How does a population change over time? How can mutations result in new traits? What role does environmental change have in driving evolution? Through guided classroom discussion based on observations of fossils and museum specimens, students will consider three examples of the process of evolution through natural and artificial selection.

Recommended for grades 6-8 or as an introduction to evolution for grades 9-12.

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How do we know our climate is changing? What impact is this change having on our planet? How does this differ from extreme climate change in the past? Using evidence from fossils, rocks, maps, and scientific data, students will learn how scientists understand paleoclimates. Together, we will construct a model to compare the temperature, greenhouse gases, and sea level of two ancient time periods with today’s changing conditions.

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How has New England changed over the past 500 million years? By studying rocks, fossils, and living animals that provide the clues to ancient oceans, volcanoes, and ice ages, students will leave this lab with a better understanding of what New England looked like, who lived here, and how scientists know about these ancient environments.

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How did environmental changes drive the evolution of our species? Students will act as evolutionary biologists as they analyze and interpret fossil evidence from bones and skulls of our ancient human relatives. By comparing anatomical structures, they will uncover and construct an argument about differences between extinct hominins and ourselves, and the role of environment in shaping evolution.

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