by Eric Braun
CENOZOIC ERA: Time of Mammals
COULD YOU SURVIVE THE ICE AGE?
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Museum of Natural History
Chapter 2: North America
Chapter 3: Europe
Chapter 4: Australia
Chapter 5: The Ice Ages
Timeline
INTRODUCTION
YOU are an ordinary kid going about your everyday life. Suddenly you find yourself in a strange place and a strange time. It’s a period from long ago. The world looks different than anything you’ve ever seen before. Terrifying beasts roam the land. Danger lurks at every turn. Where will you find shelter? How will you get food? Will you ever see your friends and family again? Most importantly of all, can you survive?
Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to take. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the story. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.
YOU CHOOSE the path you take through the Ice Age!
CHAPTER 1
THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
You and your classmates are headed to a class trip at the Museum of Natural History.
“I can’t wait to see what they have on display,” your friend Jayla says.
“I’m just excited to get out of class today,” Mateo jokes.
You and Jayla roll your eyes.
Mr. Andrist stands at the front of the bus.
“OK, students,” he says, “once we get off the bus, a museum guide will lead you through exhibits of the Pleistocene Epoch.”
You have already learned in class that this period of Earth’s history started about 2.5 million years ago. It marked the beginning of the last Ice Age and lasted until about 12,000 years ago.
In Mr. Andrist’s class, you have studied animals called megafauna that lived during the Pleistocene Epoch. Many were giant versions of modern-day animals, such as the cave bear and the saber-toothed cat. This time period is also when modern-day humans evolved.
When Mr. Andrist stops talking, your classmates file off the bus. In front of the museum’s glass doors stands a young woman with a name tag that reads “Rebecca.”
“Hello! I am one of the paleontologists on staff at the museum,” she says. “Does everyone know what a paleontologist does?”
“You study old things,” Mateo says.
The students around you chuckle quietly.
“Well, yes,” Rebecca says. “Though, here at the museum, I also get to share my knowledge with budding scientists such as yourselves.”
Rebecca shows you displays of Ice Age people and animals. You learn that in Europe, Neanderthals went extinct about 40,000 years ago, shortly after modern-day humans called Cro-Magnons arrived. Camels called camelops roamed western parts of North America. Australia had giant crocodiles and lizards.
After lunch, you line up in a long hallway. You scoot to the front with Jayla and Mateo. There are three doorways with a sign above each one. One sign says, “North America,” another reads, “Europe,” and the last reads, “Australia.”
“This ends the guided part of your tour,” Rebecca says. “But your adventure isn’t over yet.”
She goes on to explain that you are going to learn about the last glacial period, which began almost 100,000 years ago and ended about 12,000 years ago. During this time in North America, glaciers covered most of Canada and extended south into the United States. Northern parts of Europe and Asia were also covered in these mountain-sized sheets of slow-moving ice. Even Australia was affected by the cold temperatures.
“At the end of this hallway are three doorways,” she adds. “Each one holds an exhibit about a different part of the world. Go ahead and explore, but please don’t touch the artifacts. They are very old and fragile.” Rebecca pauses before adding, “And some are rather special.”
Jayla turns to you and Mateo and asks, “Which one should we check out?”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Mateo says.
Both friends look to you to decide.
To go to the North American display, press here.
To go to the European display, press here.
To go to the Australian display, press here.
CHAPTER 2
NORTH AMERICA
You point to the doorway with the sign that says “North America.”
“Let’s check out how things were in North America,” you say.
“Yeah, it’d be cool to know if glaciers reached where we live,” Jayla says.
Just before reaching the doorway, you see a map of North America on the wall. Jayla leans in to read a plaque below the map.
“It says the last glacial period reached its peak about 20,000 to 25,000 years ago,” she says. “During this time, the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets covered most of Canada and parts of the United States.”
The doorway opens up into a large exhibit of a scene from prehistoric times. There is a woolly mammoth and a saber-toothed cat. You and your friends wander over to a diorama of a village of Clovis people. They are believed to be some of the first people to live in North America. In front of the display, you notice something odd on the ground. It looks like a spear dropped from one of the figures in the diorama. The three of you all seem to be drawn to the spear. You know you’re not supposed to, but you bend down to pick it up at the same time.
As you touch the spear, you feel a slight tingle in your fingers. Then a cool breeze wraps around you. You shiver.
