HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Celebrating Darwin
We celebrate the publication of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution 150 years ago. Darwin went to university to study to be a religious minister, but he was more interested in collecting insects, birds’ nests and sea shells. Happily for him — and for us — a professor who recognised his interest and talent in nature studies recommended him for a special voyage.

The HMS Beagle was a British Royal Navy ship that was on a mission to make maps. Darwin’s job was to observe and catalogue the animals and plants at the places the ship stopped. He sent back more than 1,500 specimens of birds, animals, and insects and took lots of notes and made sketches. We always see pictures of Darwin as an older man, because he was 50 when he published his research. But he was only 22 when he went on the voyage.

The most important part of his voyage was to the Galapagos Islands. At first he thought he had found many new and different types of birds there. But then he realised that on each island the birds had different beaks (mouths) because the food on each island was different. This meant that within the same species, animals adapted to their environment in order to survive.

When he came home from the voyage, Darwin was recognized as a scientist. But he did not want to publish his theory until he was certain. He did not want to damage his reputation. Also, he adored his wife, and she was very religious. Darwin knew that his information would cause controversy. And some religious groups are opposed to his Theory of Evolution, even today.

But when Darwin’s book was published in 1859, scientists accepted it immediately, and it became the basic text of the science of biology.

UKTV will be showing the documentary Darwin – The Legacy on January 19, 2009; for this reason, the link published in our magazine may not be working. If that happens to you, try this alternate link .

SPEAKEASY LIVE   To hear an extract from the documentary, go  HERE . 

Be sure to visit the British Museum of Natural History during its Darwin Exhibition (until April 19, 2009); you can have a virtual visit here ! Be sure to watch the slideshow. You would probably like the cartoon story too!

The American Museum of Natural History also has an on-line Darwin exhibition, complete with tortoises, iguana and frogs – and video.

Another great virtual trip takes you to the Galapagos Islands! You'll find it on the BBC science site.

There is an excellent presentation of information connected to an American educational television documentary to be found here .

The documentary was made, in part, to answer arguments from people who do not want Evolution taught in schools. The documentary was called “Judgment Day” because it “put on trial” the idea of “intelligent design”. 

Intelligent design is the most recent “movement” in the U.S. that favours the idea of Creationism (Adam and Eve are our ancestors because the Bible says they are) over Evolution (our ancestors were apes). Some American Christians think Evolution should not be taught at all, or that students should hear “both sides” of the argument.  Of course, Evolution is not a religious belief, its principles are scientific. Just as no one would suggest Evolution should be taught as a religion, Creationism should not be taught in science class!

PBS also offers seven videos for high school biology students , with captions so you can read along. But remember, these were made for English-speaking students, so don’t expect to understand absolutely everything.

Another fun learning site has simple presentations on  “Understanding Geologic Time ” and fossils and the history of life, if you need some background before learning about Darwin’s theory.

How much do you know about Darwin?
Go here to find out!