E D U C AT O R S G U I D E

1. Cuttlefish egg
nestled in coral
2. Moss-covered lava
3. Seeing the world
through a childs eyes
4. Forest
5. The sun strips away
the atmosphere
6. Formation of membrane
Bottom left: A Muttaburrasaurus,
a dinosaur that lived millions of years ago

oyage of Time: The IMAX Experience is a one-of-a-kind celebration

of life and the grand history of the cosmos from acclaimed
filmmaker Terrence Malick. The accompanying Educators Guide
supplements the film, offering students a better understanding
of their time and place in the universe and an appreciation of
the diversity and beauty of life on Earth.

Voyage of Time presents a beautiful and inspiring journey

through the history of time from the earliest star formations
to the development of land and life on Earth to the future of our
universe. The film prompts questions about consciousness,
t h e relationship between reproduction and death, and
humanitys relationship with nature. The activities in this guide
1

ground the concepts presented in Voyage of Time and provide

students with the background and tools to achieve a deeper
understanding of evolutionary biology, geology, and astronomy.
The guide contains activities for grades 3-8, but we encourage
you to adapt the activities to suit your group of students. Five of
the seven activities in this guide connect to the Next Generation
Science Standards (NGSS), covering topics in Life Sciences, Space

2
1. Solar energies
2. An asteroid enters Earths
atmosphere

Science, and Geology and Earth Science. One activity focuses on

analytical writing based on Common Core Standards, and one
activity connects to the National Core Arts Standards for creating,
presenting, and responding. All activities focus on STEAM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics).

E D U C AT O R S G U I D E C O N T E N T S
THE SCALE OF TIME .. ................................................................... 4

THOUGHTS ON THOUGHT: HUMAN AND ANIMAL CONSCIOUSNESS ....... 14

GRAVITY IN SPACE ...................................................................... 6

VISUALIZING THE VOYAGE OF TIME ..................................... 16

CHOCOLATE MAGMA ................................................................... 8

APPENDIX / STUDENT WORKSHEETS . . ................................. 18

ENVIRONMENT AND ADAPTATION . . .......................................... 10

RESOURCES . . .......................................................................22

ORGANIZE YOUR ORGANISMS .................................................. 12

GLOSSARY ..........................................................................23

T he Scale
of T ime

oyage of Time depicts the history of our

universe from the first stars through
the geological and biological evolution of
Earth. The film illustrates a process that took
billions of years.
In this activity, students will place significant
e vents on a t im elin e in or d e r t o gain
perspective on the Earths development and
humanitys time and place in the universe.

TARGET AGE GROUP

6th 8th Grade

OBJECTIVE
Students will place historical
events visualized in Voyage of
Time onto a timeline to learn
about the order of evolution
and the scale of time.

MATERIALS
Copies of The Scale of Time
worksheet in the Appendix
Safety scissors
Glue or tape

PREPARATION
Photocopy the Timeline in
Appendix and distribute copies
to each student.
Students can complete the
Timeline one of two ways: either
by adding the event, indicated
by letters A L, above the year
bubbles on the timeline or by
cutting out the individual event
(A L) and moving each to the
proper locations on the timeline.

GEOLOGY, HISTORY OF THE EARTH, SPACE

SCIENCE
NGSS
M
 S-ESS1-4: Construct a scientific
explanation based on evidence from rock
strata for how the geologic time scale is
used to organize Earths 4.6 billion year
old history.
MS-ESS2-2:

Construct an explanation
based on evidence for how geoscience
processes have changed Earths surface
at varying time and spatial scales.

ACTIVITY 1: THE SCALE OF TIME

PART 1 Students create evolution

timelines by placing the events where they

think they belong on the timeline. There is
one event for each date on the timeline.

PART 2 After students make their own

timelines, go through the timeline as a

class. Ask students to reveal their answers
and discuss before you disclose the correct
date for each event.

PART 3 Discuss the scale of time with

students. What surprises them? What do

they have questions about? Students may
be surprised how long the universe existed
prior to life on Earth, and especially prior
to humans. If your students are willing,
feel free to open up the discussion to why
life needs very special conditions in order
to exist. We could not have survived on an

Earth covered in lava or on a planet that

was not the right distance from the Sun.
Do students think that life might have
arisen on another planet? Or elsewhere
in the universe?