“Did you feel that?” Jayla asks.
“Brrr,” Mateo says. “It feels like we are in the Ice Age.”
You look back at your friends and are surprised to see them standing on the edge of a rocky cliff. A river rages beneath it.
“I think we are!” you blurt out in shock. You glance around at your new surroundings and feel a cold gust tousle your hair.
“What happened to the museum?” Mateo cries out in fear.
“I don’t know,” Jayla answers, nervously. “But I know I want to get down from here!”
To your right the ground slopes into flat plains as far as the eye can see. To your left the ground rolls into grassy hills with brush and trees dotted throughout.
To head toward the plains, press here.
To wander into the rolling hills, press here.
“It will probably be easier to walk in the flatlands,” you say. “Let’s go right.”
For a while, it’s easy going, if a bit boring. But after an hour or so, the ground behind you begins to rumble.
“What’s that?” Mateo asks. “An earthquake?”
“Worse,” Jayla answers. “Mammoths!”
You spin around to see a group of woolly mammoths with shaggy fur and incredibly long tusks trotting your way.
“We really are in the Ice Age!” you exclaim.
The lead mammoth raises its head and lets out a deafening sound through its trunk.
“I don’t think it likes us,” you whisper.
The mammoth trumpets again and takes another step forward.
“It’s going to charge,” Jayla says.
“What should we do?” Mateo asks.
You could turn and run. Running might make a predator think you are prey. But mammoths are plant eaters. You doubt it would chase you. Or would it? Maybe you should stand your ground. Waving your arms and making noise can scare off some animals.
To turn and run, press here.
To stand your ground, press here.
“The hills seem safer,” you say. “We can hide from predators there. Let’s go left.
You walk on for about an hour, when Jayla suddenly gasps. Lurking in the grass
in front of you is a large cat with two very long canine teeth. It snarls menacingly.
“Oh no,” Mateo whispers as he gulps in fear. “Is that a saber-toothed cat?”
“It sure looks like one,” Jayla says.
The cat crouches back on its haunches and growls. You know that saber-toothed cats are carnivores, just like modern-day big cats. They eat other animals for food. You now realize that not only can you hide from predators in the hills, they can hide from you too.
“What do we do?” Jayla asks.
You could make a run for it, hoping that people aren’t part of a saber-toothed cat’s diet. Or you can stand your ground, hoping that three kids are too threatening for the cat to risk attacking.
To stand your ground, press here.
To turn and run, press here.
Woolly mammoths, like modern-day elephants, eat plants, not animals. The mammoth wouldn’t think of you as prey, so you turn and run.
“Come on!” you yell to your friends.
All three of you take off running. What you didn’t realize is that by turning your back on the mammoth, you are showing signs of fear. The mammoth trumpets again, and the beasts lumber after you, hoping to drive you off.
You run as fast as you can, but you are no match for the big beasts. Suddenly you feel a tusk swipe at you. You fly into the air. When you crash back to the earth, the wind is knocked out of you. You can’t get out of the way as the mammoths trample you to death.
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
To learn more about the Ice Age, press here.
You know that it is best not to run from predators. But acting intimidating can actually scare them off. Maybe that would work for a woolly mammoth too.
“Do what I do,” you tell your friends. You wave your hands over your head and shout, “No! No! No!” as loud as you can.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Jayla yells as she jumps up and down.
“Don’t be a woolly bully,” Mateo shouts as he waves his arms back and forth.
The mammoth looks like it is not sure about you or what it should do. Then it trumpets one last time before turning and walking away. The rest of the herd follows. You breathe a sigh of relief as they lumber off in the other direction.
“Whew, that was scary,” Jayla says.
“I can’t believe we just faced down a herd of woolly mammoths,” Mateo says. “No one will believe this.”
“If we don’t figure out how to get back to the museum, we won’t have anyone to tell,” you say.
You wonder what to do next. Somehow, you traveled back in time to when woolly mammoths roamed the earth. What other dangers might you run into?
“We should find shelter or water,” Jayla says.
Glancing around, you see the sun glinting off what you think might be water in the distance.
“Let’s head that way,” you say, pointing toward a spot on the horizon. “I think I see water.”
After hiking for a time, you reach a wide river. You bend down to scoop up a handful of water to drink.
