Download Educator`s Guide for Dialogues with Darwin

Dialogues with Darwin:
An Exhibition of Historical Documents and Contemporary Art
Educator’s Guide
About the APS
When Benjamin Franklin and friends decided in 1743 to establish the American Philosophical Society (APS), they studied nature and called themselves natural philosophers.
Now we'd call them scientists. But the word "philosophical" stuck.
Over the years the APS has gathered and preserved a rich collection that traces American history and science from the Founding Fathers to the computer age. It includes
scientific specimens and instruments, patent models, portraits, maps, art works, rare
books, and more than ten million manuscripts.
The APS Museum combines sophisticated exhibitions of its treasures with provocative
works by contemporary artists. Come find challenging new perspectives on history, art,
and science.
The APS Museum is located at 104 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Dialogues with Darwin ONLINE
Online Gallery
Visit the Dialogues with Darwin online gallery to view every object and label in the exhibition.
www.apsmuseum.org/darwin
Exhibition Diablogs
We want to know what you think! Share your thoughts about the exhibition or participate in an
online dialogue about teaching evolution.
www.apsmuseum.org/diablogs
For more information about educational opportunities at the APS Museum, please contact
Jenni Drozdek, Assistant Curator of Museum Education
215.701.4421
[email protected]
The Dialogues with Darwin Educator’s Guide was written and designed by Jenni Drozdek and Jessica Bachrach.
Clip art courtesy of FCIT (etc.usf.edu/clipart). All other images: American Philosophical Society.
The APS Museum’s Dialogues with Darwin exhibition has been made possible in part by the generous support of the William Penn
Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and the Pennsylvania
Humanities Council.
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The Dialogues with Darwin Educator’s Guide was designed for high school
teachers, although middle school teachers will find that they can easily adapt
the content and activities for their students.
The Educator’s Guide includes:
Exhibition overview and floor plan
Guides for each exhibition section
Guide to Eve Andrée Laramée’s Luminous Darwin
Glossary
Additional resources
The following Pennsylvania Academic Standards can be met by using this Educator’s
Guide in conjunction with a visit to the Dialogues with Darwin exhibition:
Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
1.1 (Learning to Read Independently), 1.2 (Reading Critically in All Content Areas), 1.4 (Types of
Writing), 1.6 (Speaking and Listening)
Science and Technology
3.1 (Unifying Themes), 3.2 (Inquiry and Design), 3.3 (Biological Sciences), 3.5 (Earth Sciences)
Environment and Ecology
4.7 (Threatened, Endangered and Extinct Species)
Geography
7.1 (Basic Geographic Literacy)
History
8.1 (Historical Analysis and Skills Development), 8.4 (World History)
Arts and Humanities
9.1 (Production, Performance and Exhibition), 9.2 (Historical and Cultural Contexts), 9.3 (Critical
Response), 9.4 (Aesthetic Response)
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About the Exhibition
Dialogues with Darwin (April 17, 2009 - October 17, 2010) celebrates the 200th anniversary of
the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of
his famous book, On the Origin of Species. Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection has produced more spirited dialogue than any other scientific idea in modern history.
This exhibition tells the story of Darwin’s theory, and considers the debates about evolution
that came both before and after him.
On view are books and manuscripts from the collection of the APS, which has the largest
collection of Darwin manuscripts in North America, including some 800 Darwin letters. The
holdings are second only to the Darwin collection at Cambridge University in England.
With the recent acquisition of nearly 4,500 books, the APS is also the largest repository of
Darwin publications in the world, with many first editions of Darwin’s seventeen books and
translations of On the Origin of Species in twenty-two languages.
Contemporary art works by Eve Andrée Laramée extend the dialogue with Darwin into the
present, merging the visual and scientific worlds of Darwin’s Victorian era with twenty-first
century video technology. In the spirit of this artistic response, we invite you to explore the
history of evolutionary theory and join the conversation.
Questions to consider
What is a dialogue? What are the various dialogues that this exhibition presents?
