Cuckoo's year 6 scientists

Year 6 science workshop

A science visitor came in from 9am on two days to conduct a variety of workshops around the year 6 learning journey theme for this half term which was evolution and inheritance.

The year 6s looked at how fossils are formed, recorded data on worksheets, conducted scientific interpretations of patterns seen, played the blobby evolution game, learnt about DNA/gene inheritance and played a natural selection game.

The game pictured shows the theory of Darwin's Finches and demonstrates this through beaks and food. Each pupil was designated an island and a specific beak. Each island had its difficulties. For example, the island pictured required small beaks in order to get the food whereas on other islands small beaks may have been less productive.

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On Charles Darwin's visit to the Galapagos Islands, he discovered several species of finches that varied from island to island, which helped him to develop his theory of natural selection.

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of 13 major islands and more than a hundred smaller islands that straddle the equator off the Ecuadorian coast. They are home to an amazing array of unique animal species: giant tortoises, iguanas, fur seals, sea lions, sharks, rays, and 26 species of native birds–14 of which make up the group known as Darwin’s finches. These finches are considered to be the world’s fastest-evolving vertebrates because their appearance and behaviour quickly adapted to this closed and rapidly changing environment.