For this lesson, students learn about the earth's past by studying clues that have been left behind, such as fossils and rocks. Students will find the answers to many questions: What is paleontology?, What is geological time?, What can...

This online chapter of a book studying biodiversity and conservation explores the evolution of mammals, from the extinction of the dinosaurs to the evolution of humans.

This article, reprinted from the fall 1979 LBL News Magazine, was written about Dr. Luis Alvarez and his part in the study of geological sediments and the great extinctions.

This second lesson in a course on dinosaurs is devoted to extinction. There are group activities, discussion of the idea, and a way to assess what the students have learned.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] The two periods of the Cenozoic Era, Tertiary and Quaternary, granted the mammals the time and space to evolve since the dinosaurs became extinct.

Information about the Mesozoic Era, including details and extensive links about the geology and biology of the period. A very thorough site that is geared toward 5 - 8th grades, but useful for all.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, animations of an asteroid hitting Earth are used to illustrate this widely accepted theory of dinosaur extinction and the resulting conditions that favored mammals.

"One of the great mysteries in science is the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Mesozoic Era some 65 million years ago. Who (or more likely what) caused it is unknown and a subject of great debate." Many theories are touched...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage from the American Museum of Natural History is about the discovery and study of bones from Pterosaurs, extinct flying reptiles that are not exactly dinosaurs or birds. A question set, a...

Birds have them, and so did some species of extinct dinosaurs. They're feathers. They come in different shapes and sizes, all colors, and they enable birds to fly. Lots of information can be found in this article.

Learn more about the life of the scientist that proposed the theory of mass extinction of the dinosaurs due to an asteroid or comet in this article. Read all about the life and scientific discoveries of Luis Alvarez.