Photo caption page

Origin of the species

Natural History Museum demonstrates how life began

Story and photographs by Paniti Boonma

Homo erectus (an ancestor of modern man) looked similar to modern humans and knew how to use fire and tools.

A demonstration of the origin of life between 248 million years and 65 million years ago.

The wooly mammoth was alive between 500,000 and 6,000 years ago. Check out the tusks!

Students pay attention to a class about amphibians.

Mimosa pudica, a plant that reacts to the touch by folding up its leaves.

Recently, the Natural History Museum in Pathum Thani organised a demonstration named "The Variety of Thai Nature for the Understanding of the Community." Here is some information as well as photographs from the event. Read the story, look at the photographs and captions and then answer the questions that follow.

The demonstration was split into four sections. The first section provided information about how the world was created right through to the development of life on earth. The next section demonstrated the five basic elements that make living organisms different from non-living organisms. The third section showed the natural processes of life during different times. The last section showed the development of different types of organism � single-celled animals, fungi, plants and animals.

The displays were produced with a mini theatre that showed documentaries about plants and animals from around the world. During each break, there were scientific demonstrations and visitors were encouraged to interact with biologists. Through the displays and exhibitions, visitors to the museum got the chance to see how the all the different parts of the environment are closely linked and perhaps left with a greater appreciation of why they should be conserved.

Questions

1. Which plant reacts to the touch by folding up its leaves? Look at the photograph and think up some adjectives to describe the plant.

2. What animal does the woolly mammoth look like?

3. True or false? Homo erectus knew how to use the following:

a. Fire and tools.

b. Spoons and forks.

c. Spears and arrows.

Vocabulary

demonstration (n): an act of showing or explaining how something works or is done
split (v): to divide, or to make something divide, into two or more parts
organism (n): a living thing
cell (n): the smallest unit of living matter that can exist on its own
fungi (n): plural of fungus � any plant without leaves, flowers or green colouring, usually growing on other plants or on decaying matter, i.e. mushrooms
mini (adj): small
documentary (n): a film or a radio or television programme giving facts about something
link (n): a connection between two or more people or things
ancestor (n): in this use, an animal that lived in the past which a modern animal has developed from