Darwin

Darwin

Today we went to Charles Darwin's house in Downes. I think this is my favorite museum we have seen. I loved doing the tour with the headset, which is unusual for me. I felt I learned a lot about Darwin and his family. It's interesting that he rushed the publishing of his book so he could be the first one to have the idea of evolution. He worked for 20 years before publishing any of his work.  He's a brilliant scientist and wanted to have his argument ready since he knew this was going to be a controversial topic. Religion was very important at this time and many people strictly believed in the idea that God created the world and each person individually. 

One shocking thing I learned today was that Darwin and his wife were cousins.  It's such a hard concept to grasp. I couldn't imagine people people doing that nowadays. His parents were first cousins too which is so strange. I'm surprised Darwin turned out to be such a great scientist and that his kids didn't have many defects. 3 of the 10 did die though so I guess that could have something to do with it. It's just weird how different things were. 

 After leaving the town of Downe, we went to Canterbury and saw the gorgeous Canterbury Cathedral. We were lucky enough to enjoy hearing the choir sing as well. It consisted if a variety of age groups and they had the most beautiful voices and the music was so soothing. 

The only downside to the day was that it was absolutely freezing! I can't believe this is June weather. But regardless, it was still awesome to see Darwin's town and go to his church.