History

Charles Darwin's exhibit focuses on the importance of evolution as a scientific foundation and how the knowledge of people about the theory of evolution has evolved over the past few decades. The Evolution of Evolution centers on Darwin's theory and how this contributed in the unification of all biological sciences.

    When I visited the works of Darwin located at the first floor of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), I was amazed with the collections displayed on his exhibit. There are diverse collections of insects, mammals, birds, flowers, and fossils which explain the theory of evolution that marks an indelible impact on the development of researches on sciences.

    On the first wall of Darwin's exhibit, a sign which states “Natural Selection Checklist” caught my attention. This exhibit explains the three statements which have something to do  with the theories of Darwin about survival and existence. The first statement talks about overproduction of individuals. This explains that when the population increases while the resources decreases, there will be ecological imbalance in the environment. For instance, during drought, there is a great possibility that most of the birds will die because of the limited available food in the environment. The second statement deals with the differences among individuals. This explains that individuals have differences in many aspects. Just like the human beings, animals have also different characteristics based on their needs and way of living or existence. For example, Finches have larger bills because they prey on fishes and other organisms in water. Nevertheless, some birds have small beaks because they feed on the seeds of fruits. The last one is the differential survival of the living organisms. This delves on the different ways of animals on their way of living which includes getting of food, survival mode and the like.

       On the other side of the exhibit, there is also a part which explains about the personal information about Charles Darwin. I have learned from the exhibit that Darwin was born two hundred years ago. Likewise, on the exhibit, there is a part that shows the way of thinking of Darwin today if he is still alive. I found this very interesting especially the testimonies about the evolution and the other types of Darwin's work.
    Above all the things presented in the exhibit about Darwin's work, the monkey is the thing that caught most of my attention. Ever since I was a child, I know Darwin through his evolution theory and this was known through the symbol of the monkey. We all know that  evolution theory states that man descended from monkey. His theory explains the similarities of human and monkey with regards to physical characteristics which prove and justify the said theory.  
       
    This experience at the National Museum of Natural History was indeed a great exploration of Darwin's principles and theories. And I really learned a lot from this person who was considered as one of the important individuals who contributed in the development of sciences.