Darwin in the Mauritius

Darwin in the Mauritius

By Phil Youngblood, PhD

JUNE IS FIELD TRIP MONTH!

Our first field trip this year will be to the area around the replica of the HMS Beagle on Science Circle Island. The Exhibit “Darwin in the Mauritius” is divided into two sections: The Second Voyage of the HMS Beagle (along the wharf) and the Theory of Evolution (along the beach).

The Second Voyage of the HMS Beagle

When you hear the name Charles Darwin you might think of his work in the Galapagos Islands, but the HMS Beagle traveled around the world, and it was his observations at different locations along the way that led to his explanations for what he saw.

The HMS Beagle was a British survey ship whose mission included a variety of things, including recording the weather, calibrating a chronometer (used for calculating latitude), measuring coastal water depths, studying rocks, and a biological survey. Among the places that the HMS Beagle visited was the island of Mauritius near Madagascar off East Africa.

A series of posters along the wharf walk visitors through highlights of the Second Voyage of the HMS Beagle.

The Theory of Evolution

Two rows of posters continue along the beach on the other side of the HMS Beagle. There are also 3D animals in the area on the land in in this ocean that might be found on Mauritius.

In this display, visitors will find information on how life is classified, principally families leading to humans, including Holozoa (1100Mya) Animalia (760Mya), Vertebrata (520Mya), Tetrapoda (400Mya) Therapsida (300Mya), Mammalia (165Mya), Placental Animals (65Mya), Hominidae (17Mya), and Humans (0.35Mya) and other recent adaptations such as Ants (100Mya), Tortoises (65Mya), Bats and Parrots (50Mya) 

Other posters show how fetuses like very much alike among a diversity of animals, how something as complicated as the eye could evolve, and what we understand about human evolution.

Come join us on the first field trip of June 2023!