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Larry Kryala, Florian Block, Tanja Gesell, Hanspeter Pfister, and Chia Shen (Harvard University)
Phylogenetic tree of life has been used in biology textbooks in many forms as a formal visual representation of the evolutionary relationship of life on earth. These visual representations have recently started to appear in museums as informal science education tools. A phylogeny helps museum visitors understand important evolutionary concepts. However, previous learning research has shown that phylogenetic trees can also reinforce alternative concepts and misconceptions, including that evolution happens at the individual organism level rather than at the population level. In this poster, we introduce FloTree, a dynamic particle-based visualization of a phylogenetic tree of life that depicts evolution as a dynamic and ongoing process. Our FloTree embeds the established Wright-Fisher process inside an evolutionary tree representation to drive a particle system that conveys important concepts from population genetics including common descend with modification, mutation and genetic drift. We hope to provide an intriguing, thought-provoking, and attractive visualization for informal science education.