Tagged with Charles Darwin
Resource : Darwin’s Finches
The theory of evolution by natural selection, proposed by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, transformed the way we understand the natural world. Through careful observations, made over many years, they each realised that animals and plants that are particularly well suited to their environment are the most likely to survive, and so pass these characteristics on to the next generation. Gradually, over many generations, these characteristics – such as long necks, warm fur, being able to see well in the dark etc – become more common in a population, and a species changes over time.
Resource : Drawer handle with abolitionist plaque
In the late 1700s, the image of a kneeling, enslaved African man, accompanied by the words ‘Am I not a man and a brother’ became the most prominent emblem for those wishing to abolish the Transatlantic slave trade, in both Britain and America. As well as appearing in books, prints and pamphlets, it was also reproduced on an extraordinary variety of everyday and household items – from crockery and soft furnishings, to jewellery and hairpins.
Resource : The Peppered Moth
The story of the Peppered Moth is one of the clearest illustrations, both of the effects of the Industrial revolution, and of Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace’s famous theory of evolution by natural selection.
