Life on our planet appeared about 3.8 billion years ago and since then, earthlings have evolved into the most strange and fascinating creatures.
Hold on, did I say billion years? How can we even imagine such a large number?
Somebody came up with a great solution: to visualize the entire history of our planet on a football field! How cool is that?
In the next few weeks, the 2019 Kids Talk Science gang we'll travel along the long timeline pictured in this video, stopping here and there to look at some interesting creatures: the first cells surrounded by membranes, bunches of cells working together, fish with "legs" that started spending time on land, ginormous reptiles and land plants, and land mammals that returned to the sea!
In our first class, we explored some extreme adaptations to life on our planet.
Did you know that when Weddell seals dive into the depths of the ocean they collapse their lungs, sending oxygen to their muscles and thus avoiding the problems of compressed air?
Or that greater roadrunners like this cute one can survive their whole lives without drinking or peeing? They save precious water by excreting excess salt from a gland near their eye!
Or that "assassin bugs" use their antennae to detect smells and heat coming from warm-blooded animals (humans included!) find them in the dark of the night and then suck their blood like vampires? I know it because I studied these guys for years... Don't worry, no assassin bugs in NYC!
How would life be in other planets?
What if there was life in other planets? What would it look like?
Today, kids big and small (from our Tuesday and Wednesday classes), imagined how creatures would evolve in planets such as Jupiteria, a smoldering hot, dry, and cloudy planet with little visibility. Check out some of their creations. It's a work on progress!
Stay tuned for more!