Darwin's birthday party

After five months of planning, preparation and running around madly, an event to celebrate Darwin's birthday, in connection with our 'Darwin's Voyage of Discovery' exhibition was ready! Designed by our Young Explainers to inform the public and present the museum as an interesting place to visit, a marquee was set up by the BBC's Olympic Big Screen in Plymouth's city centre for the day while a special presentation filmed and produced by us was displayed on the screen itself.

The Young Explainers set up a number of different stands inside the marquee, each with a different take on Darwin's work. The stands were designed to be fun and interactive for young children. The stands were:

• Bear necessities (looking at adaptations bears have made around the world)
• Dog top trumps (artificial selection rather than Darwin's evolution)
• Camouflage (how to avoid predators)
• Skulls
• Evolution game

We also had colouring and other activities, such as face painting on offer.

A re-enactor dressed as Darwin himself was on hand to explain his evolution theory and became a minor celebrity with people wanting to have their picture taken with him.

The Young Explainers also devised a quiz where people had to visit the Darwin exhibition at the museum to find the answers. The winner was presented with a free Build-a-Bear monkey!