ACTIVITY ANSWER KEY: THE SCALE OF TIME

13.7 billion years ago...........L 
Our Universe begins
4.5 billion years ago ........... A The Earth forms
4.4 4.1 billion years ago .. C Continental crust forms
3.8 billion years ago............. I Life appears on Earth, as bacteria
2.7 - 2.4 billion years ago.....E 
Cyanobacteria appears and begins to

release oxygen into the atmosphere

450 million years ago.......... H First evidence of organisms on land

(scorpions, spiders, and plants)

370 million years ago...........F 

First evidence of animals on land

(Amphibians)

230 million years ago.......... B Dinosaurs appear

66 million years ago............ G Dinosaurs become extinct and

mammals become abundant

7 million years ago.............. D Hominids split from African apes

1 million years ago...............J Homo erectus builds fire
200,000 years ago................ K Homo sapiens appear on Earth

G ravity
in S pace

hen we picture astronauts in space, they

are floating, weightless. This image leads
us to believe that gravity does not exist in space.
But if there was no gravitational pull in outer
space, our galaxy, solar system, and planet
would not exist. Voyage of Time begins with
astronomical simulations of star and galaxy
formations. Gravity pulls dust and gas together
and we see our solar system and our Earth form.
In this activity, students will confront the
misconception that gravity does not exist in
space and then model how gravity holds our
solar system together.

TARGET AGE GROUP

5th 8th Grade

OBJECTIVE
Students will learn that gravity
exists between objects with
mass, and the amount of
gravitational pull an object
exerts is directly related
to its mass. This physics
phenomenon causes star
formation, galaxy formation,
solar system formation,
and orbits.

MATERIALS
A jump rope, folded in half,
or a similar length of rope.

SPACE SCIENCE
NGSS
5
 -PS2-1: Support an argument that the
gravitational force exerted by Earth on
objects is directed down.
M
 S-ESS1-2: Develop and use a model to
describe the role of gravity in the motions
within galaxies and the solar system.

ACTIVITY 2: GRAVITY IN SPACE

PART 1 To capture your students existing

knowledge of gravity, ask them what gravity

is and if it exists in space. Many students will
believe that gravity does NOT exist in space,
because of previous exposure to floating
astronauts in space stations.
If students believe that gravity does not exist,
point out evidence of gravity in space. Gravity
causes the Moons orbit around the Earth and
the Earths orbit around the Sun. The amount
of gravitational pull that an object exerts is
directly related to its mass. Tell students that
everything has a gravitational pull including
them but the Earths gravitational pull is so
much stronger because it is so much bigger
than them.

PART 2 Now, students will model this

gravitational pull. Ask for a volunteer to be the

Sun. Explain that the Sun is very massive and
has a lot of gravitational pull. Whoever is the
Sun has to hold a rope, which represents this
gravitational pull. The Sun will stand in a clear
space in the room.

Ask for another student to volunteer to be

Mercury. This is the planet closest to the Sun.
It is much smaller than the Sun, and so is
influenced by the Suns gravity. Mercury will
take the other end of the Suns rope.
Instruct the Sun to stand in place, hold on to
the rope tightly, and rotate slightly in place if
needed to keep the rope straight.
Mercury pulls on the other end of the rope
and attempts to walk forward. Since the Sun
is standing in place, Mercury will have to
circle around the Sun. This is how orbits
work! The planets try to go straight, but the
Suns gravity acts like a rope, so the planets
end up circling the Sun.

PART 3 The rest of the students in the

class can try this same phenomenon with

ropes or just holding hands. One partner
will stand in place, rotating slightly,
while the other tries to walk straight,
but ends up circling the first partner.

PART 4 Explain to students that

gravity pulls objects in the solar system

together. It pulls dust particles together
to create stars, and groups of stars
together to create galaxies, and galaxies
together to cause galaxy collisions.

Europa, a moon of Jupiter

3
H

C hocolate
M agma

ow did land form on Earth? In the early

phases of the Earth, there was no dry land.
The Earth was so hot that rock was actually
molten, as magma. The Earth slowly cooled, and
the magma hardened into rock within the Earth.
In Voyage of Time, we see evidence of this process
through images of boiling magma beneath a
dark surface of igneous rock. Gradually, as
the Earth cools, the rock transforms into the
beautiful landscapes we see in the film.

TARGET AGE GROUP

4th 5th Grade

OBJECTIVE
The teacher will model how
magma cooled into igneous
rocks to form the early
landmasses on Earth.

MATERIALS
Heat source (Microwave,
stovetop, hot plate)*
Chocolate (chips or bar,
good for melting)
Baking sheet
Cooking pot or
microwave-safe dish
Wax paper

PREPARATION
Place wax paper on baking
sheet. Break up the chocolate
bar or pour chocolate chips
into a microwave-safe dish or
pot for stovetop use.
*This activity requires adult
supervision.

GEOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCE

NGSS
4
 -ESS-1-1: Identify evidence from
patterns in rock formations and fossils
in rock layers to support an explanation
for changes in a landscape over time.
4
 -ESS-2-2: Analyze and interpret data
from maps to describe patterns of
Earths features.

ACTIVITY 3: CHOCOLATE MAGMA

PART 1 Ask students, After seeing Voyage

of Time, where do you think our land came
from? It formed from somewhere -- how did
it form? Students will make predictions and
reveal their misconceptions.

PART 2 With your heat source, heat some

chocolate until it melts. Pour out the melted

chocolate onto a baking sheet covered in wax
paper as your students watch.

PART 4

Ask students to reflect on their

predictions. Are they surprised that land
formed from magma? How did their original
ideas differ from this new idea?

PART 5 Feel free to share the newly formed

igneous rocks with your students as a snack!
Inspired by: http://www.earthsciweek.org/classroomactivities/chocolate-rock-cycle

PART 3 Wait as the chocolate cools, and

solidifies. Tell students that Earths crust

was formed in similar manner. These kinds
of rocks, formed from magma, are called
igneous rocks. It is important to emphasize
that the Earths earliest landmasses formed
from magma that cooled within the Earth
instead of lava that cooled on top of the Earth
from volcanic explosions.

Volcanic Caldera

Lava, hardening into a rock

E nvironment
& A daptation

n Voyage of Time, we see a wide variety

o f organisms in different habitats from
jellyfish in the ocean to chimpanzees on land.
Each creature has special qualities that allow it to
live in its habitat. Jellyfish thrive in the ocean but
would suffer on dry land; whereas chimpanzees
survive on land but would have trouble if they had
to live in the water.

TARGET AGE GROUP

Other creatures we see in the film no longer exist,

such as the Gorgonopsid, which is a protomammal,
Muttaburrasauruses, or the Diplocaulus. These
organisms thrived in their time and place but
environmental changes impacted their existence.
Some species adapt when their environments
change, but others become extinct.

MATERIALS

In this activity, students will consider how the

traits of plants and animals interact with their
particular environments. Then, students will
imagine adaptations to those plants and animals
after an environmental change.

10

3rd 5th Grade

OBJECTIVE
Students will consider traits of
organisms and how they relate to
their habitat. When the habitat
changes, students will consider
how those organisms need to adapt
or move to a new environment.
Safety scissors
Cards from Appendix of
organisms and habitats

PREPARATION
Make copies of the organism
cards and the habitat cards from
Appendix. Place your students
in pairs or in small groups and
give each group the page of
cards and scissors. Ask them
to cut out the cards.
LIFE SCIENCE
NGSS
3
 -LS4-3: Construct an argument with
evidence that in a particular habitat some
organisms can survive well, some survive
less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3
 -LS4-4: Make a claim about the merit
of a solution to a problem caused when
the environment changes and the types
of plants and animals that live there may
change.
3
 -LS3-2: Use evidence to support the
explanation that traits can be influenced
by the environment.
4
 -LS-1: Construct an argument that
plants and animals have internal and
external structures that function to
support survival, growth, behavior, and
reproduction.
5
 -LS1-1: Support an argument that plants
get the materials they need for growth
chiefly from air and water.

ACTIVITY 4: ENVIRONMENT & ADAPTATION

PART 1 Ask students to match the

organisms with the appropriate habitat.

Students should explain why they made the
choices they did in their small groups.

PART 2 Now, have students rotate their

organisms, so that every organism is in a

different habitat. Students pick one of the
new combinations to write about. Ask, What
would happen to the organism in its new
habitat? What traits does the organism have
that would make the habitat a difficult place to
live? Does it have any traits that would help it
in its new environment?

PART 3 Explain that over very long periods

of time, species evolved to adapt to new
habitats. In Voyage of Time, we see the
diversity of organisms in a wide variety of
habitats. Some of those organisms do not
exist anymore. Ask your students to write
a short story considering what traits the
organism could develop that would allow
them to thrive in its new habitat. (Example:
A lion could develop gills, to breathe
underwater.)

A jellyfish bloom

Gorgonopsid, a protomammal

11

Organize your
O rganisms

oyage of Time depicts a wide variety of

living organisms, from the first simple
cells to the large and complex plants and
animals found today. Some of these organisms
no longer exist, but do share traits with
modern life forms. For example, the people
we see in the film are early representatives
of the Hominid family. Biologists use the traits
that living and extinct organisms share to
organize, or classify them. The practice of
giving these groups formal names is called
taxonomy.
In this activity, students will learn about the
taxonomic system and practice sorting specific
organisms into groups.

TARGET AGE GROUP

5th 8th Grade

OBJECTIVE
Students will learn about the
taxonomic system based on
shared traits among organisms.
Students will organize species
into taxonomic categories.

MATERIALS
Organize your Organisms
worksheet in Appendix.
Scissors / paper cutter

PREPARATION
Photocopy the worksheet in
the Appendix: Organize your
Organisms to give one to each
of your students.

LIFE SCIENCE
NGSS
M
 S-LS4-2: Apply scientific ideas
to construct an explanation for the
anatomical similarities and differences
among modern organisms and between
modern and fossil organisms to infer
evolutionary relationships.
M
 S-LS1-1: Conduct an investigation to
provide evidence that living things are
made of cells, either one cell or many
different numbers and types of cells.
M
 S-LS4-6: Use mathematical
representations to support explanations
of how natural selection may lead to
increases or decreases of specific traits
in populations over time.

12

ACTIVITY 5: ORGANIZE YOUR ORGANISMS

PART 1 Explain to your students, As

you saw in Voyage of Time, there are many

different forms that life can take on Earth.
To keep track of everything, scientists have
developed a system that groups organisms
based on shared traits. For example, plants
are in one category, and animals in another.
Our current system of naming, or taxonomy
is based on one developed by Swedish
botanist, Carl Linnaeus, in the mid 1700s.

PART 2 Ask students, Why do you think

it is important to put living things into
categories? How may it help scientists
study these creatures?

PART 3 Go through the following hierarchy

with your students, emphasizing that each
level contains fewer and fewer organisms:

TAXONOMIC ORDER:
Kingdom Kingdoms include the
broader categories that students are most
familiar with including animalia, fungi,
and plantae.

Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species - The most specific

PART 4 Give students the worksheet, in

which they will try to guess the taxonomic

order of two species: Homo sapiens (human)
and Canis lupus familiaris (dog).

PART 5 Review the correct answers with

the students and ask what similarities and

differences they see in the taxonomic order.
What does this tell them about dogs and
humans compared with other organisms,
such as apes, wolves, fish, or trees? Students
should reach a place where they can see that
humans and dogs are more closely related to
each other than they are to plants or fish, but
are not as closely related as humans are to
chimpanzees or dogs are to wolves.

ACTIVITY ANSWER KEY:

ORGANIZE YOUR ORGANISMS
DOG:

Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis
Canis lupus familiaris

HUMAN:

Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Hominidae
Homo
Homo sapiens

group within taxonomic ranking.

A group of organisms capable
of breeding with each other to
produce fertile offspring.

13

T houghts on
AND ANIMAL
T hought HUMAN
CONSCIOUSNESS

ow did consciousness come into being?

When did thoughts first form? With the
diversity of life on Earth, are humans special?
These are questions that Director Terrence
Malick poses in Voyage of Time.
In this activity, students will practice film
analysis by comparing images from the film to
explore these questions.

TARGET AGE GROUP

5th 8th Grade

OBJECTIVE
Students will write a short
essay comparing and
contrasting two scenes from
the Voyage of Time.

PREPARATION
After viewing the film, share
the images of the Gorgonopsid
(protomammal) and the early
human with students.

LIFE SCIENCE
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
C
 CSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.1 Write
arguments to support claims with clear
reasons and relevant evidence.
C
 CSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2 Write
informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information through the
selection, organization, and analysis of
relevant content.
C
 CSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2.A Introduce
a topic clearly, previewing what is to
follow; organize ideas, concepts, and
information into broader categories;
include formatting (e.g., headings),
graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and
multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
C
 CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.5 Compare
and contrast the structure of two
or more texts and analyze how
the differing structure of each text
contributes to its meaning and style.

14

ACTIVITY 6: THOUGHTS ON THOUGHT

PART 1 Share the images and

definitions of the Gorgonopsid and

early human with your students.

PART 2 Ask students to write a short

essay comparing and contrasting these

images. In what ways are the situations
similar? In what ways are they different?
What point does the director make based
on the similarities and differences?

In separate scenes from Voyage of Time,

a Gorgonopsid and an early human
gaze into a pool of water.

15

Visualizing the
Voyage of Time

oyage of Time is just that a history of

time. Director Terrence Malick made very
deliberate choices in his use of imagery to tell a
story of time passing. Malick chose to depict an
evolutionary history, a geological history, and an
astronomical history; but there are many other
histories or stories of time that can be told.
In this activity, students will consider creative
ways to depict the passage of time, thinking
about the filmmaking process and the choices
made by the films director. Then, they will
create their own voyages of time.

TARGET AGE GROUP

7th 8th Grade

OBJECTIVE
Students will consider creative
ways to depict the passage of
time. Students will create their
own vision of a voyage of time
through video, photography,
drawings, or other media.

MATERIALS
Cameras / phones / tablets
Alternative methods students
can use to depict the passage
of time include drawing,
pantomime and creative
writing.

ART
NATIONAL CORE ARTS STANDARDS:
8
 th VA:Cr1.2.8a: Collaboratively shape
an artistic investigation of an aspect of
present-day life using a contemporary
practice of art and design.
8
 th VA:Cr2.1.8a: Demonstrate
willingness to experiment, innovate, and
take risks to pursue ideas, forms, and
meanings that emerge in the process of
art-making or designing.
7
 th VA:Cr3.1.7a: Reflect on and explain
important information about personal
artwork in an artist statement or another
format.
8
 th VA:Re8.1.8a: Interpret art by
analyzing how the interaction of subject
matter, characteristics of form and
structure, use of media, art-making
approaches, and relevant contextual
information contributes to understanding
messages or ideas and mood conveyed.
Hein Nouwens/Shutterstock.com

16

ACTIVITY 7: VISUALIZING THE VOYAGE OF TIME

PART 1 Discuss the choices that director

Terrence Malick made in the Voyage of

Time. Why did he decide upon that title?
How did he represent the passage of time?
What kinds of stories did he choose to tell?

PART 2 Ask students to brainstorm,

What are other ways that we depict time in

our society? How do we know that time is
passing? How do we know what time it is?
The point of this is to get students to think
beyond clocks to things like the sun moving
across the sky, night and day, aging, growing,
etc. Brainstorm a few ideas as a class.

PART 3 Now, ask students to choose

how they would like to represent the

passage of time. Students can create a
short video, a series of pictures, drawings,
or any other media. This assignment can
be a quick activity with smartphones, or a
more extended activity done out of class.

PART 4 Review students submissions

in class, encouraging students to
discuss their choices. Analyze all the
different ways that the class may have
represented the passage of time.

