^{Date
Nov062025
November
11
Nov
6
06
2025

Time
12:00AM

Locale
Tacoma, WA

Venue
Evangelical Reformed Church

Save the date

Save the date}

Intelligent Design Education Day — Tacoma

After a successful event in Spokane, we are excited to announce that Intelligent Design Education Day is coming to Tacoma, Washington!

The theme — Creepy Crawly Complexity — returns this fall, inviting students to explore the incredible world of “creepy crawlies,” with special presentations and videos on insects and spiders (from the phylum Arthropoda), earthworms (Annelida), and roundworms (Nematoda). While learning about the complexity and diversity of these fascinating creatures, we’ll consider important questions like… Why are creepy crawlies so abundant and diverse? Where did they all come from? What does it take to design and build a “simple” worm? What is the implication of finding unique code in the genome of each type of creepy crawly?

Join us on Thursday, November 6, to find out. This in-person event is open to all ages but designed especially for middle school and high school students in home or private school settings. Take advantage of this field trip opportunity for students to meet and interact directly with scientists who study the design of life. There will be lots of audience participation, opportunities to win prizes, and additional resources to explore at the bookstore.

The goal will be to introduce students to the concept of intelligent design, to share updates from the field of zoology, and to think critically about the evidence (or lack thereof) for Darwinian evolution. In the panel Q&A, students will be encouraged to engage with our presenters to discuss the implications of their presentations on culture and worldview, thereby helping them develop critical thinking skills and (in many cases) bolster their faith.

Registration will open September 2. Come back again soon!

When

Thursday, November 6, 2025
9:30 AM – 2:00 PM

Where

Evangelical Reformed Church
7435 South Madison St
Tacoma, WA 98409

Save the date

Contact

Kate Kavanaugh
eventbrite@discovery.org
(206) 826-5532

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

8:30 am	Doors open for check-in
9:30 am	Welcome & introductions Daniel Reeves, Director of Education & Outreach (Center for Science & Culture)
9:45 am	Secrets of the Cell: Mechanical Marvels in Miniature (Video)
9:50 am	Arthropoda and Annelida and Nematoda, oh my! Pedro Moura, Biologist & Science Educator
10:15 am	Break
10:25 am	Arthropoda: The Miracle of Butterfly Metamorphosis Paul Nelson, Philosopher of Biology
10:50 am	Interactive audience activity
11:00 am	Lunch break
12:00 pm	Don’t Be Frightened! It’s Just a Spider (Video)
12:05 pm	Annelida: Are Earthworms “Baroque”? George Damoff, Megadrilologist (Earthworm Specialist)
12:30 pm	Break
12:40 pm	How to Build a Worm (Video)
12:50 pm	*Nematoda: The Elegant Roundworm (Some Assembly Required)** Paul Nelson, Philosopher of Biology
1:15 pm	Interactive audience activity
1:30 pm	Ask a Scientist (Panel Q&A)
2:00 pm	Dismissal (bookstore open until 2:30 pm)

Speakers

George A. Damoff

George A. Damoff (Ph.D., forestry) has been an Adjunct Graduate Research Faculty member in the Department of Environmental Science at Stephen F. Austin State University, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture from 2009 to the present. He has journal publications in both discovery and applied sciences on earthworm ecology that include the naming of three new species to science—Diplocardia deborahae Damoff and Reynolds 2017, D. hebi Damoff 2018, and D. farrishi (currently being written). Since the 1980s, Dr. Damoff has taught biology, ecology, and environmental science courses to 6th grade through graduate level students at both private and public schools. He frequently speaks to civic groups about soil, composting, and earthworms. In April 2023, for example, he presented on the challenge of invasive earthworm species to native plants in North Idaho to the Calypso Chapter of the Native Plant Society. Dr. Damoff has been reading intelligent design books and literature since the late 1980s and in the past ten years has been active with the Discovery Institute through Insider Briefings, Science and Faith Conferences, the Engineering Research Group, and serving with the DI-Dallas Action Committee.

Kate Kavanaugh

Kate Kavanaugh is an Education and Outreach Assistant at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. She holds a B.S. in biology, with minors in chemistry and psychology, from Fontbonne University in St. Louis, MO. Prior to joining the Discovery Institute, she taught high school science at a private school and worked for the Acton Institute, a think tank focused on economics and religious liberty.

Pedro Moura

Pedro Moura (MS, Biology) is the Science teacher at Covenant High School (Tacoma, WA). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master’s Degree of Science in Biology from State University of Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo – Brazil), and he is completing a Master’s Degree of Divinity in Theological Studies from Mackenzie Presbyterian University. Mr. Moura is a Discovery Institute Summer Seminar Alumnus (2021) and has taught several courses to high school and college students in chemistry and biology. His main goal is to provide students with a distinctively Christian approach to the study of nature, which “declares the glory of God” and “proclaims His handiwork.” (Ps. 19). He has also published biodiversity research in journals such as the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, PLoS One, and the Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. He is married to his wife, Marina, and enjoys playing chess, walking by the Puget Sound waterfront, and reading books about science and faith.

Paul Nelson

_{Senior Fellow, Center for Science and Culture}

Paul A. Nelson is currently a Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and Adjunct Professor in the Master of Arts Program in Science & Religion at Biola University. He is a philosopher of biology who has been involved in the intelligent design debate internationally for three decades. His grandfather, Byron C. Nelson (1893-1972), a theologian and author, was an influential mid-20th century dissenter from Darwinian evolution. After Paul received his BA in philosophy with a minor in evolutionary biology from the University of Pittsburgh, he entered the University of Chicago, where he received his PhD (1998) in the philosophy of biology and evolutionary theory.

Daniel Reeves

_{Director, Education & Outreach, Center for Science and Culture}

Daniel Reeves is Director of Education & Outreach with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. He holds a BA in Biology with additional graduate studies in Zoology. Before joining the Discovery Institute, Daniel has engaged in both field and laboratory research for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also has a passion for education, and has taught science in both museums and public schools.