Evolution fun activity

[kevh_uk]

I have to do a talk on monday to a group of "gifted and talented" 10, 11, and 12 year olds about evolution, natural selction, and possibly human evolution from ape to man. It needs to be about an hour and I want to keep it as interesting and fun as possible. After the talk I want to do an activity with the kids, for 45 mins or so...I also want this to be fun and interesting for them...please please any suggestions?!?

[wildwood]

One suggestion I have is that you alter your opinion that Men evolved from Apes. Humans and apes have common ancestors, in fact, humans are just another species of ape.

The convergent evolution subject has always amazed me and should be easily explained to 10 - 12 year olds.

You have my respect for tackling this task and wish you well.

[nickmo]

http://www.becominghuman.org/ might be able to give you some help - watch the documantary and get some ideas. Other useful resources at http://www.biozone.co.uk/HUMAN_EVOLUTION.html which should answer query and give you help.

Humakind evolved from a common ape ancestor that led to bonobos, gorrillas, chimps & orang utangs. 4 million years later we differ by less than 2% in genes from bonobos but here are arguments we are not the most intelligent - been out on a Friday night lately?

Maybe bring in the Darwin Awards - funniest examples of natural selection you'll ever come across - http://darwinawards.com/

Human evolution is without doubt linked to the development of farming and animal husbandry - lots of info around about the spread of humans into the Indus Valley region that allowed through chance the development of cultivation in temperate zones.That meant growing crops and utilising the animals for food, so releasing time for society to advance.

So for activity - maybe link in farming - and then what to do in spare time that offers- art, culture, language, religion, etc.?

Hope this helps.