Darwin's Gruesome Carnivorous Plants
Alice's picture of a Venus' fly-trap.
Yasin's photo of a Venus' fly-trap.
Alex's photo of a sundew plant.
Our young scientists find carnivorous plants fascinating!
Anna E's picture of a Venus' fly-trap.
Emily's photo of a Venus' fly-trap.
Everyone enjoys getting involved.
Jonathan's picture of a Venus' fly-trap.
Taimur's picture of a Venus' fly-trap.
Samantha's photo of a Venus' fly-trap.
Look at our fantastic photos!
Conor's picture of a Venus' fly-trap.
Jonathan's picture of a Venus' fly-trap.
Maddy's close-up of a Venus' fly-trap.
Some final adjustments...
Alex's picture of a sundew plant.
Alice's photo of a Venus' fly-trap.
Matthew's picture of a Venus' fly-trap.
Another amazing image taken by one of our young scientists.
Jamie's close-up of a Venus' fly-trap.
Sam's photo of a sundew plant
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7 and 14 March 2009
Scientastic day at Manchester Museum
It is 200 years since Darwin's birth and 150 years since the publication of Darwin's "On the origin of Species". However, few people realise that in 1875 he also wrote "Insectivorous Plants" where he calls the Venus' fly-trap, "one of the most wonderful in the world".
To celebrate Darwin's birthday, visitors to The Manchester Museum examined living carnivorous plants, using microscopes to look at the ways these plants have evolved to catch insects and maybe identify the plants' last meal! Importantly, scientists from our Faculty were on-hand to answer questions.
Latest research on the mechanism of movement and gland secretions was illustrated in displays and leaflets to show how far the science has come since Darwin.
Visitors took their own photos using the lastest digital microscope, some of the best photos are shown here. They could also take a copy home with them to put on their wall!
The display was funded by RCUK.
Further information
Discover more about our researchers involved in this event:
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