Students investigate how European colonization reshaped ecosystems and human societies, and how those changes still influence biodiversity, land use, climate, and global power today. Through evidence from maps, species data, primary sources, and computational representations, they explain both what enabled European expansion and what environmental and historical consequences followed. The work culminates in public exhibitions where students present interactive models and historical claims that connect local ecosystem observations to global Earth system change. Weekly reflection, critique, and revision help students strengthen scientific reasoning, historical argument, and communication throughout the project.

Students will analyze how European colonization changed land use, food webs, biodiversity, climate patterns, and human societies by comparing pre- and post-contact evidence across regions. They will use maps, local biodiversity observations, historical sources, geoscience data, and computational or mathematical representations to explain relationships among Earth systems and how human activity altered them over time. Students will evaluate how environmental change affected species populations, resilience, and extinction while constructing evidence-based claims about how resources, hazards, and climate influenced colonization. They will also defend a historical argument about the technologies, politics, economics, and belief systems that enabled European expansion, then communicate their findings clearly through interactive exhibits, artifacts, and live presentations.

Students will create a Before and After Earth Systems Museum featuring interactive models, annotated maps, biodiversity and population graphs, and computational representations that compare pre- and post-contact land use, food webs, species change, and climate impacts in selected regions. They will also design a Ports, Power, and Planet Showcase with replica artifacts, route maps, short live talks, and evidence panels explaining how technology, politics, economics, religion, and access to natural resources drove European expansion. Along the way, teams will produce draft ecosystem models, local biodiversity field observations, source-based historical claims, and exhibit text panels revised through gallery walks and critique circles. By the end, each student will contribute a weekly learning log and a defended claim supported by primary and secondary sources that connects colonization’s historical causes to lasting Earth system change.

Open with a Cause-and-Effect Courtroom simulation where students examine short primary and secondary source sets, then argue which mix of technology, politics, economics, and beliefs made European colonization possible. Follow it with a rapid local biodiversity field survey on campus or nearby, where students categorize species and land-use patterns, then discuss what human decisions shaped the ecosystem they see today. Close by revealing contrasting pre- and post-contact maps, species data, and climate indicators from one colonized region so students connect local observations to larger Earth system changes and generate questions for the project.

Host a public double-feature event that combines a Before and After Earth Systems Museum with a Ports, Power, and Planet Showcase for families, peers, and community guests. Students guide visitors through interactive displays comparing pre- and post-contact land use, biodiversity, food webs, and climate impacts, then rotate to station talks using maps, replica artifacts, and brief evidence-based presentations on the technologies, politics, economics, and belief systems behind European expansion. Include a visitor feedback card that asks guests to identify one lasting environmental change and one lasting historical cause they learned, giving students authentic audience response tied to both science and history claims. End with a short whole-group reflection where selected students share how local biodiversity observations helped them connect colonization to Earth system changes still visible today.