Darwin Day 2009

 26th February, 2009 -  (delayed 2 weeks due to snow!)

To celebrate the 200th Birthday of Charles Darwin, Year 8 gathered to listen to a talk by Miss Kinnear about this famous scientist.  They had already read briefly of his work during their study of Genetics in November and were also familiar with the idea of adaptation.  However, the talk was dedicated to Evolution and how Darwin, from his early life as a non-scientist, became one of the greatest biologists.  At the age of 50, Darwin put forward the idea that organisms were not created as we see them today but had evolved or changed over thousands, if not millions, of years.  In putting forward this theory he needed to back it up with evidence.  The talk briefly covered fossil records, the age of the earth, and the fact that a basic design can be ‘reworked’ to suit the needs of the species.  At Spratton we are very lucky to own many skeletal bones to emphasise the point.  Year 8 will be able to look at these more closely in the summer, after their CE exams.