Learning About the Cenozoic Era

The Cenozoic Era began around 66 million years ago and continues to the present. It is broken into 3 periods- the Paleogene the Neogene, and the Quaternary. The early part of the Quaternary Period, known as the Pleistocene Epoch, was our most recent ice age.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the other posts in my Learning About Geologic History Series:

Learning About Fossils

Learning About Geologic History- The Paleozoic Era

Learning About the Mesozoic Era- The Age of the Dinosaurs

Activities and resources for learning about the Cenozoic Era

Periods of the Cenozoic Era

The Paleogene The Paleogene Period is the earliest period of the Cenozoic Era. It lasted from about 66 million years ago to around 23 million years ago. The Paleogene is most notable as the period when mammals diversified. By the end of the Paleogene most of the major groups of mammals that we know today were present.

Animals of the Paleogene Period include: terror birds (huge flightless birds), early horses, early rhinoceros and elephants.

Learn more about the Paleogene Period with the following links:

-The Time Terror Birds Invaded video from PBS Eons

-The Paleogene Period from Fossils, Facts, and Finds

The Neogene The Neogene Period began around 23 million years ago and ended about 2.6 million years ago. During the Neogene Period the Earth began a cooling trend. Forests were replaced by grasslands, driving evolution another direction once again. Mammals and birds continued on their path to becoming the familiar species we know today and the first hominins appeared in Africa.

Animals of the Neogene Period include: early primates and early bovids.

You can learn more about the Neogene Period with the resources below:

-The Neogene Period from Humboldt State University

-The Humans That Lived Before Us video from PBS Eons

The Quaternary The Quaternary Period spans from the end of the Neogene 2.6 million years ago to the present. It is divided into two epochs- the Pleistocene and the Holocene.

The Pleistocene is better know as the most recent ice age. The climate was colder and drier than it is today. At the peak of the ice age ice sheets covered all of Antarctica, large portions of Europe, most of modern day Canada, the northern parts of what is now the United States, and parts of South America and Asia.

Modern humans evolved and managed to flourish and spread during the Pleistocene. Other animals of this epoch include: woolly mammoths, cave lions, saber toothed cats, woolly rhinoceros, and giant ground sloths.

You can learn more about the Quaternary Period with the following resources:

-Pleistocene Epoch: Facts About the Last Ice Age from Live Science

-5 Giant Ice Age Animals video from SciShow Kids

-How the Earth was Made- America's Ice Age video from the History Channel

-The Mysterious Gigantic Lions That Used to Roam North America video from SciShow

-Ancient Animal- Giant Ground Sloth video

Activity Ideas

Cenozoic Animal Report- Choose an animal of the Cenozoic Era to study in depth and write a short report about it.

Cenozoic Vocabulary- Make a list of new words you come across while studying the Cenozoic Era. Some words you could include are:

-Ice Age: a glacial episode or series of episodes during a past geologic period

-Interglacial Period: a period of warming between cooler "glacial" periods

-Glacier: a large persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight

-Mammal: a class of warm blooded vertebrates distinguished by live birth, and the possession of hair and mammary glands

How Big Was a Woolly Mammoth Tusk? A woolly mammoth's tusks could grow up to 14 feet long! Grab a tape measure and measure out 14 feet.

Make a Lapbook or Display Board Make a lapbook or a display board showcasing what you've learned about the Cenozoic Era.

Cenozoic Timeline Make a timeline showing the different periods and epochs of the Cenozoic Era. Mark when different animals evolved.

Sketch a Woolly Mammoth Learn how to draw a woolly mammoth with this short tutorial video:

https://youtu.be/ba2CXZpsnag

Additional Resources

-What Was the Ice Age? by Nico Medina

-National Geographic- Prehistoric Animals

-From the Fall of Dinos to the Rise of Humans video from PBS Eons

-Human Origins 101 video from National Geographic

What's your favorite ice age animal?

