Skip to main content
Toggle User Menu

HHMI BioInteractive

  • Español
  • Search
  • Log In/Create Account
  • Classroom Resources
  • Planning Tools
  • Professional Development
  • About Us

Animated Life: Pangea

Topic
  • Earth Science
  • Earth History
  • Geology
Resource Type
  • Videos
  • Animated Shorts
Level
High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Duration
00:07:36
Favorited By
15 Users
Share This
View in Spanish
Description

This animated short video celebrates the early 20th-century German astronomer and atmospheric scientist Alfred Wegener, who first proposed that continents once formed a single landmass and had drifted apart.

Alfred Wegener proposed the idea of continental drift to explain why continents' shapes fit together like pieces of a puzzle and why distant continents have the same fossils. During Wegener’s time, the idea was met with hostility. But after his death, a large body of evidence showed that continents do indeed move. This evidence led to the theory of plate tectonics, which is a fundamental principle in modern geology.

This short video tells Wegener’s story using animated paper puppets and narrators.

An audio descriptive version of the film is available via our media player.

Details
Key Terms

Alfred Wegener, continent, continental drift, Earth, fossil, landmass, plate tectonics

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level

This resource complies with accessibility standards in accordance with the final rule for Section 508 of the National Rehabilitation Act.
Version History
Date Published 03.19.15
Date Updated 06.15.20
Curriculum Connections
NGSS (2013)

HS-ESS1.C, HS-ESS2.B

AP Biology (2019)

SYI-2

AP Environmental Science (2013)

I.A

Materials
HD (M4V) 294 MB
HD (WMV) 237 MB
SD (M4V) 64 MB
SD (WMV) 60 MB
Transcript (PDF) 228 KB
Spanish Dub (Español) (MP4) 133 MB
Transcript - Español (PDF) 254 KB

Explore Related Content

Other Resources About Science History
Showing of
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes
Film Activities
Activity for The Day the Mesozoic Died
Lessons
Sickle Cell Disease and Malaria: Testing a Hypothesis
Short Films
The Origin of Species: The Making of a Theory
Short Films
The Double Helix
Film Activities
Activity for The Double Helix
Animated Shorts
The Animated Life of A. R. Wallace
Film Activities
Activity for The Making of a Theory
Lessons
The Making of a Theory: Fact or Fiction
Lessons
Pulse Chase Primer: The Meselson-Stahl Experiment
Other Related Resources
Showing of
Lessons
Distribution of Elements in Earth’s Crust
Clips
Stratigraphic Principles
Card Activities
Finding the Crater
A map from the Wallace line activity.
Lessons
Discovering the Wallace Line
Phenomenal Images
Written in Chalk
Click & Learn
EarthViewer
Lessons
Chemical Signatures of Asteroid Impacts
Lessons
Calculating Iridium Fallout From an Asteroid Impact
Lessons
Determining the Size and Energy of the K-T Asteroid
Clips
The Principle of Isostasy

HHMI BioInteractive

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Newsletter Signup
  • HHMI.org
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy