EarthViewer is a mobile app that lets you travel through time to see the history of the earth over the last 4.5 billion years. The app uses the latest scientific research to provide maps and data of changes that have occurred on the earth’s surface and in the climate, and provides detailed information on major geological and biological in the earth’s history. Data is available on numerous characteristics of our planet over time, such as biodiversity, solar luminosity, temperature, and atmospheric composition. EarthViewer allows the user to track specific landmarks or locations, such as Greenland or New York City, and see how these places looked long before human settlement, and how places have changed in the modern area.
The app is specifically geared towards education, in the hopes that teachers will be able to provide students with an interactive and fun way to connect to the past, their surroundings, and our world, by clicking and zooming anywhere they please. The app was created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s BioInteractive team, who partner with the teaching community to craft an engaging science curriculum around the history of planet. The past can seem like a distant and inaccessible place, but EarthViewer’s innovative and creative use of geography and mapping allows users to connect to the history of their surroundings and homes through the beautiful design.
Written by: Christopher Ewell, AGS Intern on June 3, 2015