The graphics surrounding the exhibition space show a variety of layers. These represent – symbolically – various eras that our planet has passed through.

The diagram here offers a comprehensive (but simplified!) overview of the sequence of geological periods.

“One point about Spaceship Earth is that nobody can disembark. We have to continue on our journey through space together, whether we like all of our fellow travellers or not.“ Ulf Merbold, astronaut and member of the Association of Space Explorers, 1993

Our planet is an oasis in the coldness of space, which has harboured life for almost 4 billion years: it has liquid water, a protective atmosphere and a magnetic field that acts as a shield against cosmic rays. 

Life almost certainly exists elsewhere in the universe, but the habitable planets are inconceivably far away.

However, there is a good place to look for signs of extraterrestrial life closer to home: the planet Mars.

Why can remains of animals and plants still be found – well preserved – after millions of years have passed? A lot of luck and special conditions are needed if someone is to be able to unearth, for example, a fossilised chicken skeleton in the future.

Left exposed, a carcass will soon disappear as a result of scavengers. But if it is immediately buried in mud or other sediments – due to flooding, for example – it will be protected. The skin and flesh will decay – usually, only the hard parts such as bones and teeth will be left.

Over time, thick layers of sediment accumulate on top, hardening into rock. Here, the fossil remains embedded – for the time being …

The first traces of life on Earth are unspectacular – and yet sensational: from single celled organisms, the vast diversity of past and present-day life forms evolved over billions of years.

The oldest signs of life are the fossilised remains of microbial mats that lived 3.6 billion years ago. The breathtaking diversity of life has its origins in these tiny organisms.

Studies of these traces of terrestrial life also make it possible to search for life elsewhere in the universe:

Rather than looking for little green men, scientists can search for fossilised or living microorganisms similar to those found on our own planet.

20 million years ago, where this museum now stands, rhinoceros were grazing on an extensive floodplain. It was warm and rather dry, and dwarf palms and walnut trees grew at the water’s edge. Interesting – but how do we know all this?

Here, fossils of animals and plants play a key role: the preserved remains of ancient life provide information on, for example, the climate, species diversity and age of a past epoch.

A rhinoceros skull is, of course, a spectacular find, but less impressive traces such as teeth or tiny plant fragments can be just as important in reconstructing the details of a past world.

Terrestrial microorganisms point the way towards possible extraterrestrial life: bacteria that grow in cavities underground and fossilise, produce unique rock formations. These provide proof of the existence of life.

If such biosignatures were found on other planets, it would be a sensational discovery.

Rocks or life forms? What looks like the cross section of a rock is actually brimming with life: about 3.6 billion years ago, the growth of bacteria led to the formation of mounds, known as stromatolites, in shallow seawater.

The round structures were built up layer by layer, as fine sediments were trapped in the microorganisms’ sticky secretions, and subsequently fossilised.

2025: around 75 billion chickens are slaughtered each year, and the total continues to rise. Discarded chicken bones can be found almost everywhere – from the Arctic to the Amazon.

Fossilised bones from chickens or other industrially farmed animals will probably one day be among the most important markers of our existence on this planet.

Over a period of millions of years, the process of petrification takes place in the rock where the bones lie – a fossil is formed.

In this process, water carrying dissolved minerals from the surrounding rock seeps into the bones, gradually replacing the organic matter – the original bone is turned into a copy made of rock.

For 20 million years, this rhinoceros skull lay hidden in rock layers below what is now the city of Bern. In 1850, it came to light by chance during construction work.

Knowledge of the evolution of life was then in its infancy. Such finds provided important evidence of the continuous development and transformation of life on Earth.

Leaves, needles, (turtle) shell, tooth and rib – all valuable traces of life at that time. But particularly informative are the remains of charophyte (green algae) fruits: well preserved, with unmistakable patterns, and only to be found in this rock layer.

As so-called index fossils, they are reliable indicators of the Miocene epoch.