How do you celebrate an idea?  Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, whose end-point suggests that man may not have been created by God, but might have evolved slowly over time, possibly from apes.  This is easy to understand, but difficult to visualise, as the curators at Kew have discovered.

The exhibition, to mark the 200^th anniversary of Darwin’s birth in 1809, consists of 14 display boards - all of the same size and set out at regular intervals across the room with no thought for natural selection – explaining the great man’s life, career and influence.

Kew Gardens is already home to a selection of specimens Darwin brought back from his epic voyage on HMS Beagle, and therefore, it seems fitting that this is where the exhibition has been launched, before it tours across the UK and abroad throughout 2009.

There is plenty of information provided, but the problem is that there is nothing here that you couldn’t get from a book. Even the images feel hackneyed: the watercolour portraits, the arrow-strewn maps charting the voyage of the Beagle and the sepia-toned photos of Darwin’s mentors all look like they are from the nearest library. In fact, the entire content of the exhibition is available to read online, which makes it seem unlikely that this rather modest tribute to Darwin will draw in the big crowds.

And why is there very little mention of the huge storm that ‘The Origin of Species’ caused upon its publication in 1859?  This was the heyday of Victorian Britain, after all, when religion held sway and many people had more than a passing knowledge of the Bible.  The sheer variety of Darwin’s observations on animals, birds, plants and insects, and the tiny changes that occurred over each generation, added a new timescale to the world that was not flattering to the Old Testament.  Here was someone who had slowly and rationally proved that man’s origins went back far beyond the 20,000 years or so suggested by the religious establishment.  History had suddenly become far larger and more frightening than before.

However, what the exhibition does do well is to show the influence of Darwin’s evolution theory in modern day scientific research. There are several examples of researchers from around the UK who are using the guidelines set by Darwin to constantly push forward in the name of science. For example, his fascination with how co-evolution between organisms can affect many diseases is still very relevant today. A section of the exhibition is dedicated to the new research currently being carried out into the evolution of Malaria and its various hosts, which it is hoped will help scientists find new ways to fight the disease.

What seemed to be most exciting for the children who were in the exhibition were the strategically placed puzzles which when lifted up reveal an interesting fact about a particular species of animal.  If the novelty of this wears off (and believe me, it will relatively quickly) there is one last thing the exhibition has to offer - a collection of letters written by Darwin while on the Beagle voyage to his mentor, Professor John Stevens Henslow, which are well worth a look.

Lighter moments in the exhibition include some of the reactions from Darwin’s contemporaries to ‘The Origin of Species’ when it was first published.  Featured among them is a quote from Adam Sedgwick, a geologist, who claims there were parts of the book that he “admired greatly” whiles the rest of it he thought to be “utterly false and grievously mischievous.”

Away from the words, a painted, cartoon-like tree made from chipboard is the only attempt at visual originality.  Visitors can write comments on the tags that are pinned to each ‘leaf’.  Clearly this is meant to appeal to children, but requires the museum to have a thick skin.  Messages such as “This is boring for kids” suggest that the exhibition needs some small yet Darwinian-style evolutions before it can fulfil its promise of going nationwide. That said, the little girl that wrote “Happy Birthday Mr Darwin” provided a reminder that, in the complex world that he helped to define, simplicity can still work for some.  

 Nash Conservatory, Kew Gardens, until 8^th March then touring nationwide

(Entry for Kew: £14 or £12 for students)