Wellcome Trust: Tree of Life

Produced by the Wellcome Trust, these resources include an interactive evolutionary tree and a video of the Tree of Life. These materials will help students to find out more about the work of Charles Darwin and evolution. The resources contain:

Tree of life video
The video is a short section of the 'Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life' programme, which was broadcast on the BBC. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the programme was part of the BBC's Darwin season. It charts the process of evolution, from simple organic molecules in the primordial soup to the variety of species that is seen today.

Interactive tree of life
Students are able to explore the evolutionary links between living organisms by selecting species, finding out information about them and seeing their evolutionary relationships. Teacher resources and student activity sheets also link with the interactive resource.

To run the interactive, download the Zip file and install it on a stand alone PC or Macintosh-based computer.

Teacher resource materials
For teachers, there are lesson plans, student activities and other resources that will be useful when planning and delivering lessons on evolution and Charles Darwin. The activities help students to use the interactive tree of life and are split into three age ranges.

• Ages 11-14: [b]Climbing the tree of life[/b] requires students to think about evolution and the relationships between different organisms both today and in the past.

• Ages 14-16: Back to our roots features a specially commissioned comic strip that will help students to explore the ancestry of living organisms and understand the classification of living things.

• Ages 16-19: Highlighting important stages in evolution encourages students aged 16-19 to explore the Tree of Life in depth to discover for themselves evidence that supports Darwin's theories of evolution.

• URL: http://stem.org.uk/rx7vn