The Wellcome Trust celebrates Darwin's bicentenary
12 February 2009
When, in 1859, Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species', he transformed our understanding of the universe and the place of human beings in it. No longer were we the pinnacle of creation. We were now a branch in the Tree of Life, a tree that grew from a single cell and continues to grow and evolve.
And so 2009 is Darwin's year. An impressive array of events, exhibitions, radio and TV programmes is underway to mark his 200th birthday today, and in November, the 150th anniversary of the publication of 'On the Origin of Species'.
The Wellcome Trust is heavily involved in celebrating Darwin. But, as well as commemorating his place in history, we want to look ahead to the future, and see where Darwin's legacy can take us.
Perhaps our most ambitious and exciting project is to deliver a free Darwin-inspired experiment to every child in the country. The Trust invited Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew), to develop an ambitious science project for primary schools. RBG Kew created The Great Plant Hunt, which aims to jump-start a lifetime's interest in plant-based science in every child in the country.
For secondary schools, we have come up with a range of practical science kits called Survival Rivals, which explore contemporary applications of evolutionary theory and natural selection. 'I'm a Worm, Get Me Out of Here', 'Brine Date' and 'The X-Bacteria' are fun, engaging experiments that students can do themselves.
Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said: "We are delighted to be working with schools to provide opportunities for children to learn about evolution and natural selection through practical experimentation. What could be a better way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin than to enthuse the next generation about science and teach them about scientific method?"
Sir William Castell, Chairman of the Wellcome Trust, added: "The beauty of Darwin's work is that he made insightful observations and did simple, elegant experiments, and from these he was able to come up with a theory that changed our view of the world forever. If we can instil a genuine feel for science in children from an early age, they will grow up to make the astounding discoveries of the future."
Outside the classroom
The Wellcome Trust is supporting creative projects across the education and cultural sectors to make sure Darwin's science comes to life for as many people as possible. These projects will celebrate Darwin's life, work and ongoing impact with audiences up and down the country throughout 2009.
Routes is a new website comprising eight online programmes following Katherine Ryan, a comedian, who is learning about her own genes after having had cancer twice and developing lupus, another genetic disease. The site is designed to engage young audiences in contemporary scientific issues. As well as Katherine's documentary 'webisodes', the site will have interactive content such as minigames, blogs and forums to capture the imagination of visitors.
The Wellcome Trust also helped produce the stunning Tree of Life animation that formed the centrepiece of David Attenborough's BBC1 documentary on Darwin (broadcast on 1 Feb 2009). The animation is now available as an online interactive tool so that people can explore for themselves the relationships between different species in the evolutionary tree.
And all this week, Channel 4 is showing a series of short films called Darwin Originals. These have been created by artists such as Lemn Sissay, inspired by the life, work and legacy of Charles Darwin. Tonight's 'Three Minute Wonder' is by Curious and is called 'Fit to Survive?'. It asks what species will be fit to survive in the new environments that human activity is creating.
Find out more about our Darwin200 activities.
Image credit: Wellcome Library, London