Big Time Tour

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In this activity (on pages 16-21), learners get a sense of geological time by understanding how big a million is. Part One of the activity is the "Million Appreciation Lesson," which puts a million seconds, names in a phone book, and hiked steps into more familiar units. Part Two is "Investigating All Time," where learners make a time line for the history of the Earth using the length of their own arm to represent the total 4.5 billion year long scale. They mark major time zones, such as the age of the dinosaurs, at appropriate lengths along the time line.

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Learning Time:
1 to 2 hours
Estimated Materials Cost:
$1 - $5 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 8 - 14
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English, Spanish

Materials List (per group of students)

  • pencil or pen
  • sticky notes
  • fine point watersoluble
  • marker
  • a sheet of paper a little longer than arm’s length (tape together lengths of legal-size paper)

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Earth's History
      • Geologic Time
      • Dinosaurs
  • Mathematics
    • Measurement
      • Size and Scale

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves teamwork and communication skills
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Designed specifically for

  • Rural dweller

Culture, ethnicity, and gender

  • Girls

    • Explicity developed for this group

Other

Foreign language versions of this resource:

Components that are part of this resource:

Includes alignment to state and/or national standards:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • Science After School Consumer's Guide

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, University of Nebraska State Museum and Nebraska 4-H, 2002

Funding Sources:

  • National Science Foundation Informal Science Education Program, 9909496
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute