When standing in front of an outcrop, geoscientists use relative dating principles to determine the sequence of events that occurred. These concepts are used by geoscientists to develop a narrative for an area.
This activity gives students practice using their observational skills to develop a timeline for a piece of art in a college museum. It is particularly geared towards students who are taking GE-101 to fulfill a college distributive requirement and who may be intimidated by a college level science course.
Students are split into small groups and given a worksheet that asks them to consider a single artwork carefully and develop a timeline for the lifespan of the piece from initial concept through the current display of the piece. Students were limited in their choice of artwork that could be used for the activity. (The pieces were chosen ahead of time, criteria included having obvious multiple steps in the creative process, relatively simple/identifiable art techniques or processes, some uncertainty as to the order of processes and/or gaps in time.)
As a wrap up, the entire group gathered in front of each piece and the groups reported out on their timeline and rationale for the sequence they chose.

This 30 minute activity engages students in ordering and spacing geologic history events on a meter stick. Students engage in an inquiry cycle, individually first, then with a partner before receiving feedback on their model. This process scaffolds their temporal reasoning of the vastness of geologic time.

In this activity, students are assigned a geologic profile based on a set of rock samples and are asked to arrange the samples from oldest to youngest. They then identify each rock type and record their observations of what processes might have formed it, what type of sediment it is made of, what sort of environment it might have formed in, and what agents of erosion or deposition might have been at work. Using this information, they will write a story explaining the geologic history represented by their profile and describe in detail how it might have formed.

In this activity, students play the roles of time travelers and travel to the Archaean era to learn what early Earth was like during that time. They collect information on the Archaean atmosphere, life forms, and landscape, and write a report that summarizes its characteristics. A scoring rubric for the report is provided.

In this video segment from NOVA: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, learn about the discovery of a well-preserved transitional fossil and how such transitional fossils support the theory of evolution.

In this activity, students play the roles of consultants in developing a geologic 'tour' south od Rochester, New York, near the Pennsylvania border. They will gather information on the local rock types and underlying geology, examine an assemblage of fossils from the bedrock and from glacial erratics, and prepare a report detailing the geology with cross-sections and a timeline based on the fossil occurrences. They will also develop a plan for a walking tour highlighting the geology of the area.