Revolutionary Evolution 

In eighteen hundred and thirty one

when Charles was only twenty-two

he sailed upon the Beagle’s run

to chart the lands and ocean blue.

Collecting samples on the way

of creatures, plants and fossils found

he drew and wrote his notes each day

of all the life-forms that abound.

This five-year trek to foreign lands

made Darwin sick, which wasn’t good.

But dedication, task in hand,

he always did the best he could.

Returning home, he thought a lot

and started to experiment

to test his theories, note and jot

what everything he learnt had meant.

His famous book was published in

the year of eighteen fifty nine.

The Bishop said it was a sin

and contravened the Church’s line.

“On The Origin of Species”

was published, eighteen fifty nine.

This work on Evolution still

amazes us as most sublime

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About Celia:

CELIA BERRELL’s keeping out of mischief.

I’m always on the lookout for fun science snippets to share through the CSIRO’s Double Helix magazine, so I scour the science news on the internet most days in my spare time. This July The Science Rhymes book – Second Edition will off to the printers! It’s got twice as many poems as the first edition and I’ve chosen Jabiru Publishing to be my partner, as was a bit lonely publishing the first edition on my own.  Some Whitfield State School students have been attending my Poetry Club meetings over the last couple of months and will be spending part of their holiday break creating their own Science Rhymes about famous scientists and awesome discoveries, for a SCIENCE HALL OF FAME (please share your poems too!).  We will then present our poems in a recital for National Science Week (11^th – 19^th August).  You can see the examples I created for our Poetry Club by clicking the Download tab on the Science Rhymes website.  I’m currently waiting to hear back from the Cairns Tropical Writers Festival organisers to find out if I will have a BOOK LAUNCH with them on Friday 10^th August at the Hilton Hotel, Cairns.  If they say YES, I’ll be looking for brave school students to help present some poems from the new book.  It’s a really exciting year!

Anton’s Microscopes 

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)

(beasts on your teeth!)

A Dutchman named Anton

was someone you’d count on

to tell you precisely

the things he could see.

A microscope maker

and shopkeeping draper

discovering life that’s

as small as can be.

He magnified beasts that

he scraped from his teeth

and watched as they swam

like some creatures in seas.

Learning there’s animals

formed from just single-cells.

Seeing that even a

flea can have fleas!

Finding bacteria

in our interior.

Sending this news

across the sea.

Anton astounded us.

What he had found in us

started the science

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