Gallery Plan
Human Origins:
The Big Questions
Darwin's Journeys:
The Making of a Naturalist
Darwin’s Big Idea:
Natural Selection
Heredity and Genetics:
The Dialogue Continued
Histories of Life:
Searching for Order
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Section 1
Darwin’s Big Idea: Natural Selection
Overview
In On the Origin of Species, Darwin proposed a theory* that remains the bedrock of all life sciences: evolution by
natural selection. Darwin’s theory drew on a number of sources but also represented a departure from previous
views about evolution (such as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s concept of the inheritance of acquired characteristics).
Darwin’s theory described natural selection, a mechanism that drives the change of species over millions of
years. The theory of natural selection asserts that those organisms best suited (adapted) to their environment
have the strongest chance of surviving and reproducing, thus successfully passing on advantageous traits to
their offspring.
Questions to consider
What issues did Darwin address in On the Origin of Species? What issues did he choose not to address?
Lesson A
A Closer Look
When Darwin first published On the Origin of Species in
1859, only 1,250 copies of the book were printed. On view
in the exhibition is one of these rare copies. Also on view
is Darwin’s handwritten draft of the title page, which he
included in a letter to geologist Charles Lyell. The handwritten page (Darwin’s handwriting was notoriously
poor!) reads: “An abstract of an essay on the Origin of
Species and Varieties through Natural Selection.”
Lesson B
On the Origin of Species emphasizes that there are parallels
between natural selection and artificial selection. Darwin
argued that just as pigeon breeders select pigeons whose
traits they find desirable, nature selects those organisms
with advantageous adaptations.
In the gallery
Ask students to look at the objects in the “Pillars of the
Origin” case in order to identify how Darwin drew on ideas
proposed by Thomas Malthus, Alexander von Humboldt,
Charles Lyell, and W. B. Tegetmeier in formulating his
theory of natural selection.
In the gallery
Ask students to compare and contrast the printed title
page with Darwin’s handwritten title page. What were the
changes that appeared in the final version? Why might
these changes have been made?
In the classroom
Darwin understood that the process of evolution through
natural selection necessitated a very long period of time
(we now know that organisms have been evolving for over
3 billion years). An activity that uses a roll of toilet paper is
a great way to help students visualize deep time or
geological time. The following website offers instructions
for this activity:
serc.carleton.edu/quantskills/activities/TPGeoTime.html
In the classroom
Find a particularly evocative passage in On the Origin of
Species. Ask students to illustrate the passage. They may
choose to interpret the passage literally or metaphorically.
(See Appendix for examples of passages.)
* words in red appear in the glossary
Other key individuals in Section 1
Erasmus Darwin: Darwin’s grandfather; proposed a concept of evolution in his epic poem The Temple of Nature
William Paley: argued in his book Natural Theology that the complexity of nature was proof of a divine creator
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Section 2
Darwin’s Journeys: The Making of a Naturalist
Overview
Darwin’s five-year voyage around the world (1831-1836) on HMS (His Majesty’s Ship) Beagle had a great
impact on his career as a naturalist, shaping his work long after his return. Darwin’s deep curiosity and
intellectual rigor led him to publish books on such varied topics as barnacles, earthworms, plant movement,
geology, and human emotions.
Questions to consider
Do you think Darwin would have formulated his theory if he had not traveled around the world? Why
was this trip so important?
Lesson A
A Closer Look
Lesson B
This image appeared in 1860 in the French periodical Le
tour du monde (Around the World), which featured a
portion of Darwin’s account of the Beagle voyage. The
article was accompanied by romanticized illustrations by
E. de Berard, who vividly imagined the trip.
These images come from Darwin’s study of barnacles. In
researching these marine arthropods, Darwin sought to
establish his reputation as a taxonomist. He spent eight
years studying barnacles and wrote a four-volume study
about his observations.
In the gallery
In the gallery
Ask students to closely inspect these images of barnacles,
illustrated by the artist George Sowerby. What are some of
the relationships between art and science?
