Anniversary events, from garden walks to musical chairs

Join the celebrations to mark the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth

1'MR DARWINS BIG IDEA" – that natural selection provided the mechanism for evolution – is the subject of a free, public talk by Dr Matthew Jebb today at 3pm in the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin. An exhibition of Charles Darwin's correspondence with the gardens' former director, David Moore, is also to be launched.

2 This evening, Trinity geneticist Prof David McConnell will explore Darwin, Genetics and the Nature of Humankindin this year's Darwin Day Lecture, arranged by the Humanist Association of Ireland, starting at 7.30pm at the Davis Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College, Dublin. Admission is free, no advance booking necessary.

3 The Science Gallery at TCD will host Darwinian party games from 6pm today, including "survival of the fittest musical chairs", "evolution twister" and "build a beak", where the best-adapted beak will be determined by battles of natural selection.

Tickets are extremely limited for the free event but the first 10 Irish Timesreaders to e-mail beth.gormley@ sciencegallery.com with "Irish Times" in the subject line will be added to the VIP list and notified – it's survival of the quickest.

4 If you fancy something more open-air, take a guided walk at Airfield in Dundrum this Sunday, February 15th, when head gardener Emer O'Reilly will talk about plant evolution. Starting at 3pm, tickets for the hour-long walk and talk cost €6 for adults and €3 for children/concession and can be bought on arrival; www.airfield.ie.

5 On Monday, February 16th, the Belfast Geologists' Society hosts a public talk by Peter Bowles, professor of history of science at Queen's University Belfast, entitled Charles Darwin: Geology, Geography and the Theory of Evolution.

A wine reception from 7pm precedes the free talk, which starts at 7.30pm at St Bartholomew’s Church Hall, Stranmillis Road, Belfast. No advance booking necessary.

For more upcoming events, see www.darwin200.ie.