Some educational, others just for fun:
Toys for the young and young at heart
(I haven’t ordered from any of the following companies so you’re on your own)
If you or your kids get inspired by Project Beagle and want to build your own — ship, that is — you can, with the HMS Beagle plastic ship model kit (1:96), made in Germany by Revell; “features detailed hull with gunports, deck with hatches, masts, yards, 2 anchors, stairways, sails, railings, wheels, cannon, lifeboats with oars. Also included is yarn for rigging, flag chart and display stand with name plate. Measures 16″ long and 11 3/4″ high.”
Charlie’s Playhouse: “We make games and toys that teach kids about evolution, natural selection and the work of Charles Darwin”, including a giant timeline floor mat, giant timeline poster, ancient creature cards, and a great selection of t-shirts
Thames & Kosmos Milestones in Science kit
Evolving Darwin Play Set, more amusing than scientifically accurate
Charles Darwin “Little Thinker” plush toy
Charles Darwin and friends in the Oddfellows Scientists Collection
Highly evolved Lego: model of the HMS Beagle, Darwin aboard ship, the man, the man in the lab, Origin of the Species
Filed under: Biology, Celebrations, Childhood, Commemorations, Education, Evolution, Fun & Games, History, Ideas, Knowledge & Wisdom, Lego, Science
Very nice ideas! Another way to study the Beagle, if you don’t want to wait for a plastic model to arrive, is to make a simple model from wood, or even paper mache or clay. My kids made two boats from wood (just boards for hulls, basically), with paper sails, then tried their hands at painting them. Here is a more detailed one that I made, that could be used to copy for a watercolor painting or other project.
http://people.uleth.ca/~dan.johnson/hmsbeagle.htm
That’s wonderful, Dan, and thanks for the link — the detailed photographs are terrific. And how heartening to find all this going on in our very own corner of Canada!