Let the animals of Galapagos take you on an evolutionary adventure. We begin with a journey into the world of Natural Selection, and go on to explore adaptations of iconic Galapagos species, through exciting and ‘hands on’ activities. Allow students to challenge their thinking and become a scientific thinker – just like Charles Darwin.

Enhance students’ learning further by investigating the enrichment activities offered and create a class of Darwinians!

We recommend using the resources in the following order:

1. The Nature of Natural Selection Investigate the concept of Evolution through Natural Selection in this practical workshop.

2. Amazing Adaptations of the Marine Iguana This activity takes students through how iguanas colonised the islands to how the marine and land iguanas diverged to become different species. The amazing adaptations of the marine iguana will be revealed!

3. In the Land of Giants: Evolution of the Galapagos Giant Tortoise Investigate how these Galapagos giants have evolved to become separate species. How do some people know which island a tortoise is from just by looking at it?

4. Why is my beak shaped like this? Explore why some birds have long sharp beaks and why some birds have short, strong beaks in this quick 15 minute activity.

5. A Story of Evolution: A Finch’s Tale This activity provides students with an introduction to the finches of the Galapagos – how they colonised the islands and evolved to become 13 distinct species.

6. A Dragon’s Tale: Rafting the Pacific This fun activity encourages students to use their team work to build and design a robust raft using natural materials that is based on the rafts the ancestors of the marine iguana would have travelled across the Pacific Ocean on.