Darwin Day 2026

An important idea exists in science: that our understanding of the world is based on careful evidence and observation. Darwin Day – celebrated annually on the 12th of February – is a good opportunity to explore this concept with your KS1-KS2 classes. 

While Darwin is mainly known for his work on evolution, his work can also be applied to any lessons and science topics involving how scientists need to think, question and investigate the world around them. Read on to discover how his work and discoveries can be used to help your pupils notice patterns, ask questions about living things and understand why evidence is so important in building a larger scientific picture. 

Questions to ask on Darwin Day in your science lessons 

KS1: Observation and comparison between living things 

In Key Stage 1, while pupils don’t need to understand evolution, they can still explore the natural world and talk about all the interesting things they see and notice. Darwin Day can support curriculum objectives such as: 

• Identifying and naming common plants and animals 
• Describing basic features of living things 
• Comparing similarities and differences 

If you’re teaching our units on living things next week, you could include activities such as comparing bird beaks, leaves from different plants or animals from different habitats. These comparison skills set up a good foundation for later learning in evolution and adaptation. 

Lower KS2: Variation and habitats 

At this stage, pupils look at variation, including how living things can be grouped. Darwin Day provides a good opportunity for asking questions such as: 

• Why do animals in the same group look slightly different? 
• How might a habitat influence the features of the animals that live there? 

You could use real examples, such as birds and plants, to show pupils how variation is normal and important. This links directly to several concepts of the KS2 curriculum, such as grouping and classifying living things, exploring food chains, habitats, and knowing that environments can change. 

Upper KS2: Evolution and inheritance 

Pupils at this stage are ready to explore Darwin’s concepts in a more focused and direct way. They’re introduced to: 

• Evolution and inheritance (you can find Developing Experts’ complete Year 6 unit here) 
• Adaptation to environments 
• Fossils 

For teachers already focusing on the topics above, Darwin Day could be an opportune moment to explore concepts through enquiry. You could focus on how living things change over time, why certain characteristics help organisms survive and fossils as evidence. At this point, pupils also start to recognise that scientific ideas develop over time. 

Darwin Day and teaching 

If you’re teaching units on living things, habitats or evolution and would like to acknowledge Darwin Day, here are some tips from us.

• Emphasise that scientists don’t always have all the answers 
• Ideas and theories can change as evidence grows, or is accepted or rejected 
• Asking questions and being curious is often where the best findings begin 

These points help with scientific enquiry in general and support confident, resilient learning. 

Developing Experts has lots of units for you to use to support teaching this Darwin Day. Enjoy, and don’t forget to tag us in your work!