Bozeman Science
Scientific Evidence for Evolution
Humans share about 50% of their genes with a banana. In the video, scholars analyze the scientific evidence for evolution. The instructor spends time discussing Darwin and biogeography, fossils, and homologous structures. Scholars then...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Great Transitions: The Origin of Tetrapods
The featured movie focuses on the ancestry of our four-footed friends. Find the fundamental pattern of their limbs and vertebrae in fossils of fish. After viewing, biology learners can enjoy interactive websites to zoom in on the...
TED-Ed
Four Ways to Understand the Earth's Age
Cartoon children compare the earth's age to timescales that we understand:a calendar year, the thickness of a book, the human lifespan. This smart film clip is definitely worth adding to your geologic timescale lesson! If you subscribe...
American Museum of Natural History
Living Large
Get to know all about sauropods from a paleontologist, Jonah. Following an introductory video, scholars choose from five fossils to learn more about. Each fossil begins with a video, provides information from several different...
PBS
The Ghostly Origins of the Big Cats
A lack of fossil records forces scientists to piece together the evolution of the big cats. The PBS Eons video lesson describes the processes scientists use to infer evolutionary details and predict possible species. Scholars get an...
PBS
When We Took over the World
Exactly how did humans become the top of the food chain? Follow archeologists through an analysis of the fossil records during a video presentation from the PBS Eons series. The ancient artifacts trace human evolution from Africa to the...
PBS
The Island of Huge Hamsters and Giant Owls
From cute little birds to giant aviary specimens—all animals evolve! Learn how natural selection on an isolated island in the Mediterranean encouraged animals species to increase in size. The narrator discusses fossil evidence that...
PBS
The Island of Shrinking Mammoths
We've heard about pygmy pigs—why not pygmy mammoths? Fossil evidence proves their existence, but the dilemma is figuring out where they lived. A video describes different theories on their evolution and migration.
PBS
The Humans That Lived Before Us
You may struggle to find similarities between humans and many of our ancestors. Fossil evidence finds more and more signs of similarities between humans and many other species. A lesson outlines the fossil evidence and the questions...
PBS
Did Raptorex Really Exist?
Ancient fossils have many stories to tell. Scientists must use different strategies to read these remnants. A video lesson explains how archeologists use different strategies to date each specimen. The timeline of a fossil helps identify...
PBS
When Sharks Swam the Great Plains
Would you believe the Midwest region of the United States was once the Western Interior Seaway? An interesting presentation from the PBS Eons series describes the geography of the ancient seaway and the species that lived there. The...
PBS
Your Place in the Primate Family Tree
Your family get-togethers are about to become more interesting! A video lesson in the PBS Eons series describes the primate family tree that leads to the one and only—homo sapiens. Discover the fossil evidence that leads scientists to...
PBS
When Giant Amphibians Reigned
Take an evolutionary journey as an ancient amphibian. A lesson from a PBS series describes the features and evolutionary sequence of a large amphibian group, the Temnospondyls. Although extinct over 210 million years ago, many...
PBS
Can We Get DNA from Fossils?
Just how long can a fossil preserve DNA? It seems that DNA becomes unreadable after about 6.8 million years. Learn about the science that helped make this conclusion and the mistakes made along the way in a lesson from a PBS Eons video...
PBS
Life, Sex, and Death Among the Dire Wolves
Scientists know a great deal about extinct dire wolves thanks to a large number fossilized in one geographical area. They lived in groups, hunted opportunistic or wounded prey, and were fierce in battle and sex. Learn more with an...
PBS
When Fish Wore Armor
Today very few animals exist with both an endoskeleton and exoskeleton. Yet, in the Devonian period, a large number of fish species lived with both. Scientists debate if they were for protection or mineral storage, because none of them...
Crash Course
Earth Science: Crash Course History of Science #20
How old is Earth and how do scientists know the answer? Throughout history, many researchers, scholars, and leaders answered this question with varying degrees of accuracy. The 20th episode of Crash Course History of Science introduces...
PBS
How a Supervolcano Made the Cenozoic’s Coolest Fossils
Volcanoes cause mass extinctions, climate change, and physical alterations of our planet. They also create great fossil records, time markers in layers of Earth, and an interesting way to study geology. A video describes how one...
PBS
When Birds Had Teeth
Scientists believe confuciusornis developed a beak and lost teeth as a key step in the evolutionary process. Learn more about confuciusornis and other birds, dinosaurs, and animals that evolved into the birds of today. PBS Eons walks...
Be Smart
Tuatara All the Way Down: Face to Face with a Living Fossil!
Change is good ... unless you're a tuatara! Meet Earth's oldest surviving reptile species in a fun video from an extensive science playlist. Content includes why the tuatara did not evolve and its unique anatomy.
PBS
Fossils: Rocking the Earth
Scientists learn about animals and plants living today by understanding the fossil record. A helpful resource includes a brief explanation of the process to help scholars complete the online game. It also mentions the gaps in knowledge...
PBS
The Great Snake Debate
Snakes are just lizards without legs, right? Scholars study the sensational evolutionary history of the snake with a video from a well-written biology playlist. Topics include snake fossils, theories on snake evolution, and...
PBS
The Time Terror Birds Invaded
Like something from a low-budget horror movie, terror birds ruled the roost in South America millions of years ago. Things didn't go as well when they headed north! With an intriguing video, biology scholars explore the massive migration...
PBS
When Giant Fungi Ruled
Fungi are more than fun ... they're also functional! Most everyone knows they serve as Earth's decomposers, but ancient fungi took their job to a whole new level! An entertaining video from a large biology playlist examines the giant...