If you’re present-hunting for your mystically inclined friends or family, check out the Gift of Enlightenment, a cool new board game about spiritual transformation. Though that might sound as fun as Monopoly for Accountants, this colorful, whimsical set doesn’t take itself too seriously, but seriously enough. It does seem initially odd to be melding group play with inner work, the beautiful set itself wins you over pretty quickly: It includes aura cards, crystals, and an all-wood die and cards say things like: “Your possessions obsess you! Go to Missing Out” or “A dream inspires you! Move 7 spaces.” The winner is the first to traverse the path––a winding trail over a chakra-illuminated figure––to enlightenment; the prize is scoring wise advice in the included booklet. If you then find yourself jumping up and down yelling “You lose, sucka!” that might be your cue to return to the beginning of the evolving process, Do not pass Go, Do not collect $200. For two to six players, ages 14 and up. $40, giftofenlightenment.com

A sad loss permeates the excitement behind the recent news (here + here) of N55’s revolutionary, low cost, high design, sci-fi, geodesic Micro Dwellings—namely that artist Ingvil Aarbakke, a key member of N55, died late last month.

It couldn't have been better timed: Hard on the heels of last week's decision by the Kansas Board of Education to enshroud evolution in doubt, New York's American Museum of Natural History opens its “Darwin” exhibition tomorrow. Running through May, the exhibition will be the largest ever devoted to Charles Darwin and his work.

“Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory is central to science and is the foundation for all of modern biology,” reads the museum's web site. The exhibition will explain the controversies that have long surrounded the idea of natural selection and “clarify the distinction between scientific theories and nonscientific explanations about the origin and diversity of life.” “Darwin” features fossils, artifacts, time-lapse animation, live Galapagos tortoises, and a recreation of the study where Darwin worked on his theory.

The melting of icebergs due to global warming is affecting the evolution of penguins, according to a fascinating new study based on analysis of DNA from a longstanding penguin colony in Antarctica.