Lego Beagle/Darwin project reaches its goal

November 20, 2015 • 1:15 pm

On February 8 I asked readers to support Luis Peña’s Lego HMS Beagle Project, in which he designed a Beagle-building kit, complete with Darwin, Fitzroy, and animals, using more than 2000 Lego pieces. At that time there were only about a thousand supporters, but I’m happy to report that as of today, Luis’s idea has broken the 10,000-supporter mark, which means that Lego has to consider marketing it. (They’ll review it, but I’m hopeful). Although Peña thanks this site for its support, it’s really the many readers who took the time to register their approval who should be thanked.

Congrats to Luis and let’s hope that his project, which is a great way of teaching kids about science, will actually be picked up by Lego.

And to remind you, here’s what it looks like (go here for more information).

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And. . . a secret compartment containing Fitzroy! How cool is that?

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23 thoughts on “Lego Beagle/Darwin project reaches its goal”

  1. That looks really cool.

    I’ve got a Lego model of Tower Bridge displayed proudly in my porch. This would complement it nicely.

  2. Supremely cool. Fingers crossed that Lego pick it up. FitzRoy was a curious figure who subsequently became Governor of New Zealand and was sacked for exceeding his authority.

    1. Fitzroy was quite a chap:
      — went to sea at age 13
      — rose to Vice-Admiral
      — a noted surveyor
      — and meteorologist
      — invented weather forecasts
      — founded the Met Office
      — captained the Beagle
      — governor of NZ
      — elected Member of Parliament
      — and Fellow of the Royal Society
      — has a fine mountain in Patagonia named after him
      — and lots of other things, including a British shipping forecast area.

      (… and given all that we can excuse him the Biblical literalism.)

      1. (… and given all that we can excuse him the Biblical literalism.)

        Reportedly he was present at thine infamous BA meeting in 1860 where Darwin’s Bulldog (Huxley) got his teeth firmly into “Soapy” Sam Wilberforce (Bishop of Abolitionists, and somewhere in England). Fitzroy’s contribution to the debates was to stalk the cloisters waving a bible and reminding people “… the Book, … the Book.”
        Sounds like he wasn’t having a good time of it – well down the slippery slope into nervous breakdown.
        Without checking it, I think it was several years later that Fitzroy topped himself, which was what Darwin’s company on the Voyage was intended to counteract by giving him a social equal on the boat, outside of Fitzroy’s chain of command.

        1. If you ever want to read a truly wonderful comprehensive treatment of the lives of both Fitzroy and Darwin and their intertwined and complex relationship throughout their lives I can not recommend “This Thing of Darkness” by Harry Thompson highly enough. Fitzroy was a sufferer of a intense manic depressive personality, his many achievements attained in the face of it. Fitzroy chose Darwin as his companion for the Beagle, so we Darwinists have much to thank him for.

          Sadly Harry Thompson the author of this excellent and historically accurate novel died shortly after the book was published. It is a fitting monument to his own life.

        1. Fitzroy (I believe he spelt the name with interposed capital) was a classic British naval officer in many ways – interested in the sciences, devout (all at the same time) and not only expected but capable of taking on any duties required. The issue he had as Governor of New Zealand in 1843-46 was that the Crown government was broke, and he had to navigate a complex path between local political issues and the demands of the Colonial Office, whose requests lagged a few months because of the time it took for despatches to be delivered. An unenviable task by any measure, and he was then always given unfair comparison with his successor George Grey (who was also sacked). Fitzroy has featured in some of the books I’ve written on the period and I always think he was under-rated as a New Zealand Governor.

  9. I hope they decide to market it; I’ll be buying a kit for sure (probably give it to my niece).

    I registered when this was first posted and put in my Yes vote. Now I enjoy receiving their emails about other projects they are working on. Lego is very innovative and I hope they produce more science-based kits.

  10. Where’s Ishmael?

    (C’mon, fess up! You all thought it, even though you knew he wasn’t on that ship.)

  12. Very cool HMS Beagle lego. My son has a lego pirate ship and it looks just as good, it is kept made up for his young boy to play with.

    I am making a trip to the Far North NZ with family this summer and intent checking out the places that Darwin visited while there (1835)and where the HMS Beagle dropped anchor.
    Although he was far from impressed with NZ.
    From his journal:
    “I Believe we were all glad to leave New Zealand. It is not a pleasant place. Amongst the natives there is absent that charming simplicity which is found at Tahiti; and the greater part of the English are the very refuse of society. Neither is the country itself attractive.”
    But,then he softened and moderated his tone and wrote at some point of his stay:
    “As the evening drew to a close, the domestic sounds, the fields of corn, the distant undulating country with its trees might well have been mistaken for our fatherland; nor was it the triumphant feeling at seeing what Englishmen could effect; but rather the high hopes thus inspired for the future progress of this fine island”
    I am taking a copy of FvF for a photo opportunity.

  13. I’m one of the 10,000+ who supported this on the Lego site, so am thrilled this has made the target. I hope Lego makes it, and it’s available in New Zealand. (Often the special models aren’t.)

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