demonstrations:onezoom_tree_of_life_explorer
OneZoom Tree of Life Explorer
Materials: ★☆☆ Easy to get from supermarket or hardware store
Difficulty: ★☆☆ Can be easily done by most teenagers
Safety: ★☆☆ Minimal safety procedures required
Categories: Classification, Ecology and Ecosystems, Natural Selection and Evolution
Alternative titles: Interactive Tree of Life
Summary
The OneZoom Tree of Life Explorer is an interactive visualization that displays the evolutionary relationships between over two million species. Each leaf represents a species, while the branching structure shows how all life shares common ancestors across billions of years.
Procedure
- Open the OneZoom Tree of Life Explorer in a web browser.
- Begin by zooming into a branch of interest, such as mammals, plants, or insects.
- Click on individual leaves to view species information and images.
- Follow the branching paths to explore how species are connected through evolutionary history.
- Take a guided tour if desired, which highlights groups like great apes, birds, or flowering plants.
- Experiment with zooming in and out to see both large-scale relationships and fine details.
Links
💻 OneZoom: https://www.onezoom.org/
Variations
- Use guided tours to focus on specific groups such as sharks, cephalopods, or hummingbirds.
- Sponsor a leaf to personalize the tree with your name or dedication.
- Embed the visualization into a classroom or museum display.
Safety Precautions
- No safety precautions required
Questions to Consider
- What does the branching pattern tell us about common ancestors? (It shows how species diverged from shared evolutionary origins.)
- Why do some groups of species have many branches while others have fewer? (This reflects different rates of diversification and extinction over time.)
- How does exploring the tree help us understand biodiversity and conservation? (It highlights the vast interconnectedness of species and emphasizes the importance of protecting ecosystems.)
- Why might visualizations like OneZoom be more effective for learning than static diagrams? (They allow interactive, zoomable exploration that reveals complexity and scale in a more intuitive way.)