Voyaging with Darwin Virtual Field Trip Assembled by: Linda Brodeur Bishop Guertin High School 2009

On behalf of Captain Robert Fitzroy, I hereby invite you to fill out an application to join him on a mapping expedition aboard HMS Beagle. He is specifically looking for an assistant to accompany the ship’s naturalist, Charles Darwin. The voyage will take three years and there will be little to no communication with friends or family during the expedition. In addition, you will be expected to share a room about 8 feet by 10 feet with three other sailors – one valet (suitcase) per person. If you are up to the challenge, please write me a letter (outline found on the next page) outlining your credentials, interests and your experiences. I will contact you if you are chosen. If at any time you get lost, use this home key to return to this page.

Dear Captain Fitzroy; I believe I will be a great asset to your expedition because Sincerely,

You have been selected to travel with Charles Darwin on Her Majesty’s Ship, the Beagle. You will be helping him gather evidence regarding the change of species over time and you will be helping with the mapping expedition. In preparation for the journey, you must eventually get to know your supervisor, Mr. Darwin. But first, the ship’s inventory requires that you disclose the contents of your valet. Please send a list of items you plan to pack in your suitcase for our three year journey. Due to size and weight constraints, you are only allowed to bring 10 items. Good luck and Godspeed!!

I plan to bring the following items: Item:Rationale:

In order to be a good assistant to Mr. Darwin, you should know who he is and what his life has been like so far. Click on his picture to read his biography. There are many people who influenced him, besides his own family, friends and teachers. You will read about several of them in his biography. Then click on the other photographs to read about some of his peers. Once you have finished reading, choose the 3 people who you think most influenced Darwin? Fill in the chart on the next page. Charles Darwin. Charles Lyell J.B Lamarck Thomas Malthus

Who?Relationship to Darwin? How did this person influence Darwin?

The Voyage Welcome!! As the assistant to Mr. Darwin, your primary job is to read his daily journal and draw a map outlining the route taken by The Beagle. Click on the boat if you are ready to begin. If you need a little map-reading tutorial, click on the following link to review basic map terms.

(Use the world map that your teacher gave you to complete the following task. ) Click on the map link below to read excerpts from Darwin’s journal. Each journal excerpt describes a location and includes a date and a latitude and longitude listing. Trace Darwin‘s voyage by reading the excerpts. You will find that the journal excerpts are not in chronological order. The Voyage of the Beagle is a collection of many of Darwin's journals, and he arranged the entries in this book by geographical area rather than by time. Make a list of the longitude and latitude listings in the correct time sequence. Number them and then place these numbers in the place on the map that corresponds to their longitude and latitude readings. If you have room, label each location on the map with the date he visited. When you are finished, connect the excerpt locations with a line. Start in England in 1831 and follow Darwin's route until he arrived back in England in For extra credit, add other places mentioned in Darwin's journal excerpts and letters to make a more accurate path.

Observations On the next slide, you will find photos of some of the finches that Darwin saw. Most birds on the Galapagos Islands eat fruits, insects, nuts and seeds. Based on the shapes of their beaks, which type of food do you think the birds ate and why? Try to identify at least one which ate each type of food. In addition, try to think about where these birds would have spent most of their time – in trees or on the ground. Select two that you think are tree dwellers and two that you think are ground dwellers. Again, be prepared to defend your hypothesis. Check yours answers when you are finished. Did any of the answers surprise you?

FruitsNuts/SeedsInsects Tree DwellersGround Dwellers Click on the link to the right to check your answers.,

 Welcome home!! Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control (weather, miscalculations and Darwin’s seasickness) it has taken us 5 years to complete our expedition. You have been a faithful and competent assistant.  The local newspaper, the Evolution Express has asked that you write an article describing your journey (250 words or fewer) and that you draw a cartoon or comic strip summarizing your experiences. You will be officially released from your duty and paid upon your successful completion of this task.  If you need a refresher, since you were gone for so long, click on the following link which summarizes our journey.

A fairly standard definition of evolution is the belief that species change over time. Darwin believed that the different finches “evolved” from one original species. He hypothesized that due to differing habitats and DNA mutations which made the finches more able to survive, “more fit”, variations occurred which led to new species of finches. He believed each bird descended from an original one. This theory was then, and still is, extremely controversial. Do a little research to see why this theory is so controversial. Using your new knowledge of DNA replication and Darwin’s observations, prepare to participate in a classroom debate arguing the merits of Darwin’s theory.

The End