Follow me on

Facebook

Instagram

Comments

Water Relay Races For Kids

I don't know about your kids, but mine absolutely love games involving water and getting wet in the summer time. In this post I share 5 of our favorite water relay races to play with friends. These are perfect for birthday parties, homeschool get togethers, and other group events. Sponge Relay: For this relay you will need: - 2 teams of several kids each -2 large sponges -4 small buckets or containers of some sort Divide your participants into 2 teams and have each team line up single file at a predetermined starting place. Hand out a sponge to the first participant in each line. Set a bucket of water by each team. Set an empty bucket about 20 ft away from each team. The two empty buckets should be the same size and should have a "fill line" marked half way up. On a count of 3 (or ready set go) the first participant in each line should dip their sponge in the bucket of water, run to the empty bucket, squeeze the water from their spo

Make Your Own Mineral Identification Kit

One of my family's favorite hobbies is rock hounding. We love collecting and trying to identify neat rock and mineral specimens that we come across. You can put together your own simple kit for identifying rocks and minerals with materials you likely already have around your home. In this post I will explain how to put together your own mineral identification kit and how to use it to identify rocks and minerals you find on your adventures. Making a Rock and Mineral ID Kit Grab yourself a printable Rock and Mineral Journal for recording your observations here: Printable Rock and Mineral Journal , and then gather the following supplies: -A pencil -A coin -An iron nail -A piece of glass (an old pocket mirror works well) -A ceramic tile -A small watertight bottle or container -Some vinegar -A magnet -A magnifying glass -A dropper (optional) -Rock and mineral guide (optional) -A small container or bag to keep it all in Fill the small watertight

STEM Art: 21 STEAM Project Ideas

My kids love STEM projects and we're always looking for ways to add more art to our homeschool days, so I decided I am going to try to dedicate one morning a week this year to STEM art activities. In this post I share some of the ideas we're planning to try, plus a few favorites we've done in the past. What is STEM Education? STEM education is a blended and often hands on approach to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which are some of today's fastest growing industries. STEM education offers students the opportunity to problem solve and work on real world problems and questions. Sometimes the acronym STEAM is used, to include the arts. Adding art to STEM education encourages creative thinking and problem solving skills. It can also help make the other included subjects more appealing to some students. STEM Art Projects Penny Spinners- Learn about centrifugal force and make your own spinning tops with this fun post from Teach Beside Me. Explo

40 Things To Look At Under A Microscope

Microscopes are a scientific instrument that all kids should get a chance to learn how to use. There are so many everyday things that look really amazing up-close. Under a microscope you can see that objects and even plants and animals are made of tiny intricate parts. The microscopic world is amazing! In this post I share 40 things to try looking at up-close under a microscope. 40 Things To Look At Under A Microscope: 1. A feather 2. Soil 3. An insect wing 4. A human hair 5. An animal hair 6. Pond water 7. Diatomacious earth- diatomacious earth looks SO cool magnified! 8. Cheek swab 9. An insect leg 10. A drop of blood 11. Mold 12. Sand 13. A shaving from a chicken bone- try both a piece of hard bone from the outside and some spongy bone from inside a bone. 14. Kombucha 15. Snake or lizard skin after they shed 16. A flower petal 17. A sliver of wood 18. Sugar 19. Salt- try different types 20. Thread 21. Saliva 22. A s

Learning About The Human Body Part 1: The Skeletal And Muscular Systems

At the end of each school year, I sit down with my daughter to discuss what topics she wants to learn about the next year. One of her science topics she picked to study this year was the human body. Instead of ordering a boxed curriculum set, I decided to put together my own human body unit. In this post I share some of the resources we used for learning about the human skeletal and muscular systems, plus instructions for a couple hands on learning activities. You can find my post about the human respiratory and circulatory systems here , and my post about the human digestive and nervous systems here . The Human Skeletal System Our skeletons are the frame of our body. They give us structure, without them our bodies would be limp like noodles. They also provide places for muscles to attach so our bodies can move. Why Does Your Body Need Calcium? Experiment: This is a simple experiment you can do to explore why calcium is important for our bones. You will need: -several clean

Search This Blog