When Homeschooling our children thinking outside the box helps us prepare lesson plans and plan Field Trips that will interest our children. Suzzane and Charlie both enjoy Science which isn’t something I know a lot about. Having Holidays like February 12 International Darwin Day #darwinday allows me to teach Charlie about holidays, events or people I don’t know a lot about like Charle’s Darwin. Would you like to join us as we research facts and lesson plans based on Charles Darwin this week?
It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned scientist or a novice who doesn’t mind getting your hands dirty or the thought of math and dissection makes you blanch, on Darwin Day on February 12th we celebrate Charles Darwin’s work and science in general. Today is the day to take the extra time to learn about his experiments, findings, and accomplishments, and reflect on how they still affect us today of Charles Darwin. The discovery of evolutionary creation has led scientists across multiple fields to make life-altering and life-saving discoveries about our species and how we originated.
On International Darwin Day let us tell you about contests and challenges multinational corporations do around the year to support students with funds they need towards tuitions, find resources for scholarships on Scholaroo.
HISTORY OF DARWIN DAY
Charles Darwin, is the man who would come to be known as the father of natural selection. Charles Darwin was born on February 12th, 1809, the fifth of six children in a wealthy English family. Charles Darwin’s father was a doctor, and his grandfathers were naturalists who laid the groundwork for the discoveries that Charles would go on to make.
In 1825, Charles, who had been helping his father to care for the poor and sick in Shropshire, left for medical school. Charles Darwin found medical school dull and his studies lacked effort. It wasn’t long until his father sent Charles Darwin to Christ’s College in Cambridge to become an Anglican Parson.
Though he was on a religious course of study, Darwin found himself drawn to natural sciences. A friend at the time got Charles Darwin interested in Beetle collecting and Charles Darwin became acquainted with other Parson naturalists who spurred his interest even more. Charles Darwin positioned himself to join his professor on a trip to the tropics to study natural history.
After his return, Darwin received an offer to serve as a naturalist on an expedition that headed down the Coast of South America. The ship was the HMS Beagle, of which the captain was Robert FitzRoy. Darwin set out on his voyage in 1931 and spent five years aboard this ship. Across South America, Darwin was exposed to a wealth of new geology, anthropology, zoology, and botany. Charles Darwin carefully collected samples of fossils, rocks, plants, and Bugs to bring back to England. Darwin and FitzRoy both kept journals of the trip, which are impactful documents, today.
Darwin’s theories of evolution were already percolating as the HMS Beagle returned to England. It was especially the finches in the Galapagos Islands that illustrated his theories. Charles Darwin madly rewrote his journals from the trip to gain a better understanding, read the work of Malthus, and conducted experiments with plants to test his theories. During this time of overworking, Charles Darwin got married but also developed a chronic illness.
Finally, Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” a book that described the case for natural selection, in 1859. While the book was unexpectedly popular, there was pushback from the Church, which taught divine creation as the source of life. Charles Darwin continued to work and publish on evolution and selection for the next 22 years of his life. Charles Darwin would eventually die of heart disease in 1882, which likely originated from the chronic Chagas’ disease he suffered from.
Let’s celebrate Charles DARWIN DAY
- Purchase “On The Origin of Species” Darwin’s book on evolution which is worth a read on Darwin Day! Darwin’s book introduces the concept of evolution, upon which much of the study of biology finds its basis today.
- While the concepts and teachings of Darwin have been met with some controversy from the general public, they are accepted facts in science and not everyone even knows about them! Post #DarwinDay on social media to spread awareness about Charles Darwin’s findings, and help promote science in your social circle. Share your post on Social Media using these hashtags #DarwinDay on social media
FUN FACTS ABOUT DARWIN
- Charles Darwin suffered from chronic illness which was thought to be a symptom of overwork after discovering his true calling for natural history, Darwin’s chronic illness plagued him with exhaustion, nausea, headaches, and heart palpitations. They thought Charles Darwin had Chagas’ disease.
- Darwin was born on the same day as Abraham Lincoln February 12th, 1809, this must have been an auspicious holiday to welcome two important men into the world — while Abe Lincoln was born in a log cabin, however, Darwin was born in a luxurious mansion.
- One of the most famous phrases associated with Darwin “Survival of the Fittest” wasn’t coined by Charles Darwin at all; rather, the phrase was created by Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher. Spencer used the phrase to connect his own economic theories to Darwin’s work.
WHY DARWIN DAY IS IMPORTANT
- Beyond simply celebrating and remembering Darwin, Darwin Day wants us to reflect on the notable contributions of many scientists, particularly biologists. While Darwin may have laid the basis of many biological studies with his theory of evolution, so much has been built upon this by many other talented scientists.
- Darwin made history. Revisiting his achievements reminds us of the context that they arose in a world where there was very little scientific knowledge to go around. Darwin Day offers a window back in time to view the science and medicine of the 1800s.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
