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Charles Darwin's 200th - Tree of Life Resources Free Online

Last Update: Sat, 04/25/2009 - 08:44 — Bob

February 12th 2009 saw the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. The gradual build up to the bicentenial celebrations spawned a wealth of authoritative free resources online for navigators of all ages and levels of knowledge.

darwin online website
 
Darwin's writings online
A landmark was the online publication in 2006 of Darwin's collected writings. 
 
All his works can now be freely navigated and searched in 'text view' (quicker) and facsimile 'image view' (slower) at the darwin-online website.
 
Charles Darwin and evolutionCharles Darwin and Evolution
Darwin spent some time at Christ's College, Cambridge, as a rather wayward undergraduate student. His college has contributed a beautifully designed Charles Darwin and Evolution website to the bicentenary celebrations. The site provides a well organized and clearly written introduction to some of the main themes of Darwin's work.

virtual tour of darwin 's study at his family home - down house ( english heritage )

 

Hidden away is a page with links to other free online resources and anniversary initiatives for the public, such as videos and audio from the British Council and PBS, as well as virtual tours of his birthplace, The Mount, and the study at Down House, his family home.

 

                                                        Trees of life
Wellcome Trust interactive tree of life

Another online Darwin anniversary initiative is the Wellcome Trust interactive tree of life, with a brief introductory video by David Attenborough. Jumping spider in the Wellcome Interactive Tree of LifeThe 'tree' itself is restricted to the animal kingdom and isn't easy to navigate. But if you have a fast internet connection it can be fun to explore. And there are some wonderful images lurking there, ready to download...

 

TOL - Tree of Life web project

However, you may prefer to explore the less hi-tech but beautifully presented Tree of Life web project - an evolving educational website with a variety of treehouses for children.

 

Another currently ongoing collaborative project to explore is the monumental Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). This fast growing scholarly work first went live online in 2008 (Tech Treat here).

 

 Other stimulating Darwinian resources free online

What did T-Rex taste like? (front page)- UC Berkeley, Understanding Evolution is a splendid educational resource. Also see the excellent interactive learning tool What did T. rex taste like? and the educational History of life through time (both from the University of California Museum of Paleontology, UCMP).

Beagle voyage at the Natural History Museum website

- The Natural History Museum (London), Evolution with a mini interactive Beagle voyage

- Peabody Museum of Natural History (Yale), Travels in the Great Tree of Life  (watch out for the morphing arachnids!).

- The Open University, The Theory That Changed the World has an amusing devolve me interactive morph feature which you can use with your own photos.

 

Natural selection - theory and fact
 
Wikipedia's article on Evolution as Theory and Fact explains the extraordinary strength and predictive power of Darwin's original theory of evolution in the light of current knowledge; Objections to Evolution approaches the issue impartially from the other side of the coin - again with Wikipedia's 'neutral point of view' stance.
 
 
 
 
This page is about: darwin online, darwin anniversary 2009, evolution theory, darwin theory of natural selection, tree of life

 

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#1Submitted by Bob on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 07:58.

Animal Corner (http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/index.html) is an educational site conceived for children that adults will love too. Lots of good information clearly presented in an attractive format.

There's also a sizable section on the Galapagos islands and their wildlife:
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/galapagos/about.html

[ Thanks MC! ]

#2Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 09:00.

Thanks, this stuff is really great.

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