Time walk at the Big History Camp

June, Year 2, Age 7

We walked through 13.8 billion years of history. We learnt that a tiny fraction of a second after the big bang the universe was the size of a golf ball. We couldn't see anything as there was no light. Our time machine (cleverly disguised as a measuring wheel) took us through billions of years. We saw the first stars form and die.

inflation no light moving through time moving through time

When we reached 4 1/2 billion years ago our Earth formed. There was no oxygen, and no life. The Earth looked very different and was being bombarded by asteroids and meteorites. HB looked at pieces of these ancient rocks. One Mars sized planet hit the earth, ultimately forming the moon. These asteroids brought water to the Earth.

piece of ancient asteroid the earth looks different piece of ancient asteroid

Eventually life emerged. The group looked at some fossils.

trilobite trilobite ammonite fern

About 2 1/2 million years ago we saw the first hominids. Modern humans did not appear until about 200,000 years ago. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the stone age.

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