David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth

D. Finnin/© AMNH

The David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, located in the Rose Center for Earth and Space, displays an outstanding collection of geological specimens from around the world to show how our planet works. The hall is organized around five major questions: How has the Earth evolved? Why are there ocean basins, continents, and mountains? How do we read rocks? What causes climate and climate change? Why is the Earth habitable?

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The hall features 168 rock specimens, and 11 full-scale models of classic outcrops chosen to illustrate an important aspect of Earth’s dynamic story. Explore geologic time, peer into the planet’s depths, and understand the scientific methods used to study it. The regularly updated Earth Bulletin highlights important topics in Earth science.

Featured specimens come from nearly all corners of the globe and include pure sulfur formed in an Indonesian volcano, a fossil stromatolite from the Sahara Desert in Mauritania, and a rock from New York City’s Central Park. The hall’s oldest specimen is a zircon crystal from Australia that formed about 4.3 billion years ago, only 200 million years after Earth itself.

 

In This Hall

Museum Hall Guide Resources for Educators: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth With 168 rock specimens from nearly all corners of the globe, the hall is a rich resource for exploring our planet's geologic history. Exhibit How Has the Earth Evolved? The continental crust is a historical record: our oldest rocks are four billion years old, and the youngest are still forming. Exhibit Why are there ocean basins, continents, and mountains? Over millions of years, ocean basins open and close, continents move and change shape, and mountains are pushed up and eroded away. Exhibit How Do We Read the Rocks? How has the Earth evolved? Why are there ocean basins, continents, and mountains? Exhibit What Causes Climate and Climate Change Discover how climate works and explore the consequences of climate change in the Hall of Planet Earth. Exhibit Why is the Earth habitable? It is the right distance from the Sun, it is protected from harmful solar radiation by its magnetic field, it is kept warm by an... Exhibit Dynamic Earth The half globe above shows a changing image of the Earth as seen from space. As the Earth rotates, clouds are removed to reveal its...