Toilet Tissue Timeline
Credits
(Source: DynamicEarth.co.uk)
Background
The Earth is 4.6 billion years old and human experience is just a small part of this ancient timeline. The Earth is a dynamic planet that has experienced and continues to experience many changes, including the formation of continents, extinctions, glaciation and climate change.
Objectives
To construct a model of Earth’s history and learn how our planet has changed over time.
Materials
- A roll of toilet paper
- Crayons/coloured markers
Instructions
Working together with your family, construct a timeline by carefully rolling out the toilet paper, and numbering the sheets to keep count. When you arrive at an important event in Earth’s history, carefully write the event on the tissue, or mark it with a symbol, using a coloured marker and record it on a piece of paper. Refer to the information in the chart below to construct your timeline. When you have completed your timeline discuss the Earth’s history model with your family. Was everyone surprised at how many sheets were required to create the timeline?
Was anyone surprised by any of the events in the history of the Earth?
Toilet Paper Timeline
(~200 sheets)
Sheets from START
Sheets from previous marker
Earth Event
1 Sheet
1 Sheet
Planet Earth formed
4 Sheets
3 Sheets
Earth’s core and crust formed
9 Sheets
5 Sheets
Oceans formed
33 Sheets
24 Sheets
First life appeared
135 Sheets
102 Sheets
Oxygen begins accumulating in the atmosphere
170 Sheets
35 Sheets
First animals
178 Sheets
8 Sheets
First vertebrates
184 Sheets
6 Sheets
First land plants
185 Sheets
1 Sheet
First land animals
190 Sheets
5 Sheets
First dinosaurs
197 Sheets
7 Sheets
Extinction of the dinosaurs
200 Sheets
3 Sheets
First humans
200 Sheets
0 Sheets
Present day
