|
|
Charles Darwin:
|
|
|
Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, Darwin: The Evolution Revolution is the most in-depth exhibition ever presented on the fascinating life and works of Charles Darwin. |
Darwin: The Evolution Revolution
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
through August 4, 2008
There really is something for everyone here, with numerous specimens, manuscripts, memorabilia, live animals, a large interactive area for the “Young Naturalist" and a reproduction of Darwin’s study.
Title: Darwin’s study
An elaborate reproduction of Charles Darwin’s study from
Down House is one of the centerpiece attractions of Darwin,
the most in-depth exhibition ever mounted on this highly
original thinker.
© Denis Finnin, AMNH
Image Courtesy: Royal Ontario Museum
The very first thing I saw during my initial visit to this exhibit were the two live, African spurred tortoises locked in a passionate (and surprisingly energetic) embrace. From the Southern Sahara, these are the closest relatives to the giant tortoises found on the Galapagos Islands. The male has a slightly larger shell and the female has a rather worn shell. (Tortoises live and breed exclusively on land. Turtles live and breed in water mostly.)
During a second visit, my children were a little disappointed to find the tortoises napping but were immediately delighted and absorbed by the rather startling skeleton of a bulldog. There were other skeletons in a display case including: Viper, European white stork, giant anteater and porpoise. All children are inherently fascinated by nature and this is one of the best opportunities for them to explore some of her wonders.
There is a large and very well designed Family Activity Area, presented in three distinct sections: The Ship, The Study and the Island. Supervised by the always knowledgeable ROM facilitators, kids can do some nautical knot tying, try on the captains jacket and turn the wheel onboard the deck of H.M.S. Beagle, classify bugs in Darwin’s study, even dress up in some of the fun, wearable turtle, butterfly, spider, or wasp costumes. There is also the opportunity to try on different leopard or snake skin capes and camouflage yourself against the matching walls. A realistic film projection of the sea and touchable real specimens further enhance the experience.
Darwin always had a passionate interest in all things natural and there is a feeling throughout the exhibit of being with him on his life journey.
Chris Darling, the Curator of the show during its ROM engagement, sums it up when he says ”We are at his side as he ponders geology, observes living plants and animals, and collects specimens during his voyage on the Beagle. We are also there when he returns home and carefully develops and refines his ideas while struggling with issues of family, ill health and insecurity.”
Title: Annie’s Box
This wooden writing box is filled with mementos collected
by Darwin’s wife in memory of their first daughter, Annie,
who died when she was 10 years old.
Loan courtesy of Professor Richard D. Keynes
© Craig Chesek, AMNH
Image Courtesy: Royal Ontario Museum
The Exhibition is comprised of nine sections:
- Introduction
- World Before Darwin
- Early Life
- Voyage of the Beagle
- An Ordinary Man
- London
- Down House
- In Evolution And natural Selection
- Darwin's legacy
|
As well as the amorous tortoises, the introduction emphasizes Darwin’s original magnifying glass as an iconic and unpretentious symbol of science and learning. |
|
The section called The world before Darwin shows the state of scientific knowledge before Darwin changed everything. Around 1749 to 1844 a few naturalists in England and France including Erasmus Darwin, (Charles Darwin's own Grandfather) Compte de Buffon, (French encyclopedist of natural history) and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (French soldier, naturalist and academic) published books promoting the idea that species are related by descent. These advanced thinkers of the 18th century had some inkling about evolution but no one could explain convincingly how it worked.
Natural scientists and most of England were aligned to the Church's biblical story of creation. There were many collections of various specimens, fossils etc., but the classification criteria were haphazard with no concept of being genealogically related. Nothing was linked and there were few connections. Things were confusing and unscientific. Most viewpoints held that plant and animal species had been created once, by God, and remained unchanged from the time of origin. Humans were not seen as animal species but were unique and created in God's image. As many scientists were also clergymen, studying nature (God's works) was comparable to studying the Bible (God's word)
Title: Go it Charlie! Cartoon
This reproduction of a caricature of a young Charles Darwin
riding a giant beetle was drawn by fellow beetle collector
Albert Way in 1832.
© By permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library
Image Courtesy: Royal Ontario Museum
When Darwin was young he spent hours collecting beetles and reading science books. His father was unimpressed by his son's achievements, telling him "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family". However, upon reaching Cambridge University Darwin was acknowledged by elite academics who recognized his real talent for natural history. Among this section's highlights are natural history collections, family portraits and letters home from school.
|
|
This section also depicts Darwin's early years and the influences of his Grandfathers, Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood (of the Wedgwood china fame). |
Darwin was only twenty-two when he received the offer of a lifetime, an invitation to sail on the naval survey ship H.M.S. Beagle. His father almost stopped him from going on the voyage for fear that it might lead him away from a life in the clergy (Which it most certainly did). The actual letter inviting him to serve as H.M.S. Beagle's naturalist is on display. His famous five year voyage (1831-1836) was the most pivotal event in his life and confirmed his career as a naturalist. The cramped conditions aboard ship were probably a surprise to him, the length of the ship being only 90 feet and he had to sleep in a hammock slung over a table. The sturdy little ship sailed down the coast of South America to the Galapagos Islands and beyond, over oceans and around continents, with Darwin collecting thousands of specimens and filling many notepads. On display are some of the many specimens he collected, including beetles, butterflies, moths, bugs and various fossils.
