Notes from the Voyage at Second Life
To help celebrate two notable anniversaries this year which I assume you have not missed (Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of first publication of On The Origin of Species), the Elucian Islands in Second Life will play host to its very first interactive game, Notes from the Voyage, tomorrow (Wednesday 25 February 2009).
Joanna Scott tells us: "To complete the series of tasks in Notes from the Voyage, you will need to brave earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, swim among coral reef and uncover buried fossils, as well as encounter wildlife including jaguars, sloths and tortoises. Armed with your toolbag, compass and notebook, can you relive the highlights of Darwin’s famous Beagle voyage and rediscover his key scientific findings? Prizes await all those who succeed."
The new addition to the Elucian Islands archipelago, which includes a lush re-creation of South America and the Galapagos Islands, as well as a Second Life scale replica of HMS Beagle, will be opened on 25 February at 1800h GMT / 1000h PST and SLT (second life time), by Karen James, Darwin co-ordinator at the Natural History Museum, London and Science Director of The Beagle Project. Karen will talk to attendees about her work for the Darwin anniversaries. There will also be a showing of a short film from Nature Video of David Attenborough talking about his view on Darwin, natural selection and the Bible, before the game begins.
The Elucian Islands will also host a special series of talks on topics including the history of Darwin and Darwinism in research today, as well as themed podcasts and videos. All these events are free to attend and everybody is very welcome. To be kept up to date with all events, watch Joanna's blog or join the Nature group in Second Life.
Elucian Islands on nature.com: what it's about and how to get started.
Nature's Darwin special: all the magnificent content in the journal to celebrate Darwin, in one place.
