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The Pangaea Pop-up - Michael Molina

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The supercontinent Pangaea, with its connected South America and Africa, broke apart 200 million years ago. But the continents haven't stopped shifting -- the tectonic plates beneath our feet (in Earth's two top layers, the lithosphere and the asthenosphere) are still traveling at about the rate your fingernails grow. Michael Molina discusses the catalysts and consequences of continental drift.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Michael Molina
  • Director Biljana Labovic
  • Artist Yevgeniya Yeretskaya
  • Animation Artist Lisa LaBracio, Celeste Lai
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
Additional Resources for you to Explore
A NASA story on a future supercontinent, Pangaea Ultima: http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast06oct_1/
National Geographic video on colliding continents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSJNBMOjJs
An article from the Smithsonian about the development of the theory of continental drift: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/when-continental-drift-was-considered-pseudoscience-90353214/
1 Guided Discussion
2 Open Discussions
TED-Ed
Lesson Creator
New York, NY
02/03/2014 • 
 27 Responses
 / 27 Updates
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Customize This Lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Michael Molina
  • Director Biljana Labovic
  • Artist Yevgeniya Yeretskaya
  • Animation Artist Lisa LaBracio, Celeste Lai
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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