1. Home

2. Our Big, Beautiful Earth How old is our planet? How was it formed? When did life start? When did the dinosaurs live? When did the first humans live? How do we know these things? What happens next?

3. The Cosmic Calendar Imagine the history of the universe represented by the months of one year. The Big Bang happens on January 1 st, and today is the last millisecond of December 31 st. Here we go….! (If you wonder how scientists know this stuff, look for details in the next slide…)

5. Timelines Timelines give us a visual picture of time. Not all timelines are the same shape. Not all timelines represent the same amount of time. Some represent billions of years, and some represent only a week or an hour in a day. Here’s one of my favorite timelines of the history of the earth…

7. What Did You Learn? How old is our planet? How was it formed? When did life start? When did the dinosaurs live? When did the first humans live? How do we know these things?

8. What Next? Journal Entry (~ 10 minutes) What do you think will happen next in the history of Planet Earth? Will life forms (including humans) stay the same, change, or go extinct? How will life evolve, based on the probable warming of our oceans? Will we figure out how to travel to and live on other planets, in the ocean, or in the sky?