Special Collection: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial

This collection is produced by WGBH Educational Productions, WGBH Media Library, and WGBH Interactive, with NOVA and Vulcan Productions, Inc. "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" is produced by NOVA and Vulcan Productions, Inc., in association with The Big Table Film Company.

In December 2004, a group of parents from Dover, Pennsylvania, filed suit in federal court against a policy instituted by the town's school board. Months earlier, the board had required high school biology teachers to read a statement to their classes that presented intelligent design, as explained in the textbook Of Pandas and People, as an alternative scientific theory to evolution. The parents, joined by a group of Dover High School science teachers, sought to prove that the intention behind the board's policy—to reject evolution and advance a religious agenda—was unconstitutional. The media resources and lesson plan listed below, based on the NOVA program, "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial", address some common misperceptions concerning the very meaning of "theory" in science and feature compelling evidence in support of evolution. Also check out the Teacher's Guide for this NOVA program and the professional development course for teachers listed below.