The Tools Behind Darwin's Green Fingers Revealed To The Public

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 28 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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An unusual and touchingly domestic glimpse into the life of the world's most famous naturalist, Charles Darwin, will be made public at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition, starting on Tuesday (30th June).

While searching for material to include in an exhibition of Victorian Science, Royal Society curators were surprised to find a cache of personal relics of the father of evolution - some of Darwin's gardening tools, including part of the outdoor cloak that he wore. As far as anyone can tell, the material has not been seen in public before.

Curator of the exhibition Felicity Henderson said: "small as they are, these objects are iconic because they allow us to feel close to Darwin, wrapped up in his cloak and in his thoughts. It is an experience very familiar to anyone who has pottered about in their garden".

The grounds of Down House are now a major tourist attraction and the garden was Charles Darwin's outdoor laboratory - the place where he gathered data and developed his ideas on evolution.

On being asked about Darwin's health, his gardener is once said to have replied: "My poor master…I wish he had something to do. He moons about in the garden, and I have seen him stand doing nothing before a flower for 10 minutes at a time. If only he had something to do I really believe he would be better".

Darwin famously incorporated the fruits of his "mooning about" into the book On the origin of species (1859). He corresponded widely with gardeners for background information on plants breeding and cultivation and wrote queries to gardening magazines.

The new exhibits include the clasp from the cloak worn by the elderly Darwin out-of-doors in winter and which is part of our familiar image of the scientist.

With the clasp are some of the tools - scissors and tweezers- which he handled, apparently a little clumsily.

Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London said: "Charles Darwin always brings up an image of animals - from finches to chimps and from pigeons to fossil giant sloths - in the public mind. In fact, for most of the last forty years of his life, he followed Voltaire's advice and cultivated his garden. These tools are what he used to do the job - and they are the most important instruments in the history of plant science. With them he laid many of the foundations of modern botany: the study of hormones, of digestive enzymes, of sex and self-fertilization, and more. With them is the clasp of his favourite cloak, which he often wore to accompany his wife and family to the church at Downe, always turning away at the door to return to his beloved garden. In this, the year of his two hundredth birthday, these humble objects are a direct link with the founder of much of the science of humans, of animals - and plants".

The Darwin items were found within the Galton Collection at University College London. The Darwin relics are the centrepiece of the Royal Society exhibition Domestic science: Victorian naturalists at home at the Society's annual Summer Science Exhibition.

The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition showcases cutting edge research in science and engineering from across the UK. It is held annually at the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science.

The Exhibition runs from Tuesday 30 June to Saturday 4 July 2009.

The event is FREE and open to the public.

This year, 22 interactive exhibits will be on show presenting the best of UK science, engineering and technology. During the five days of the event, more than 4,000 people are expected to take up the opportunity to explore the exhibition.

The Royal Society can be found at 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG. Nearest tube stations are Piccadilly Circus or Charing Cross.

3. Exhibition opening times:

Tuesday 30 June 2009: 10am - 9pm
Wednesday 1 July 2009: 10am - 5pm
Thursday 2 July 2009: 10am - 5pm
Friday 3 July 2009: 10am - 5pm
Saturday 4 July 2009: 10am - 5pm
Last entry 30 minutes before closing

Further information can be found at http://www.summerscience.org

Source
University College London