Darwin’s Great Voyage of Discovery
In 1831, at the time of Darwin’s voyage, travel was difficult and costly, and people seldom
ventured far from their homes. Darwin spent 5 years exploring the world, on board the HMS
Beagle, as a naturalist. As he traveled from place to place, Darwin was surprised, not by the
differences between species, but by their similarities.
In this project, you will follow in Darwin’s travels by reading excerpts from his journals. You
will plot his journey on a world map, create a travel log by adding photographs and listing
significant observations he made, and draw a concept map showing how these observations led
him to his theory of natural selection and ultimately, evolution.
natural selection: The differential survival and reproduction of classes of organisms that differ
from one another in one or more usually heritable characteristics. Through this process, the
forms of organisms in a population that are best adapted to their local environment increase in
frequency relative to less well-adapted forms over a number of generations. This difference in
survival and reproduction is not due to chance
evolution: Darwin defined this term as "descent with modification." It is the change in a lineage
of populations between generations. In general terms, biological evolution is the process of
change by which new species develop from preexisting species over time; in genetic terms,
evolution can be defined as any change in the frequency of alleles in populations of organisms
from generation to generation.
To Do
Excerpts from Darwin’s voyage on the HMS Beagle and a world map, are listed under 8th grade
projects on the Junior high science web page.
1. Each of the journal excerpts from Darwin’s “The Voyage of the Beagle” 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. Label each location on the map with the date he visited. Due 10/21.
2. Construct a travel log, with photos of the places Darwin visited. Include on your travel
log, latitude and longitude readings, date visited and significant observations found in the
journal excerpts, made by Darwin, in each area. Travel log should be typed and may take
any form the student feels will best suit their final product. List sources for your photos.
Due 10/28
3. List and type at least ten significant observations Darwin made in one column and the
significance of the observation in another column. Reflect and type a paragraph on the
importance of Darwin’s voyage to the development of his theory of natural selection. Due
11/4
4. Draw a concept map to show how these (10) ideas relate to one another. List concepts in
order of discovery. You may use a computer based concept map or hand draw the
concept map. If hand drawn, map must clearly and legibly show concept progression.
Due 11/4