The Charles Darwin exhibit opened at the Field Museum in Chicago

The exhibition, which will close on January 1, combines exhibits from a number of major science and nature museums in the world and teaches about the various stages in Darwin's thinking that led him to develop the theory of evolution

When 22-year-old Charles Darwin stood aboard Her Majesty's ship the Beagle in 1831, he took with him nothing more than a magnifying glass, a packet of notebooks, and an open mind. For five years the young amateur naturalist collected animals, plants and ancient fossils from South America, Australia, Cape Town and patiently and in detail he observed the "infinite forms of beauty" and searched for the similarity that seemed to link the species across space and time. These insights eventually led him to the conclusion that the way we see ourselves and the living world around us will forever change.

Now visitors can join the journey of discovery in a spectacular new exhibition - Darwin, which opened at the Field Museum in Chicago on June 15, 2007 and will continue until January 1, 2008. The exhibition was organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York in cooperation with the Field Museum in Chicago. The Science Museum in Boston, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and the Natural History Museum in London.

A collection like the one in this exhibition has never been assembled for a single exhibition, says Oliver Ripple, chairman of the Geology Department of the Field Museum, who is responsible for the display of amphibian and reptile fossils and a member of the exhibition's organizing committee. Through personal artifacts and photos, manuscripts and letters, and hundreds of scientific examples including living horned frogs, a green iguana and a delicate orchid. The exhibition sheds light on Darwin's personal life and his time, his historic journey around the world, the dramatic development of the scientific theory he developed, and the ways it shapes our lives today. Interviews with contemporary scientists, interactive displays, and Darwin's own "eureka" moments illustrate exactly what scientists mean when they talk about Darwin's "theory of evolution by natural selection."

Darwin called the Beagle's five-year journey the most important event in his life, and the exhibition highlights this. From the letter of invitation in which he was given the position as watcher of the Beagle, through his attempts to convince his father to allow him, visitors can share Darwin's expectations and his excitement in collecting the few tools with which he began the journey. A 1:1 scale reconstruction of the Beagle will help visitors imagine themselves on board the ship with Darwin. They will follow his steps on the tropical beaches and will be delighted by the first sight of the tropical plants and animals. They will also experience an earthquake in Chile and a trek in the Andes Mountains, so that they understand the geological forces of time.

Fossils play an important role in Darwin's thinking and visitors will see many of them in the exhibition, including a replica of a glyptodont fossil - a type of giant armadillo that impressed Darwin who wondered why species disappeared and others were replaced by similar species? Darwin's famous sparrows from the Galapagos Islands are also in the exhibit, along with the Galapagos Island Imitator that sparked Darwin's curiosity about the special distribution of bird species on these islands.

Visitors will be able to see how these and other animals and plants gave Darwin food for thought and led him to the initial hypotheses about the origin of the new species.

Darwin's diaries, his exchange of letters with other scientists, as well as items from his personal life will also be presented.

Darwin's legacy

When Darwin proposed an explanation for the diversity of life on Earth, he had no idea how traits were passed from generation to generation, or how these differences appeared. Thus his explanation seems more impressive in that it continues to survive in the light of modern genetics and molecular biology. Modern scientists continue to refer to Darwin's theory. Is it a gradual process, or were there ups and downs, is any variation possible, and if so, why are similar body features the rule? In these words, scientists see Darwin's work as the basis for their work, whether they are studying rapidly changing viruses, coding DNA, analyzing the fossil record or working to preserve endangered species.

"Many of the scientists involved in the exhibition are participating in international efforts to reorganize the tree of life," says Ripple. The National Science Foundation is also supporting the project, which brings together different scientific fields, fossil research, through morphology to molecular biology to find the evolutionary connection. The effort will yield returns in fields such as agriculture, human health, environmental quality, and prove that Darwin's legacy continues to this very day.

For the original post by the Field Museum in Chicago

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