Taking a virtual walk from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol to explore the 4.54 billion-year history of Earth, with each stride representing 1 to 2 million years; along the way, fossils paint a picture of life on Earth from its start.

While the fossilized remains of some organisms are rarely found, the evidence of their existence, as they interacted with the environment, exists; learning how trace fossils help understand the early evolution of the biosphere and animal life.

Learning how much the scientific name of an animal, past or present, really matters; from Carl Linnaeus' Systema Naturae to the modern system of cladistics, exploring how much can be learned about the history of life on Earth through classification.

Paleontology offers a lens to view how the planet's 4,400 minerals develop over years, both influencing and being influenced by the evolving biosphere; learning how Earth's few primordial minerals interact with liquid water; studying photosynthesis.