Step back to an era before humans existed, millions of years ago, then see how our species emerged and began to form societies. This vast expanse of time begins just after the Permian Extinction, a dramatic event that killed up to 90% of the Earth’s species. After this point came the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of the Mesozoic era, during which our planet was dominated by dinosaurs, until the next mass extinction event approximately 66 million years ago. Early ape ancestors emerged 20 million or so years ago, and homo sapiens first walked the Earth around half a million years ago.

What strange creatures roamed the Earth in the distant past? What features did the world’s landscapes share with the present day, and what has changed beyond recognition? How did humans evolve and survive, and what were our earliest ancestors like? Guide your students into the distant past to find out.

All of the scenes contained within this zone are shown below: