A Brief History of Several Billion Years

How did the continents come to look the way they do, and how will they change in the future?

Grade
6-8
Subjects
Science
Key Content
continent, tectonic plate, plate motion, continental shift, mountain range, weathering, erosion
A view of the Earth from outer space, with North and South America visible.

Students develop a physical time line and an interactive virtual museum exhibit that guides visitors through the history of the Earth’s continental shifts and the mountain ranges that formed on those continents and predicts how the continents will shift in the future. Students analyze and apply knowledge of the geoscience processes that have shaped Earth’s surface, including plate boundary collisions, weathering, and evidence of continental motion.