Get creative in Darwin’s Shrewsbury

Britain is being encouraged to get all messy and creative as budding young explorers and nature fans lead the 2011 celebrations marking the life of Charles Darwin in his Shropshire home town.

Already recognised as one of the leading events of its kind in the world, Shrewsbury’s annual Darwin Festival reflects the historic and scientific importance of the man behind the Theory of Evolution by continuing to evolve itself.

So for 2011, the eighth Festival will be based around the theme of ‘Young Darwin’ - offering 14 messy, creative and sometimes explosive workshops for families to encourage a new generation of young explorers and nature fans.

There’s a chance to create your own worm lab, hunt for fossils, catch bugs and recreate back garden experiments in Darwin’s Lab. But festival organisers are also not forgetting the older Darwin enthusiasts, offering no less than 12 different talks, walks, art workshops and presentations.

This year the popular Darwin Festival, which will be hosted by Shropshire Wildlife Trust, runs from the 12th to 26th February 2011.

Dubbed 'England's finest Tudor town' thanks to its wealth of historic buildings, Darwin would still recognise much of his home town today – just as he did when he returned to the county town following his epic voyage on board HMS Beagle.

Born at The Mount in Shrewsbury on February 12th, 1809, Charles Robert Darwin went on to become one of the undisputed "Men of the Millennium", laying the foundation of all modern evolutionary thinking.

For 2011, the Darwin Festival will once again bring together authors, biographers, historians and members of the public to mark his life and works. Among Festival highlights are:

Darwin Birthday Toast & Walk - after drinking an annual toast to Darwin, join a guided walk around the town centre sites that the young naturalist knew so well. (Pre-booking essential).

Worm Power - Darwin’s last and less well-known book was all about the humble earthworm, but worms are actually wonderfully powerful. Come along to this family workshop for 8-12 year-olds (and their parents/carers) to find out more about how earthworms shape our world and learn how to make your own worm lab. (Workshops £1 per person. Booking essential.)

Darwin’s Lab - recreate the experiments Charles Darwin and his brother, Erasmus, carried out in their back garden laboratory. Be prepared for loud bangs, sticky gloop and lots of mess in this very lively workshop, so best to wear old clothes! (Workshops £1 per person; suitable for 5 years and above. Booking essential.)

Young Darwin the geologist - hunt for fossils and explore the places Darwin visited as a young man. Become a geologist for the day and join experts from Shropshire Wildlife Trust on a walk for rocks and wildlife. (£3 per child. Booking essential.)

Charles Darwin: A life in Letters (The Darwin Memorial Lecture) – during his lifetime Darwin wrote around 15,000 letters which have survived, offering a fascinating insight not only in to the mind of one of the world’s foremost thinkers, but in to the lives of so many others who contributed to his work. (Tickets £10 each through the theatre box office)

In addition there will also be an art exhibition showing how art can mimic nature’s evolutionary processes plus a host of other talks and presentations and regular walking tours of Darwin’s Shrewsbury throughout the Festival.

For full details of all festival events, visit: discoverdarwin.co.uk

To discover more about Darwin at any time of the year, The Darwin Town Trail links the significant places around the town that influenced a young Charles Darwin with many of the points marked with special commemorative way-markers set into the pavement. For short break ideas in Shrewsbury and Shropshire, see: visitshropshire.com