Darwin Days

Pupils in Year 6 and 7 at Swindon Academy were invited to take part in a new and innovative project developed in conjunction with the Charles Darwin Trust.  Pupils had the opportunity to think like Darwin and complete series of experiments similar to those carried out by Charles Darwin himself.  Pupils were grouped together with a mixture of Year 6 and 7 pupils which gave them an opportunity to make new friends in preparation for the new year ahead. 

On the first morning we were greeted by an actor playing the role of Charles Darwin who introduced them to his ideas and gave them a flavour of the world he lived in.  Pupils then started on their journey following the route followed by Darwin as he travelled around the world on ‘The Beagle’. Over the course of the two days each pupil experienced a series of workshops.

In the first workshop they looked at the process of Natural Selection, first proposed by Darwin, as they played the role of a finch trying to collect seeds.  Pupils were provided with different shaped beaks and then asked to collect as many seeds as possible.  

The second workshop looked at the role of worms in our soil and pupils made their own wormeries.  Predictions were also made as to how the wormery might look in three months time.  

The third workshop promoted ways to think and reflect like Darwin. We have planted a Thinking Walk, similar to the Sandwalk used by Darwin at his home in Kent.  Pupils were asked to consider the evidence for the passing of time as they walked silently around the path.  

The fourth workshop provided pupils with the opportunity to see a real beehive brought in by a local beekeeper. They explored the structure and function of the beehive, the methods of communication used by bees and the uses of pollen and nectar.  

The fifth workshop encouraged pupils to think about how plants are able to move around the world. Pupils initially identified animals as means of transferring seeds and then went onto plan an investigation to find out if seeds could germinate after a long time at sea!   

The final workshop looked at how Charles Darwin communicated with others around the world.  Many of his letters are now found on the internet and pupils investigated his thoughts and experiments on the Sundew plant – they were a little surprised by the results! During the final day we were very fortunate to have a relative of Charles Darwin join us. Randell Keynes – Charles Darwin’s Great Great Grandson spent the day with the pupils as they completed their workshops.  

For the finale each group produced a short presentation about the work they had completed over the two days.  They presented their work in a number of ways including a rap, videos, plays, talks and posters. Pupil’s evaluations of the YES days were extremely positive.  They very much enjoyed working together with pupils from other year groups.  They were clearly inspired by the work done by Charles Darwin and they also enjoyed the opportunity to think about Science and how we can make the most amazing discoveries ion our own back garden!