![Student with microscope](/sites/default/files/2022-11/Students%20Hero.jpg)
![Student with microscope](/sites/default/files/2022-11/Students%20Hero.jpg)
Students
Students
At Shape of Life we believe PLAY is the best form of science research. We encourage everyone to lift rocks and get messy. A whole world opens up from our curiosity.
Handout Material
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Handout
'Class'ification HandoutsIn this lesson, students will be introduced to the concept of taxonomy, and categorization of organisms based on Carl Linnaeus’s system of classification.
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Factsheet
Cambrian ExplosionThe Cambrian Explosion was a burst of animal evolution that occurred in the ocean about 540 million years ago.
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Reading
Cambrian Explosion: A BIG BANG in the Evolution of AnimalsFor most of Earth's early history, there simply was no fossil record. Only recently have we come to discover otherwise: Life is virtually as old as the planet itself, and even the most ancient sedimentary rocks have yielded fossilized remains of primitive forms of life.
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Features
Creature
Sponges are Deep
Deep-sea coral and sponge reefs thrive in the depths of the cold seas around the globe. Unlike shallow, tropical coral and sponge reefs, these deep-sea coral and sponge reefs live where there’s little light, from 150 feet to more than 10,000 feet below sea level. These are the least explored places in the ocean.
Sponges are Deep
Deep-sea coral and sponge reefs thrive in the depths of the cold seas around the globe. Unlike shallow, tropical coral and sponge reefs, these deep-sea coral and sponge reefs live where there’s little light, from 150 feet to more than 10,000 feet below sea level. These are the least explored places in the ocean.
![Corals and Sponges](/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/2024-05/Corals-and-sponges.jpg?itok=_JUJZmCA)
Did you Know?
Sponges Are No Longer Considered the First Animal
For years we’ve been providing materials and resources positioning sponges as the first animal. But, many scientists haven’t completely accepted sponges’ placement on the tree of animal life. There are two camps; one for sponges and one for ctenophores (comb jellies). Now, through genetic research, there is strong evidence that comb jellies ARE the first animal.
Sponges Are No Longer Considered the First Animal
For years we’ve been providing materials and resources positioning sponges as the first animal. But, many scientists haven’t completely accepted sponges’ placement on the tree of animal life. There are two camps; one for sponges and one for ctenophores (comb jellies). Now, through genetic research, there is strong evidence that comb jellies ARE the first animal.
![comb jelly](/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/2024-05/Hormiphora_californensis_Darrin_Schultz_MBARI_750px.jpg?itok=DNkEjhpc)
Scientist
Amanda Kahn Assistant Professor, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories- San Jose State University
Join Amanda as she shares the magnificent world of sponges and how they go to battle with the climate crisis.
Amanda Kahn Assistant Professor, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories- San Jose State University
Join Amanda as she shares the magnificent world of sponges and how they go to battle with the climate crisis.
![Amanda Kahn](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-05/amanda-kahn3.jpg?itok=w__P7kjj)