Among the live creatures you can see, is a frog with the nick name 'Mouth on Legs'. It is the Brazilian Ornate Horned Frog. Darwin brought some of these frogs back to England. They look very textured, colorful and hide in loose soil to gulp down anything that passes. They even go after prey larger than themselves.
This section demonstrates the three patterns observed by Darwin during his journey that convinced him that species are not absolute: the replacement of species through time; the geographic replacement of one species by another down the South American coast; and the micro-geographic replacement of different varieties on different islands in the Galapagos.
Darwin's accumulated specimens gave him enough material to keep him occupied for many years and his experience and adventures assisted the growth of his reputation. During his travels he found a spectacular trove of giant fossils including the finest megatherium (an extinct giant sloth) known to date; discovered a new species of dolphin; conducted important geological investigations in the Andes; and developed a new and much respected theory about the formation of coral atolls (ring shaped coral islands), which suggested that atolls could not form in less than a million years.
The main turning point in Darwin's thinking happened when he experienced an earthquake that leveled the Chilean town of Concepción. To his astonishment, the shift elevated a bank of mussels by eight feet. If that could happen in one day, what could happen over millions of years?
Interestingly, in Korea there has long been recognition that small earthly processes carried out over millions of years, can in the end have a geologically significant result. In Korean mythology there is a unit of measurement that denotes a VERY long period of time. To gauge how long it is, imagine a mountain made of solid granite exactly one mile high. Once every thousand years an angel flies down from heaven and brushes the summit of the mountain with her wings. The unit of time represents the number of years it would take for the angel to erode the mountain down to sea level. Given long enough, she would do it. As would a river or the wind.
Although it is probable that Darwin never heard about the Korean myth, the idea of an incredibly long period of time was undoubtedly one of the concepts that his great mind pondered.
After he returned from his incredible travels and adventures aboard the H.M.S. Beagle, he never left England again.
In 1837, in one of his notebooks below the words 'I think' Darwin drew a simple evolutionary tree. A year later he started to develop his theory of natural selection, a manuscript that he worked on in secret, instructing his wife to publish it if he died. For almost 20 years he kept his theory to himself, terrified of the storm he knew it would create. His manuscript might have been locked away until his death but for a friendly letter from a young naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace who had independently arrived at a theory of natural selection almost the same as Darwin's. At this point he realized that time was running out and a year later, in November of 1859, his controversial volume "The Origin of Species" was published. All 1,250 copies sold out on the first day and it has not been out of print (or controversy) since.
|
The controversies of today are rooted in the objections first expressed 150 years ago. Some people hold to the conviction that species are a result of special creation through the action of a creator. Some find the concept that humans share a common ancestry with earlier primates and that humans and other species evolved over immense spans of time, incompatible with their religious beliefs. |
|
"The Great Debate" In 1860, at a meeting of the British Association for the advancement of science, spurred on by his belief in special creation, Bishop Samuel Wilberforce lead an attack on Darwin's theory. Two of England's most influential scientists, Thomas Huxley and Joseph Hooker, fiercely supported Darwin's work. Both sides claimed victory.
|
|
Darwin wrote over 16 books. With his publication of "The Descent of Man" in 1871, he explicitly applied evolution to humans and showed our kinship with the apes. Many people were outraged and mocked him mercilessly. Cruel cartoons from the period portrayed him with apelike features. |
|
In 1925 it was a misdemeanor to teach evolution in U.S. public schools. Biology teacher John Scopes grew tired of violating the law. The "Scopes Monkey Trial" brought the issue to the attention of the world, galvanizing evolution's proponents. It was not until the 1930's and 1940's that Darwin's theory gained widespread acceptance. |
|
The exhibit "An ordinary Man" houses a theatre with an eight minute video presentation of The Life and Work of Charles Darwin narrated by Randal Keynes, Darwin's great-great grandson, and shot on location at Darwin's longtime home Down House. The feature examines the era into which he was born, and shows his influence on science, society and politics.
Title: Sandwalk
A stylized time-lapse animation in Darwin, created from
nearly 1,000 high-resolution photographs, transports visitors
along the path Darwin often strolled, observing and
thinking, on the grounds of Down House, his home outside
London.
Photo credit: © Denis Finnin,
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
Image Courtesy: Royal Ontario Museum
Charles Darwin died in 1882 and was given the great honor of a burial in Westminster Abbey next to Isaac Newton. His funeral was attended by England's leading politicians, scientists, and clergy. In England, at the dawn of the new millennium, Darwin was given another place of honor on the ten pound note.
The exhibits final section, "Darwin's Legacy", explores the relevance of his work today. For 150 years the theory of evolution and natural selection has not been challenged by any other scientific explanation. Evolution serves as the foundation for all modern biology, including research critical to human welfare, medicine and the fight against disease. Modern scientists can now answer questions about the natural world that Darwin never could. For example DNA analyses reveals relationships between seemingly dissimilar groups, and there are accurate fossil dating methods. Darwin would have been amazed at how our knowledge has helped advance his theories and confirm his realization that all living things are related. This superb exhibit reflects our still growing understanding that humanity and nature are as one.
Both my daughters gave the exhibit the highest praise possible. "Awesome" said my nine year old, being particularly taken with the carnivorous plants, my thirteen year old with the live animals.
The exhibition is open in Toronto until August 4 before moving to The Natural History Museum in London, England to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth.
Darwin: The Evolution Revolution
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto:
through August 4, 2008
Natural History Museum, London:
October 2008 - March 2009