17

18

The Earth forms

Dinosaurs appear

Continental crust forms

Hominids split from

African apes

Cyanobacteria appears and begins to

release oxygen into the atmosphere

First evidence of animals on land

(Amphibians)

Dinosaurs become extinct and

mammals become abundant

First evidence of organisms on land

(scorpions, spiders, and plants)

Life appears on Earth, as bacteria

Homo erectus builds fire

Homo sapiens appear on Earth

Our Universe begins

APPENDIX

ACTIVITY 1 WORKSHEET: THE SCALE OF TIME

4.5

13.7

billion
years ago
billion
years ago

3.8

billion
years ago

4.4 - 4.1
billion
years ago

THE SCALE OF TIME

Time intervals not to scale

200

230

thousand
years ago

million
years ago

450

million
years ago

2.7-2.4
billion
years ago

million
years ago

66

370

million
years ago

million
years ago

million
years ago

19

APPENDIX

ACTIVITY 4 WORKSHEET: ENVIRONMENT & ADAPTATION

HABITAT CARDS

HABITAT:

HABITAT:

GRASSLANDS

OCEAN

HABITAT:

HABITAT:

onot/Shutterstock.com

FOREST

DESERT
onot/Shutterstock.com

grop/Shutterstock.com

ORGANISM:

ORGANISM:

ORGANISM CARDS

Crattos/Shutterstock.com

ORGANISM:

ORGANISM:

PINE
TREE

Morphart Creation/Shutterstock.com

20

LION

JELLYFISH

CACTUS
Alexander_P/Shutterstock.com

APPENDIX

ACTIVITY 5 WORKSHEET: ORGANIZE YOUR ORGANISMS

TAXONOMIC ORDER
KINGDOM
PHYLUM
CLASS
ORDER
FAMILY
GENUS
SPECIES

DOG

Canis lupus familiaris

HUMAN

Homo sapiens

Match the words below with where they belong above. If a word has x 2 next to it,
it means it is used in both the human and the dog taxonomy.
Animalia x 2......... Multicellular. Move on their own. Rely on other organisms for food.
Chordata x 2........ Bilaterally symmetrical (the right and the left are symmetrical). Have a rod of cartilage
or bones that runs down the back.

Canidae................... Have a strong sense of smell and hearing. Have four legs and hairy tails. Catch prey by
outlasting long-distance chases with superior endurance.

Carnivora............... Have strong teeth that enable them to eat meat.

Homo....................... Initially included only Homo sapiens, but now fossils of earlier forms of humans
have been found.

Primates................. Mostly arboreal (reside in trees). Have larger brains than most other mammals.
Usually have opposable thumbs and large toes.

Mammalia x 2..... Have hair. Females produce milk to feed offspring. Regulate their own body temperature.
Canis......................... Have strong canine teeth. Have four long legs. Have comparatively short ears and tails.
Non-retractable claws. Prefer to live in packs.

Hominidae............ Upright or semi-upright stance. Two-legged walking. Extended period of bi-parental care.
21

RESOURCES
NOVA Labs: Evolution Lab by PBS NOVA is an online
science lab complete with educational games, interviews
with scientists, and background videos. The site also
includes a Deep Tree developed by researchers at the
Harvard School of Engineering that contains a record of
70,000 known species and their evolutionary links.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/lab/evolution/
research#/chooser
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History:
Dinosaurs in our Backyard discusses fossils and
how paleontologists have learned about the
characteristics of dinosaurs.
http://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/backyard-dinosaurs/

The Encyclopedia of Life was founded in 2007 by the

Field museum, Harvard University, the Smithsonian, the
Marine Biological Laboratory and the Missouri Botanical
Garden to create a database of all known organisms in all
six Kingdoms. http://eol.org
The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
website contains many resources for educators to teach
lessons on geological history. http://education.usgs.gov
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History:
What does it mean to be human? contains resources
on human characteristics and a catalogue of all known
human species. http://humanorigins.si.edu

Animal Diversity Web comes from the Museum of

Zoology at the University of Michigan and contains a
wealth of information on species within the Animalia
Kingdom. Search by name to learn more about the
taxonomy of various species. http://animaldiversity.org/
NASAs website contains many lesson plans and
resources for educators who wish to teach astronomy.
https://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/#.VzEHTsd9IhY
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
MicroObservatory is a network of educational robotic
telescopes freely available for anyone who has internet
access to take images of the night sky.
http://mo-www.cfa.harvard.edu/OWN/index.html

22

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the following individuals who
contributed to the Voyage of Time Educators Guide:
Andrew H. Knoll, Fisher Professor of Natural History at Harvard
University
Tim D. White, Professor of Integrative Biology at University of
California, Berkeley

GLOSSARY
ADAPTATION In biology, a process

EVOLUTION The process by which

MAMMALIA A class in the taxonomic

by which an organism changes to

adjust to a change in environment.

organisms genetically develop and

change over long periods of time.

hierarchy that includes animals that

have hair, the ability to regulate
their own body temperature (warmblooded) and females that produce
their own milk to feed their offspring.