Ask students to closely examine the letters, books, and
illustrations in this section of the gallery. What did Darwin
encounter during the Beagle voyage that influenced his
scientific work? What did Darwin study after his Beagle
voyage?
In the classroom
Ask students to find a small natural specimen—such as a
leaf, shell, rock, or flower—and to list descriptive characteristics of their specimen (e.g. color, texture, size, etc.)
Next, have students draw the specimen as accurately as
possible. Have students also draw a portion of the specimen as seen through a microscope (if one is available).
After completing the drawing, ask students if they can
include any additional descriptive characteristics to their
initial list. What do they notice about the specimen that
they did not notice before the drawing exercise?
In the classroom
Ask students to create a personal travel journal in which
they map, describe, and reflect upon a trip (whether short
or long distance) that shaped their life in some way.
Other key individuals in Section 2
Robert FitzRoy: captain of HMS Beagle
John Gould: illustrator and ornithologist; classified various bird species from Darwin’s Beagle journey
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Section 3
Histories of Life: Searching for Order
Overview
Darwin saw evidence for evolution in both the great variety and in the similarities among species. His attempt
to demonstrate species’ evolutionary interconnectedness differed significantly from the ideas of such
renowned 19th-century scientists as Richard Owen and Louis Agassiz, who emphasized a Divine Creator who
created fixed species.
Question to consider
How did various 19th-century scientists address the question about the great variety of species?
Lesson A
A Closer Look
Darwin included only one image in On the Origin of
Species, a diagram that traces the evolution of several
hypothetical species (you can find the diagram both in
this section and painted on the north wall of the gallery).
In this drawing, he sought to demonstrate the relations
among organisms and the diversity that evolution generates.
Lesson B
English anatomist Richard Owen opposed the concept of
evolution and argued instead that all animals were variations of four anatomical archetypes, or ideal forms, in the
Divine mind. In this image, from Owen’s book on comparative anatomy, the scientist claimed that all the pictured
animals (including the human skeleton on the left) exhibit
variations of the ideal vertebrate (one of the four archetypes) in the upper right.
In the gallery
Ask students to compare and contrast Darwin’s (left) and
Ernst Haeckel’s (right) illustrations of evolutionary trees
and the messages these illustrations communicate.
In the gallery
Have students list the anatomical features shared by the
species pictured in this image. How would Darwin have
explained the similarities and differences among these
animals as evidence for evolution?
In the classroom
The cladogram—a diagram that illustrates the evolutionary links among organisms—is a great modern tool for
teaching evolution. You can find a cladogram activity for
use in the classroom at:
In the classroom
Have students research the structure of several vertebrate
forelimbs
(such
as
those
shown
at
www.cbu.edu/~seisen/homology.jpg). Ask them to to
consider both form and function and to create a chart of as
many similarities and differences as they can find. What do
these charts illustrate about evolution?
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/2905_link.html
Other key individuals in Section 3
George Cuvier: comparative anatomist who argued that species cannot evolve
Asa Gray: American defender of Darwin’s theory; argued that evolution through natural selection was part of a divine plan
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Section 4
Human Origins: The Big Questions
Overview
In On the Origin of Species, Darwin avoided addressing the evolution of human beings. However, he knew that
he could not avoid the issue forever and finally tackled human evolution in The Descent of Man (1871) and also
in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). The books explicitly stated what On the Origin
implied: humans, like all other animals, evolved.
Question to consider
What did other scientists of Darwin’s time claim about human origins?
Lesson A
A Closer Look
Darwin argued that the connection between humans and
other animals could be read on the face. Darwin claimed
that animals expressed emotions just as human beings do,
and he incorporated into his books both illustrations and
photographs to serve as evidence.
Lesson B
In his book Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature, T.H. Huxley
argued that humans shared a common ancestor with
other animals. Although this image in Huxley’s book
simply compares the anatomy of various primates, the
illustration eventually and erroneously became a model
for misleading “monkey to man” images, which suggest
that humans evolved directly from monkeys. However,
humans did not evolve from present-day monkeys;
instead, we share the same distant ancestor.
