The exhibits include rocks and minerals collected by the man himself during his voyage on the Beagle, as well as field notes, maps and instruments of the sort that he would have routinely used. Admittedly, the samples look rather unremarkable, but the stories they tell are far from mundane. And what better way to convey these stories than the interactive globe that forms the centrepiece of the exhibition? Surrounding the globe are various rocks from Darwin's collection, and at the press of a button, the viewer can see the sample location on the globe and read interesting tit-bits.
Almost every exhibit provides insights into Darwin's thinking and the places he visited. While reading about his climb up a Tahitian mountain or his descriptions of a volcanic eruption in Chile, one cannot help but be fascinated by his insatiable appetite for understanding and interpreting the world around him. Together, the items on display and the informational posters present a nice picture of Darwin's interest in geology and the varied experiences that conditioned his geologic thought. For those who may not find time to go through Darwin's notebooks — recently published in book form (see review on page 668 of this issue) — this exhibition can provide an excellent sampler.
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