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FOLLOWING IN DARWIN'S FOOTSTEPS: SCHOOL GROUPS OFFERED CHANCE TO WIN UNIQUE TRIP TO GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
One group of UK students could be about to follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin on a voyage to the Galapagos Islands. The trip is first prize in a competition being organised by the Wellcome Trust to celebrate the end of Darwin 200, the bicentenary of Darwin's birth.
First prize
During October 2010 half term, a teacher and four students will follow in Darwin’s footsteps on a FREE trip to the Galapagos Islands accompanied by a creative practitioner.
12 Runner up prizes
Students from each of the nine English regions and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will be awarded fantastic runner up prizes.
All regional winners will be invited to a Celebration Day in June 2010 where the overall winner will be announced and runner-up prizes will be presented.
In 1859, Darwin published On the Origin of Species, setting out his theory of evolution by natural selection. This book, which was highly controversial at the time, was to revolutionise the way we viewed ourselves.
Now, the Wellcome Trust is offering school groups the chance to visit Galapagos Islands by finding the most imaginative way to explain the science behind its Survival Rivals experiments. These kits have been distributed free of charge to state secondary schools across the UK and provide the opportunity for students to consider Darwin’s ideas and how they have been developed and interpreted, as well as the impact and the relevance evolution has for our lives today.
"On the Origin of Species, inspired by Charles Darwin's visit to the Galapagos Islands, was a masterpiece of both scientific thinking and science communication," explains Clare Matterson, Director of Medicine, Society and History at the Wellcome Trust. "By offering one group of students the opportunity of a lifetime to follow in Darwin's footsteps, we hope to inspire our future scientists and science communicators."
Broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who helped launch the Wellcome Trust's Darwin-related schools activities, says: "The Galapagos Islands are a beautiful and very important place. The myriad unique species that Charles Darwin found on his visit inspired one of the greatest and most influential works of all time. The first time I visited the islands many years ago, I understood what Darwin must have seen when he visited over 170 years ago. This journey will be the opportunity of a lifetime for the students and I am sure they will find the same inspiration that touched me and all those that have had the privilege to visit the islands."
Two-thirds of the UK's state schools and colleges are already taking part in Survival Rivals. There are three kits available, targeted at different ages: I’m a Worm, Get Me Out of Here, Brine Date and The X-Bacteria. These are complemented by a mass participation activity and workshops that form A Question of Taste. The kits explore themes of natural and sexual selection, and antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Students are being asked to record the results of their experiments creatively via film or photography. The most clear and imaginative entry will win four students and their teacher a trip to the Galapagos Islands to explore their unique marine and terrestrial eco-systems with scientists on the island.
Submit films or photographs before deadline of 21st May 2010
"Survival Rivals is all about hands-on investigations, understanding how evolution influences the world around us," adds Professor Derek Bell, Head of Education at the Wellcome Trust. "When it comes to practical, hands-on biology, the Galapagos Islands is the dream destination."
For further information on the competition, visit
Contact
Craig Brierley
Senior Media Officer
The Wellcome Trust
T: 020 7611 7329
E: c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.
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