![A child outdoors smiling at the camera and holding a clear cylindrical container with a plant and a thermometer.](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_495.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_990.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_1468.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_1980.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_2475.gif 241w)
![A child outdoors smiling at the camera and holding a clear cylindrical container with a plant and a thermometer.](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_495.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_990.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_1468.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_1980.gif 241w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/climate-change/make-a-terrarium/main_image/4568170-1-eng-US/main_image_full_2475.gif 241w)
To see a model of how this works, make your own miniature greenhouse or "terrarium" out of a clear container. Of course, Earth doesn't work exactly like a terrarium. A terrarium's solid walls contain warm air inside it. But the atmosphere is not a solid barrier. The gases in the atmosphere absorb some of the heat radiated from Earth's surface, and then re-emit some into space and some back towards Earth's surface.
Image Credits:
Photos: AMNH / Matt Tarr