Straddling the equator, Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands lie about 600 miles (966 km) off the coast of South America. It is believed that they were first discovered in the early 1500s by the Bishop of Panama when his ship was blown off course en route to Peru. Spanish explorers later named them after the giant tortoises that live there. Now a World Heritage Site, the Galápagos Islands were made famous by English naturalist Charles Darwin from insights he gained there on the origin of new species of life following a brief visit in the 1830s.

The 3-D IMAX film Galapagos, produced by the Smithsonian Institution and IMAX, Ltd., follows Smithsonian marine biologist, Dr. Carole Baldwin, and other scientists on a research expedition to the remote Galápagos Islands.

Click on the links below to view Dr. Baldwin’s presentation on her explorations in the Galapagos Islands.