ALGAE Small plants, often with

only one cell, that are usually found
in water. Algae are among the oldest
organisms on Earth, appearing about 3
billion
years ago.

ANIMALIA A kingdom in the

taxonomic hierarchy that includes
organisms that are multicellular,
move on their own, and rely on
other organisms for food.

CANIDAE A genus in the taxonomic

hierarchy that includes mammals
with four legs, hairy tails that have
a strong sense of smell and hearing
that help them catch prey.

CANIS LUPUS FAMILIARIS Latin

name for the household dog. Canis
is the genus and lupus familiaris is
the species. This format of naming
is called binomial nomenclature.

CARNIVORA An order in the

taxonomic hierarchy that includes
mammals with strong teeth

FAMILY The fifth rank in

taxonomic hierarchy.

GALAXY A group of stars,

planets, and nebulae in space
held together by gravity. Galaxies
can include trillions of stars.

MASS The amount of matter in an

GENUS The sixth rank in taxonomy.

MUTTABURRASAURUS A dinosaur

GORGONOPSID, or
PROTOMAMMAL An extinct

that lived in what is now Australia,

97.5 113 million years ago.

species of reptile that lived roughly

250 299 million years ago. The
Gorgonopsid had mammal-like qualities,
such as being warm-blooded.

object. Takes into account the size of an

object and how dense that object is.

NEBULA A cloud of dust and gas in

space. Often is the location for new
star formation.

GRAVITY A force that attracts

ORBIT A path of a celestial body in

objects of mass to each other. The

pull of gravity is directly proportional
to the amount of mass.

motion around a more massive body.

HABITAT A place where an

ORDER The fourth highest

rank in taxonomy.

organism lives, including all living

and non-living features.

ORGANISM Anything that is living.

HOMINIDAE A family in

in taxonomy.

the taxonomic hierarchy that

includes the genus Homo. All
hominids walk on two legs.

HOMO A genus in the taxonomic

ranking that includes human beings.

PHYLUM The second highest rank

PRIMATES An order in the taxonomic
hierarchy that includes mammals that
have large brains, are usually arboreal,
rely on sight more than hearing or smell,
and often have opposable thumbs.

that enable them to eat meat.

HOMO ERECTUS A species of

Dogs belong in this family.

human that existed from roughly 2

million years ago to 150,000 years ago.
Homo erectus built fires to cook meat.

PROTO-MAMMAL A reptilian

HOMO SAPIENS Latin name for the

within taxonomic ranking. A group of

organisms capable of breeding with
each other to produce fertile offspring.

CHORDATA A phylum in the

taxonomic hierarchy that includes
animals that are symmetrical and
that runs down their backs.

modern human being. Homo is the genus

and sapiens is the species. This format of
naming is called binomial nomenclature.

CLASS The third highest

IGNEOUS ROCK Rock

have a rod of cartilage or bones

rank in taxonomy.

CYANOBACTERIA Bacteria that

produce their own energy through
photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria are

formed when lava cools.

KINGDOM The highest rank in

taxonomy. Groups together organisms
based on very broad characteristics.

ancestor of modern day mammals.

SPECIES The most specific group

STAR A body of gas in space

that produces light through
nuclear fusion in its core.

TAXONOMY The practice

of naming organisms.

LAVA Liquid rock when it reaches

TRAIT A characteristic of an organism.

appearing about 2.7 billion years ago.

above the surface of the Earth. When

it cools, it forms igneous rock.

TIKTAALIK One of the first

DIPLOCAULUS An extinct amphibian

MAGMA Liquid rock below

among the oldest organisms on Earth,

that lived about 250 million years ago.

the surface of the Earth.

organisms to leave the ocean and

move onto land 370 million years ago.
It looks like a fish with four legs.

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