Unearthing Life: The Deep History of a Living Planet
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Barbara Hartings, Lebanon High School, OH -- School Library Journal, 5/29/2008
Unearthing Life: The Deep History of a Living Planet. DVD. 45 min. Classroom Encounters. 2007. ISBN 978-0-9801729-3-5. $50.
Gr 7-10–This is one of a series of science programs in which a research scientist directly interacts with school children. The DVD focuses on an informal presentation by Dr. Andrew Knoll, a Harvard science professor and member of the Mars Exploration Rovers Team, to a high school science class. He utilizes numerous slides and specimens to demonstrate the strata of the Earth, and link fossils, microfossils, microbes, and bacteria found in different areas of the world, and in different layers of sedimentary rock, to the age of the planet. Dr. Knoll’s presentation is relaxed, yet he touches upon a great deal of information, including some of the latest findings in using fossil layers from several key areas of the Earth to demonstrate the growth in complexity of organisms. The students ask solid questions, and the scientist provides simple, understandable answers. The DVD can be played in it’s entirely or individual chapters can be accessed. The filming as well as the opening and closing music was done by students at the school. This fascinating production can be used to set the stage for junior high or high school Earth science or biology classes.
