The Beagle Voyage
Cross-curricular educational resources
Key Stages 3-4
Darwin Correspondence Project
Who was Charles Darwin?
• Born in Shrewsbury in 1809
• Educated at Christ’s College,
Cambridge
• Sailed around the world with
the HMS Beagle, 1831-1836
• Became a famous gentlemannaturalist who published on
many scientific topics
• Lived and worked at Down
House in Kent
• Wrote the Origin of Species in
1859 which proposed the
theory of evolution by natural
selection
• Died at Down House in 1882
Copyright © Cambridge University Library
What was the Beagle voyage?
• Charles Darwin circumnavigated
the globe on HMS Beagle between
1831-1836, when he was 22.
• He joined the voyage as a keen
naturalist who would be a
companion to the ship’s Captain;
Robert FitzRoy.
• At sea and on land, Darwin
observed a vast variety of plant and
animal species and geological
formations.
• Darwin wrote regularly to his
friends and family about his
research, the new lands and
people he encountered, and the
wonder of the natural world.
Watercolour of HMS Beagle by Conrad Martens. Copyright © Cambridge University Library
Where did the Beagle go?
What did Darwin do next?
• Darwin returned to England with a
career’s worth of scientific
observations.
• With his new vast collection of
specimens and his impressive
scientific observations, Darwin
became an important member of
the British scientific community.
• Darwin wrote four books based on
his voyage, including the popular
Journal of Researches, which
made him famous.
• He continued to work on scientific
topics and published the Origin of
Species in 1859.
Pillboxes used to send specimens home.
Permission to reproduce granted by Sedgwick Museum, University of Cambridge
Design and Technology:
Design a Cabin
• Darwin shared the Poop
Cabin on the Beagle with
surveying officers.
• It was roughly 11ft x 10ft
(3.3528m x 3.048m).
• Space was so limited that
Darwin had to remove the
top drawer of a chest of
drawers each night to rig
up his hammock!
Blueprint of HMS Beagle. Copyright © Cambridge University Library
Design Activity:
Design a Cabin
1. In groups, read through the
letter and diary extracts, study
the images and answer the
Understanding Letters
questions.
2. Using the dimensions of
Darwin’s cabin, produce a
basic scale design of your
own. It should be suitable for a
5 year voyage.
3. Decide what navigational
equipment you will need
(remember you have no
access to the internet or
satellite navigation).
4. Consider what research
materials you will need
(Darwin had over 400
reference books on the
voyage).
5. Make a list of personal
equipment and belongings
and incorporate their
storage into your design.
6. Colour code the different
features of your design and
provide a key.
Design Activity:
Design a Cabin
• Pin up your design and
talk through your decisions
in class.
– What did you decide to
bring?
– What did you have to
leave at home?
– Do you think you would
like to travel around the
world by ship like
Darwin?
Plan of Darwin’s cabin. Permission to reproduce granted by the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland.
History: Life at sea
• Darwin had many new
experiences while on the
Beagle.
• He caught fascinating
animal specimens,
collected curious new
plants, and observed
magnificent vistas.
• He also endured the
‘sufferings of seasickness’ whenever he
was at sea.
Model of HMS Beagle. Permission to reproduce kindly granted by Simon Keynes.
History activity:
Describe a day at sea
1. In groups, read through the
3. Individually, write down 3
letters and diary extracts,
things that would be difficult
study the images and answer
and 3 things you would enjoy
the Understanding Letters
about being at sea – give
question.
your reasons for each.
2. As a class, list what the
4. Imagine you are Darwin.
different accounts show
Write a letter to your best
about life at sea.
friend describing a day at
– Why do you think
sea.
Darwin’s diary account
shows a different view
from his letter to his
father?
–
Which source is most
useful?
English:
Unimagined sights and pleasures
• Early letters home from
Charles Darwin describe
magical, little known
landscapes.
• In a letter to his father, Robert
Waring Darwin, Darwin wrote:
‘Whilst viewing such scenes,
one feels the impossibility than
any description should come
near the mark, – much less be
overdrawn–.’ (Letter 158)
Watercolour by Conrad Martens on the Beagle voyage. Copyright © Cambridge University Library
English activity:
Describe the scene
1. In groups, read through the
letters, study the images and
answer the Understanding
Letters questions.
3. Share your writing with the
class.
2. Write a diary entry or a letter
home describing an imagined
scene from the voyage.
–
–
–
–
–
What is the landscape like?
What is the weather like?
Are there people and/or
animals? Describe them.
What does it feel like to be
there?
Are there any dangers or is it
a restful place?
Watercolour by Conrad Martens on the Beagle voyage. Copyright © Cambridge University Library
History/Citizenship activity:
News from home
• Darwin received many letters
from his friends and family
about what was happening in
England.
• His brother, Erasmus Alvey
Darwin, wrote to him in 1832
describing the political context
of London at the time.
• Read Erasmus’s letter to
Darwin and answer the talking
points associated with the
letter to learn more.
History/Citizenship:
‘Civilising the natives’
• Charles Darwin’s attitude to native
Fuegian people can be explored
through his letters and diary extracts.
• Jemmy Button (2nd row) was a native
Fuegian who was taken hostage with
three others on the first Beagle
voyage in 1830.
• The four Fuegians were then brought
to England and educated with the
intent of becoming ‘civilised.’ Only
three survived their time in England.
• Captain FitzRoy and other reformminded men and women hoped that
these Fuegians would transform their
communities when re-united with their
kin in 1833. But their European
influences were soon lost after their
return home.
http://darwin-online.org.uk/
History/Citizenship Activity:
How have values changed over time?
1.
2.
3.
In groups, read through letter 203
and answer the Understanding
Letters questions.
In groups, read through diary
entries for January 20, 21, and 23
1833. What new information do
you learn? List some of the
differences between learning
about history from reading a letter
and from reading a diary entry.
As a class, look at the images in
this pack, on screen or as
downloads. Describe what you
see and discuss what can we
learn about the Fuegians and the
way that they lived from these
images. How reliable are the
sources?
4.
5.
6.
In pairs, look at the image
‘FitzRoy’s Fuegians’ and compare
the diary entries for 23 January
1833 and 5 and 6 March 1834 to
find out what happened to Jemmy
Button who had previously been
taken hostage and brought back
to England to be educated. Write
a summary of events.
Individually, imagine you are
Jemmy Button re-telling the story
to your family. Write an account
that describes what happened
and how you felt about what you
experienced. Share with the class.
As a class, thinking about the
material you have studied,
discuss whether you think values
have changed over time.
English: Darwin’s spelling
• Despite his scientific brilliance,
Darwin was an atrocious
speller.
• In a letter to Darwin wishing
him happy birthday, his sister
Susan makes a point of
correcting her brother’s
spelling.
• Read Susan’s letter to Darwin
and answer the associated
talking points to learn more.
Science/Design & Technology:
Send specimens home
• Darwin sent around 2,700
plant samples home whilst
on the Beagle voyage.
• Many of these plants were
sent to Darwin’s mentor
Professor John Henslow in
Cambridge as dried
herbarium specimens.
Sicyos villosa specimen. Cambridge University Herbarium
Science/Design Activity:
Send specimens home
1. In groups, look through the
letters, diary extracts and
images of specimens that
Darwin sent back. Answer the
Understanding Letters
questions.
3. In groups or pairs, design a
container to transport plant
specimens alive on a sea
voyage that could last 5
months. What issues do you
need to consider?
2. As a class, discuss what
potential hazards there are to
sending plant samples on a
long sea voyage. Consider
which part of a plant you
would send. What are the
pros and cons to sending
back seeds versus entire
plants, and live versus dead
specimens?
4. Share your design with the
class.
English: Fireside and Friendship
• Charles Darwin exchanged
many letters with his cousin
William Darwin Fox throughout
their lives.
• Fox, a clergyman, attended
Cambridge with Darwin and
had the career that Darwin’s
father expected him to take up
upon his return.
• Darwin’s experiences on the
Beagle, however, inspired him
to become a naturalist instead.
• Read Darwin’s letter to Fox
and answer the associated
talking points to learn more.
Science: Tasty tortoises
and fantastic finches
• Darwin collected vast numbers
of animal and plant specimens
while on the Beagle.
• As a young naturalist, his
specimen collection methods
were still developing. For
instance, he sometimes
neglected to record where he
found specific ornithological
specimens.
• Initially Darwin’s collecting
practices were haphazard, but
they improved with experience
and with feedback from
Darwin’s mentor in Cambridge,
Professor John Stevens
Henslow.
Finches sent back from the Beagle voyage. University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge
Science Activity:
Natural history expeditions, then and now
1.
In groups, read the diary extracts to
find out about Darwin’s experiences
of collecting on the Galapagos.
2.
Using the diary extracts, make a list
of priorities for the nineteenth century
expedition and how they were
achieved, e.g. access to food.
3.
In groups or in pairs, imagine you are
trying to recruit volunteers for a modern
natural history scientific expedition to
the Galapagos Islands to study giant
tortoises. The study must have minimal
impact on the environment. As part of
the recruitment package you need to
show the following:
– How you will travel to and
between the islands
- The length of the
expedition
- What equipment will be
provided
- What accommodation will
be provided
- How the research will be
carried out
- What kind of data/
specimens you will send
home
4. Design a brochure for
your package and
promote your expedition
to your class. Vote for the
most appealing trip.
Science Activity:
Fantastic finches beaks & adaptation
1. In groups, read through the letter and extract
from Narrative of the Surveying Voyages
and answer the Understanding Letters
questions.
2. Complete the ‘Fantastic Finches’ worksheet
to learn more about Darwin’s evolutionary
ideas.
3. As a class discuss your findings.
RE/Citizenship:
Views on missionaries
• Darwin encountered humans
from all walks of life while on
the Beagle voyage.
• He was deeply affected by
his interactions with native
Fuegians, especially Jemmy
Button.
• Darwin also met many
missionaries on his travels
and was impressed by the
social good he believed they
performed in the far flung
lands of the British Empire.
Watercolour of cottage in Tahiti by Conrad Martens. Copyright © Cambridge University Library
RE/Citizenship Activity:
Views on missionaries
1. In groups read the letter,
diary extracts and excerpt
from the Moral State of
Tahiti. Answer the
Understanding Letters
questions.
2. Share your answers with the
class and then consider what
the 2 images show about
Tahitian Society.
3. In groups, decide whether
you will be ‘for’ or ‘against’
the motion that ‘this house
believes that religion
improves society’.
4. Prepare your argument and
select a speaker for your
group.
5. Individually, vote ‘for’ or
‘against’ before hearing the
arguments in the debate.
6. In turn, share all the
arguments proposed by the
groups for the motion and then
those against it.
7. After hearing all the
arguments, individually vote in
favour or against the motion.
8. As a class discuss the results.
For more educational resources:
• Please visit the Darwin Correspondence
Project’s school resources pages:
– http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/schools
• Do you have feedback? We would love to
hear from you!
– Contact: darwin@lib.cam.ac.uk