The HMS Beagle Project comes to Norwich

2009 was one of the most significant anniversaries in science: it marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin (12 February 1809), and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book On the Origin of Species. In common with many others in the field of science and education, The Natural History Museum felt that the anniversary for this great and gentle man deserved a significant celebration and a lasting legacy. Their contribution was to build a sailing modernized seagoing HMS Beagle, the ship on which Darwin circumnavigated the globe between 1831 and 1836. It was during the shore expeditions he made from the Beagle that he collected the specimens which would later inspire the theory of Natural Selection and the Origin of Species.

Dr Karen James, is a botanist at the Natural History Museum working on a range of different projects including DNA bar coding of plants, a member of the UK Biodiversity Programme, the Climate Change research group, works on whole-genome molecular techniques for systematic and evolutionary studies in non-model organisms, and plant systematics, developmental genetics and evolution. In addition to her research from 2007-09 she coordinated science projects relating to Darwin200, encompassing three major scientific anniversaries relating to the legacy of Charles Darwin. These projects celebrated and did original, question-driven scientific research in keeping with Darwin's legacy.