In the gallery
What similarities and differences between humans and
other primates are evident in this image? Are there
other similarities and differences that this image doesn’t
show?
In the gallery
These photographs were clearly staged in order to
communicate a specific emotion. Ask students to
consider the ways such staging might affect scientific
objectivity.
In the classroom
Ask students to search the web to find popular culture
examples of “monkey to man” images (these images
have appeared in advertisements, comic strips, posters,
t-shirts, etc.) What message does the image communicate?
In the classroom
Have each student take photographs of each other acting
out or demonstrating an emotion. Pass the photographs
around and ask students to identify the emotions. What
do the resulting answers suggest about the way we “read”
emotions?
Other key individuals in Section 4
Charles Bell: argued that humans have special facial muscles distinct from all other animals
Josiah Clark Nott: argued that humans of different races were separately created species
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Section 5
Heredity and Genetics: The Dialogue Continued
Overview
The advent of genetics in the early 20th century revealed to scientists how traits were inherited. At first, it
appeared that genetic mutations explained evolution better than did natural selection. However, by combining statistical data, laboratory methods, and field research, scientists realized that genetics confirmed Darwin’s
theory of natural selection.
Question to consider
How did genetics contribute to the study of evolution in the early 20th century?
Lesson A
A Closer Look
In Variation of Animals & Plants under Domestication (1868),
Darwin formulated a theory of heredity that ultimately
proved to be inaccurate. In this illustration, he used peas
as an example. Coincidentally, around the same time, the
Austrian priest Gregor Mendel was conducting experiments on peas to determine how traits were inherited.
Mendel’s findings of recessive and dominant traits eventually became the foundation of genetics.
Lesson B
Fruit flies were the ideal subjects for the early-20thcentury genetics experiments. Their short breeding cycle
and lifespan allowed scientists to study numerous
generations in short periods of time. In the lab, geneticists bred fruit flies and produced various mutations to
study the patterns of inheritance. Field research allowed
geneticists to study populations of flies in their natural
environment and to examine the effect of natural selection upon these populations.
In the gallery
Ask students what the advantages are of studying
organisms inside a lab. What are the advantages of field
research (studying organisms in their natural environments)?
In the gallery
In the classroom
What was Darwin’s hypothesis about how traits are inherited? What did other scientists propose about inheritance?
Over time, a population's genetic make-up may change
through natural selection. As Darwin argued, evolution
by natural selection is never directed toward a specific
purpose. However, through genetic modification, scientists can manipulate genes to produce organisms with
desired characteristics. Have students read this Newsweek
article
about
genetic
modification—
www.newsweek.com/id/204228—and write a "letter to
the editor" in which they express their opinion about the
topic.
In the classroom
Poll students to find out how many exhibit dominant or
recessive traits, such as unattached (dominant) or
attached (recessive) earlobes. Record the data about
student traits using a worksheet such as the one found
here (you can always add additional traits):
faculty.virginia.edu/teach-present-bio/GeneticsWorksheet.html
Other key individuals in Section 5
Theodosius Dobzhansky: geneticist whose field research reaffirmed Darwin’s theory of natural selection
Thomas Hunt Morgan: conducted fruit fly experiments that validated Mendel’s theory of inheritance
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Luminous Darwin
An art work by Eve Andrée Laramée
Overview
The APS Museum commissioned artist Eve Andrée Laramée to create an art work that imaginatively interprets
the objects in the Dialogues with Darwin exhibition. Her art installation (an art work created for a specific location) comprises four display cases. For one of the cases, Laramée fabricated three “lost” notebooks of Charles
Darwin, even mimicking his handwriting and poetic use of language. The three remaining cases house sculptures that evoke the look of 19th-century technology. Titled Luminous Darwin, her art work playfully blurs the line
between fiction and fact.
Question to consider
What are the fictional elements that Laramée introduces into her work?
A Closer Look
In the gallery
Ask students to look closely in the three projectors of
Laramée’s work. What kinds of images did she
choose to include? Why might she have included
these images?
