviews and educational materials as part of an ambitious outreach campaign.

The ads will run from mid-November through mid-December, alternating with material from other advertisers, on two major media science sites:

• The Post’s online science section, which can be accessed by choosing News from the home page drop-down menu and then selecting National, which then leads to science;
• and on the Times’ online science section, which can be accessed directly from the Times’ home page.

There are two different messages in the ad. One says: “Teach Only Science In Science Class.” The second message follows: “Support and Join AAAS—The Voice of Science.” Both messages lead readers to a page summarizing recent AAAS action in the evolution campaign. From that page, readers can jump to the AAAS web page that includes all of the association’s evolution resources, “Evolution on the Front Line.” They also can jump to an application for AAAS membership.

Edward W. Lempinen

28 November 2005