Teaching in the Exhibition

The explorations below support your teaching of the Key Concepts. Refer to the Map of the Exhibition to find locations.

1. Chimpanzee, Modern Human, and Neanderthal Skeletons

Ask students: Why do these skeletons introduce the exhibition? Have students compare the skeletal structures of the three species. What biological structures do you recognize in the video above? Students can explore the interactive "Meet Your Relatives" behind the skeletons.

Key Concept: Ample scientific evidence documents evolutionary history.

2. Fossils: A Record of the Past

Have students find an example of a trace fossil and a body fossil here and later as they explore the exhibition. Ask: What can fossils reveal about extinct species? Examine the column of earth layers. What can the position of earth layers reveal about the age of fossils inside them? Students can deepen their investigation with the interactive "Fossil Detectives."

Key Concept: Ample scientific evidence documents evolutionary history.

3. Evolutionary Trees

3a. Our Hominid "Family Tree": Use the image below to help students read this evolutionary tree, which shows how the hominid family changed over time. Ask: What do the orange bars indicate? Have students find Homo sapiens. What does its position on the tree tell you? Which hominids are extinct? Which lived longer than Homo sapiens? Which lived on Earth at the same time?

3b. Tree of Life: Find the tree of life across the room. It shows how species are related to one another. Can students find Homo sapiens? Have students use the interactive to explore the tree.

Key Concept: Evolutionary trees represent the history of life.

diagram of a cell
(click to enlarge)
©AMNH

4. Cell Model

Have students identify and describe cell structures they know. Ask: Which structures contain DNA?

Key Concept: Ample scientific evidence documents evolutionary history.

5. DNA: Comparing Humans and Chimps

Students can compare the human, chimp, and mouse chromosomes. Which two chromosomes are most alike? How are humans and chimps similar? Different?

Key Concept: Ample scientific evidence documents evolutionary history.

6. Evolution: How It Works

Have students read the sections on variation and selection. Ask: What mechanisms produce variation? Have students describe variation between individuals in our species.

Key Concept: Several mechanisms drive evolution.

Laetoli hominid and modern human footprints
(click to enlarge)
©AMNH

7. Two Australopithecus Figures/Laetoli Footprints

Have students compare themselves to the figures, then walk on the fossilized footprints behind the figures. Ask: How do the prints compare to your feet and stride? What do your observations suggest about the individuals who left them?

Key Concept: Ample scientific evidence documents evolutionary history.

8. The History of Human Evolution

Neanderthal Campsite
(click to enlarge)
©AMNH/Roderick Mickens

Ask: What evidence was used to reconstruct how these hominids might have looked and lived?
Have students compare the faces, bodies, and environments of the hominid species. Ask: How are they similar? Different? How has the hominid family changed over time?
Gather in front of the Homo sapiens diorama scene. Ask: Do all modern humans look like these people? Why not?

Key Concepts: Ample scientific evidence documents evolutionary history; Human populations migrated to many environments and diversified.

9. Science Bulletins Video and Kiosks

Have students watch the media in this section. Ask them to note the dates associated with each story. Encourage them to recognize that science is an ongoing process.

Key Concepts: All.

10. Map: Our Earliest Migrations

Have students illuminate the migration pathways. In what continent did modern humans evolve? Where did humans disperse? Did humans really "leave" Africa?

Key Concept: Human populations migrated to many environments and diversified.

11. The Brain

Have students explore this area and compare the human brain to that of other species. Have them identify the parts of the brain that they think make humans unique.

Key Concept: The human brain is unique.

12. Language, Music, Art, Tools & Technology

In this section, students can read about different forms of cultural expression and consider their own abilities. Ask: What skills were you born with? What have you learned from others? What do you think makes us "human"? Explore the interactives to deepen understanding.

Key Concept: Only modern humans create complex culture.