I chose Darwin's theory of evolution as my topic because it was something that I didn't know very much about, and I was interested in learning more. The most important step in the creating any historical paper is the research. I began by brainstorming ideas and narrowed my topic down to the theory of evolution. I decided that I would divide my topic into three major parts: the theory of evolution, science verses the church, and the present day effects of evolution. With that done, I went to the Library and checked out ten books that best fit these three topics. After the lengthy process of going through each book and organizing the information, I decided that the science verses the church topic played the most significant role and would be the part that I emphasized. From that I developed my thesis and the rest of the paper was just reviewing my research and organizing my thoughts.
In creating my project, the first step was to go out and purchase a web design program that would assist me in the development of my website. The second step was to create a prototype of my web page so that I could familiarize myself with the way the program works and to get an idea of what exactly I was looking to achieve with my final product. This step was the research and learning phase in which I sought instruction on how to properly use the program and to add more effects to my website to give it a creative touch. I selected the most significant information from my original reaserch paper to include in the website. It was a challenge to stay within the word limit. Finally, I was prepared to create my website. This was by far the easiest part of the project because I had already worked out almost everything I was going to do and how I was going to do it. The only big thing I decided to do differently was the way I spread my paper into several sections of the website.
The topic of the History of Evolution fits perfectly with this years History Day theme Revolution, Reaction, and Reform. The theory of evolution was a revolution of its time because it challenged the largely held belief of creationism. The reaction to evolution was a constant struggle between the belief in creationism and science. Although challenged, today evolution is taught in public schools across the nation.
