Virtual Human Origins Educational Lab
Human Evolution Lab
This activity is designed for students in grades 6-8 to collect and analyze data with scientists from the Human Origins Educational Laboratory. Students will explore how humans have evolved and determine the evolutionary relationships among modern humans and our extinct relatives.
Virtual Lab Worksheet
Students can use this worksheet to collect data while going through the three part activity.
Worksheet for Hall of Human Origins Educational Laboratory virtual lab experience
Three-part activity
Part I: What are the major changes that have taken place in human evolution?
Start by watching this video clip. Take notes about how humans have evolved over the past seven million years.
Part II: Comparing hominin and ape anatomy
Begin by watching this video tutorial and then explore the Meet the Relatives activity. Fill out the data table on your question sheet.
Part III: Determining evolutionary relationships
Watch this instructional video and use the data table that you filled out in the previous section to complete a cladogram (evolutionary tree).
Additional Resources for Teachers
Teacher's Guide for the Human Evolution Virtual Lab Activity
Genetics Lab
This activity is designed for students in grades 9–12 to collect and analyze data with scientists from the Human Origins Educational Laboratory. Explore how scientists measure and study human genetic variation.
Virtual Lab Worksheet
Use this worksheet to collect data while going through the three-part activity
Worksheet for Hall of Human Origins Educational Laboratory virtual lab experience
Virtual Lab Experience: Three-part activity
Part I: Race and human health
Start by watching this video clip. Discuss why the concept of race is not considered a scientific concept and is not useful for studying genetic variation.
Part II: Comparing genetic variation using gel electrophoresis
Begin by going to the Genetic Science Learning Center simulation to practice doing gel electrophoresis. Next, based on the video tutorial, construct a hypothesis predicting which species, humans (Homo sapiens) or chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), have more genetic variation.
Part III: Comparing genetic variation using DNA sequencing
After watching this video clip, copy and paste the mtDNA sequences from your worksheet onto the EZBiocloud website to compare them. Examine the percent similarity between individuals from various populations.
Additional Resources for Teachers