Charles Darwin

Three years ago, my sons were fortunate to be cast in a National Geographic / Nova production called Darwin's Darkest Hour.  They played the two youngest sons of the famed biologist Charles Darwin.  It was my youngest boy's first time on set and he has fabulous memories of working with the cast, his favorite being Joe the dog!

Today as we eat our lunch, we are watching the film for educational value and nostalgia.

The film chronicles the difficulties faced by Charles Darwin as he comes ever closer to uncovering his theory of Natural Selection, which is in sharp conflict to his wife Emma's strong Christian viewpoint.  It demonstrates the conflict that Dawin experiences and the fondness he had for his wife and children; and the affect they had on this pillar of scientific history.

Watch Darwin's Darkest Hour on PBS. See more from NOVA.

Chemistry Fun!

As we prepare to begin a chemistry program I thought it would be a good idea for my boys to get a sense of what exactly the Elements are.  We've had periodic tables around the house in various forms forever.  But really what exactly are elements?  Enter:  Periodic Table Videos!  At first glance this is website has just a periodic table on it, but each of the elements has a clickable link to a youtube video produced by the University of Nottingham in England.

These videos are presented by the most likeable and entertaining geeks on YouTube.  We kids are a big fan of Pete...and his outakes on fun with hydrogen balloons.  You really must check these out!

We've been using these in conjunction with the Basher Book of the Periodic Table.

You'll have to click this link, for some reason the image links aren't functional on the blog.