The show, which is part of the activities planned by the museum to mark the Year of Biodiversity, addresses three areas that make it unique from all that have done so far on the figure of Darwin: “The recreation of the Cabinet Curiosities of Ole Worm, one of the most famous of the era, the scientific reconstruction of Charles Darwin at 22 years and his scientific legacy that continues in our day, “said the exhibition curator, Jose Feijo.
Feijo added that the essence of this exhibition is that not only convey ideas but also emotions and all this d “rom the rigor and simplicity” that allows “an expert from a child can enjoy it.”
For his part, Director of the Natural Museum of Natural History, where it has been exposed to the sample, has stressed the importance of cooperation and collaboration between different scientific institutions to produce projects “very interesting” as this exhibition.
At the opening of ‘The evolution of Darwin‘, which will be in the Science Park until next October, have also been present in charge of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and first author of the Consortium.
The exhibition is structured into eight major areas and in an area of 1,500 m2 invites visitors to embark on the Beagle or go to the Galapagos Islands and Argentina, see original objects as the ‘System Naturae’ published by Linnaeus in 1735 and the first editions of ‘The Origin of Species’ and ‘The Descent of Man’, facsimiles of letters and some of the scientist’s travel books, replicas of the fossils described by Lamarck, the interior of their Victorian home in London and a small reconstruction of his home in Down, among others.
AREAS OF EXPOSURE
Before Darwin
The recreation of the Cabinet of Curiosities of Ole Worm, one of the most famous in the late seventeenth century, immerses the visitor in the society that preceded Darwin. It may be statements of herbal and botanical books, handwritten letters, facsimiles, naturalized animals and other objects that show the interest of the time for collecting and understand the diversity of the world. In this context arises the need to classify plants and animals to organize biodiversity. The great scientific contribution in this field comes from the hand of Linnaeus establishing new systems of classification in his “System Naturae. A work that is presented in the exhibition in the original edition of 1735, an invaluable piece of history, for science and for the subsequent work of collection and classification of species that made Darwin. In this period of history there is another discovery that is also reflected in the exhibition: it was shown that the Earth was much older than previously thought, while the species could not have remained unchanged since creation.
Darwin Young
Darwin was 22 when he began the greatest adventure of his life: a world tour that lasted five years. In this space we share the fascination that Darwin felt watching animals and plants in different stages of their journey. Two copies of meerkats, two iguanas and a jumping terrarium, with scenery that reproduce the flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands and the area of Argentina.
Voyage of the Beagle
John Stevens Henslow, Darwin’s friend and mentor, Captain Robert Fitzroy convinced that the young Charles embark on the Beagle as naturalist without pay. His father was opposed in principle to the trip, but finally relented at the insistence of his uncle. The letters his father sent his uncle can be read in
this space. Without the comments made during the voyage, Darwin would never have formulated his theory of evolution. The geographical distribution patterns of living species and the fossil record were crucial for this.
London. The idea
After returning from the voyage of the Beagle, Darwin settled in London where he devised the hypothesis that species have evolved from a common ancestor. For Darwin the regulating mechanism of evolution was natural selection. In this area stands the Victorian home of London where Darwin matured his ideas. It shows the most important aspects of Darwin’s life that shape your personality and personal circumstances of their research. This approach also some more personal aspects of the scientist as his marriage to Emma Darwin. Objects, books and a facsimile of his notebook about the marriage “One woman, an interesting specimen” reveal their most intimate.
Downe. Labor and correspondence
In his country home continues to collect data to strengthen their theory before publication. Two decades later, in 1859, Darwin published “The Origin of Species be placed on the center of heated debate.
After Darwin
“The genetics and evolutionary synthesis
Until the early twentieth century could solve the biggest scientific enigma of Darwin: the mechanism of heredity. For better understanding of this discovery, here reproduced the experiment Mendell peas with live plants and presents the DNA strand with an interactive module with a specially designed form of a slide for children.
“The legacy of Darwin
The tree of life elaborated by Darwin has continued to grow. The comparative study of the genetic material has helped establish the relationships between living things. This space is devoted to research developments in evolutionary biology and its progress over recent decades to reach the modern theories and applications that are taking place today.

Source: Science Park