Teaching about Gondwana

Gondwana was an ancient land mass that broke up somewhere around 250 million years ago and went zooming all over the planet. India careened north, slamming into Laurasia so hard that the Himalayas were created.

No humans were around then to see any of this, but a lot of plant and animal families suddenly found themselves separated by vast oceans. No more hopping off to the neighborhood pub to meet your cousin.

Since boats hadn't yet been invented, each part of the family had to muddle on - but they still have a family resemblance even to this day. Some plants, like Araucaria, have very similar species in Australia and South America.

In this design, Gondwana floats overhead, and various static and interactive displays are used to illustrate this rather improbable sounding event to the general public.

This design was part of a competition organized by the San Francisco Botanic Garden. Our prize: two glasses of wine, a glass of water and a Chessman cookie.