The Earth is 4.571 billion years old, and many incredible events have occurred during its long and storied history - the formation of the oceans, the origin of life, the first animals, the rise and fall of dinosaurs, and the appearance and evolution of our own species, just to name a few.

Take a half-mile walk along the Charles River and explore a scaled-down version of the geologic timeline, where each inch represents 240,000 years. Signs along the way will show you when some of these amazing changes and innovations have occurred throughout Earth's history and will give you a new perspective on the immensity of geologic time.

Those with web-enabled smartphones will be able to explore each event in more detail on our accompanying website. The timeline walk is 1/3 of a mile long, on a smooth paved sidewalk.

Guided tours will be offered as well. Each guided tour will last approximately 45 minutes and will be led by professional (and personable!) geologists and paleontologists.

Tour leaves from the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Memorial Drive, on the MIT side of the river, near Building 1.