Lucy Introduces Americans to Ethiopia

Click here to launch a slideshow from Lucy's grand opening in Seattle

Lucy, one of Ethiopia's greatest treasures, is making her way across the United States, introducing Americans to Ethiopia. At 2.3 million-years-old, Lucy is one of the world's oldest and most well-preserved adult fossils.

Lucy is currently on display at Seattle's Pacific Science Center, which is her second stop on a tour of America, which began last year in Houston and is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors.

The Lucy exhibit has attracted major attention in Seattle, where Ethiopia enjoys strong relationships with companies including Starbucks and Boeing, and is working with leading entrepreneurial NGOs including the Gates Foundation and PATH.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Tom Paulson penned two feature pieces Lucy, the 3.2-Million Year-Old Fossil is a Key Piece in Evolution's Puzzle and Ethiopia's Rich Heritage: Lucy's Birthplace is Globally Significant.

The Seattle Times also praised the exhibit, predicting that it would draw large crowds.

In an op-ed celebrating Lucy's success, the Ethiopian Embassy's head of public relations and public diplomacy Wondimu Asamnew said it was "altogether fitting that the Lucy exhibit making its way around the country also devotes great attention to the country in which she was discovered--Ethiopia." Click here to read the full op-ed.