Last Saturday, I and other Rose Scholars had the opportunity to tour Museum of the Earth. I had a wonderful time learning about the Earth and the many species that have inhabited it. It reminded me that an innumerable number of organisms lived on Earth before us and that many more will be here after we are gone. As a child, I wanted to become an archaeologist after watching The Land Before Time because I was curious about what life was like before humans existed. I also lived in Washington D.C. when I was in elementary school and frequently visited the Smithsonian museums during weekends, which piqued my interest in dinosaurs and extinct/endangered animals.

During the tour, I learned that the cooling of the Earth’s climate was associated with widespread glaciation in the Southern Hemisphere. This cooling caused the first mass extinction about 400 million years ago, killing many marine organisms.

I also enjoyed looking at fossils of different phyla and replications of dinosaurs:

Another exhibit I found fascinating was this:

It is a block of ice that we might have seen at the exact spot 14,500 years ago. When I touched the ice, I was surprised that it was cold. I really wanted to know how the museum keeps it refrigerated.

Overall, I really enjoyed this excursion to the museum! This museum is a historical gem for Ithaca. I learned a lot and also connected with some Rose Scholars. This was a great way to start out my Saturday.