In the classroom
Ask students to create an artistic interpretation of
one of the letters, manuscripts, or books from the
exhibition. They can create a visual work (such as a
painting) or a written work (such as a poem).
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Appendix
Excerpts from On the Origin of Species
p. 60-61
We see these beautiful co-adaptations most plainly in the woodpecker and missletoe; and only a little less
plainly in the humblest parasite which clings to the hairs of a quadruped or feathers of a bird; in the structure
of the beetle which dives through the water; in the plumed seed which is wafted by the gentlest breeze; in
short, we see beautiful adaptations everywhere and in every part of the organic world.
p. 74-75
What a struggle between the several kinds of trees must here have gone on during long centuries, each annually scattering its seeds by the thousand; what war between insect and insect—between insects, snails, and
other animals with birds and beasts of prey—all striving to increase, and all feeding on each other or on the
trees or their seeds and seedlings, or on the other plants which first clothed the ground and thus checked the
growth of the trees!
p. 132-133
The fact of varieties of one species, when they range into the zone of habitation of other species, often acquiring in a very slight degree some of the characters of such species, accords with our view that species of all
kinds are only well-marked and permanent varieties. Thus the species of shells which are confined to tropical
and shallow seas are generally brighter-coloured than those confined to cold and deeper seas. The birds
which are confined to continents are, according to Mr. Gould, brighter-coloured than those of islands. The
insect-species confined to sea-coasts, as every collector knows, are often brassy or lurid. Plants which live
p. 287
During each of these years, over the whole world, the land and the water has been peopled by hosts of living
forms. What an infinite number of generations, which the mind cannot grasp, must have succeeded each
other in the long roll of years! Now turn to our richest geological museums, and what a paltry display we
behold!
p. 489
It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing
on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to
reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in
so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us.
The above passages are excerpts from the first edition of On the Origin of the Species
(1859). The entire text of Origin and all other books and articles by Charles Darwin
can be viewed on Darwin Online.
darwin-online.org.uk
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Glossary
Adaptation - A characteristic (behavioral or physical) that helps an organism survive in its environment. Adaptations do not develop within the lifespan of an organism but are the results of
natural selection.
Artificial selection - The process in which humans selectively breed those plants or animals
whose traits they want to perpetuate.
Comparative anatomy - The study of anatomical similarities and differences among different
species (especially animals).
Dominant trait - A trait that, in order to be expressed in an offspring, requires only one copy of
a gene from either parent.
Evolution - Gradual change of a population (of organisms) over time.
Genetics - The study of heredity (including how traits are passed on through genes, the units of
heredity).
Mutation - A random change in DNA (which is the genetic material of any living organism). Mutations can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral.
Natural selection - A mechanism of evolution that favors the survival of organisms that are best
adapted to their environment.
Naturalist - A person who studies natural history (the study of nature, especially plants and
animals).
Recessive trait - A trait that, in order to be expressed, requires a copy of a gene from both
parents.
Taxonomy - The science of naming and classifying organisms. A taxonomist is someone who
names and classifies specimens.
Theory - In science, a well-tested explanation that is based upon factual evidence.
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Additional Resources
Online Resources
The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online
darwin-online.org.uk/
The Darwin Correspondence Project
www.darwinproject.ac.uk/
Darwin Exhibition (American Museum of Natural History)
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/
National Center for Science Education
ncseweb.org/evolution
National Science Teachers Association
www.nsta.org/publications/evolution.aspx
PBS Evolution Site
www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/index.html
Tree of Life Web Project
www.tolweb.org/tree/
Understanding Evolution
evolution.berkeley.edu/
Books
Browne, Janet. Darwin’s Origin of Species. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006.
Coyne, Jerry A. Why Evolution is True. New York: Penguin Group, 2009.
Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist. New York: W.W. Norton
& Company, 1991.
Eldredge, Niles. Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005.
Larson, Edward J. Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory. New York: The Modern Library,
2004.
Scott, Eugenie C. Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
Zimmer, Carl. Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea. New York: Harper Perennial, 2001.
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