What Darwin Never Knew

Gr 9 Up—This program traces evolutionary science from Charles Darwin's first observations concerning natural selection to the modern study of the Human Genome Project. Teams of scientists visit diverse locations, from the Galapagos Islands to the Mississippi River, to scrutinize the adaptations of different animals. The difference in the beak shapes and the sizes of different species of finches found on the Galapagos are shown. The necessity of the adaptation is explained, the different development in the embryonic stages is shown, and the way in which the genetic code differs is presented. Specialists from diverse fields contribute to this celebration of Darwin and the Theory of Evolution. However, numerous examples and testimony from so many experts bog down the pace of the production and its flow of information. For example, once it is explained how genetic switches can turn off the growth of spikes on the sides of Canadian fish, it is superfluous to illustrate the same process on fruit flies, mice, chimps, and humans. The program's level of detail and the repetition of information add to its excessive length and may limit its usefulness in classroom settings.—Ryan Henry, Daviess County Public Library, Owensboro, KY