After everyone relieves their thirst, Jayla says, “We still need shelter.”
“And to find a way home,” Mateo adds.
You know that as long as you stay close to the river, you will have water. But to find shelter, and possibly a way back to your own time, you have no idea what to do or where to head. Should you follow the river north or south?
To go north, press here.
To go south, press here.
You could never outrun a saber-toothed cat. And if you did run, it might think you are prey and pounce. So you decide to stand your ground and hope that the three of you can scare the cat away.
“Do what I do,” you say to your friends.
You raise your arms, trying to look as big as you can. Then you shout at the top of your lungs.
“Get! Shoo! Scram!” Jayla yells as she jumps up and down.
“You big scaredy-cat!” Mateo shouts as he wriggles his arms all about.
The saber-toothed cat stops. It looks unsure about what to do. It growls as you continue to shout and scream, but it slowly slinks backward. You don’t stop what you are doing until the cat turns and pads away.
“Wow, I can’t believe that worked,” Jayla says.
“No one’s gonna mess with us now,” Mateo says. “Not even a T. rex.”
“Don’t worry about that. Dinosaurs went extinct long before the Ice Age,” you say.
Now that the present danger is over, you have to figure out what do to next. Somehow, you ended up back during a time when saber-toothed cats lived. You are sure there are other dangerous prehistoric beasts.
“We should seek shelter or maybe find water,” Jayla says, and then she points to something off in the distance. “That looks like a river.”
You see sunlight glinting off the waves. “Let’s head that way.”
“As long as we head in the opposite direction as the saber-toothed cat, I’m good,” Mateo says.
You walk for more than an hour before coming to a raging river. There is no way you can swim across. To continue on, you need to follow it to the north or south. Glancing in either direction, all you see is grassland stretching out to the horizon.
“Does it matter which way we go?” Mateo asks.
Jayla looks to the south and then to the north.
“I don’t see much of a difference,” she adds. “But as long as we stay close to the river, we’ll have water.
To walk north, press here.
To walk south, press here.
You don’t want to stick around to find out if Ice Age cat food includes humans. It’s best to run.
“Let’s make a run for it,” you whisper.
Jayla and Mateo both nod. The cat snarls again and paws at the ground.
“Go!” you shout.
You, Mateo, and Jayla make a break for it. What you didn’t realize is that by running, the saber-toothed cat thinks you’re prey. You don’t get very far before you feel it slam you to the ground. Then two sharp, knifelike teeth dig into your neck and shoulder. The saber-toothed cat quickly ends your life.
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
To learn more about the Ice Age, press here.
To go north.
To walk north.
You don’t know where you are, so one direction seems as good as another.
“Then let’s head this way,” you say, turning north. You follow the river as it winds north.
Hiking along, you rarely see any other animals, and you don’t see any other people. As the days pass, your feet and legs grow sore. The grumbling of your stomach reminds you how hungry you are. But in the end, it is not prehistoric beasts or hunger that leads to your downfall. The farther you travel north, the colder the temperatures get.
Then one day, you see a mountainous cliff of ice blocking your path. It is then that you realize the river you had been following was created by glacier water.
“That glacier must be miles thick,” Jayla says.
“I can’t go any farther,” Mateo says, dropping to his knees.
“It was a mistake to come this way,” you mumble to yourself.
You realize you should have been traveling south, away from the glaciers. You rest under the shadow of the looming mountain of ice. That night, a storm rolls in. The area is blanketed in snow. You and your friends huddle together for warmth. But it does little good. Everyone is shivering violently. Hypothermia sets in as your body temperature drops. Slowly, each of you drifts off to sleep, never to wake again.
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
To learn more about the Ice Age, press her
e.
To go south.
To walk south.
“Let’s head south,” you say. “If this is the Ice Age, we don’t want to head north. That’s where the glaciers are.”
“Makes sense to me,” Mateo says.
Your group turns south, following the river. You have water to drink whenever you are thirsty. But you are unsure about eating any of the berries or plants you see. They could be poisonous. Soon your stomachs are grumbling.
“Let’s take a break,” Mateo says after a while. “I’m beat.”
You have no idea where you are or where you are going. What’s the harm in stopping?
“OK,” you say.
All three of you are tired, sweaty, and hungry. You flop to the ground.
“Ouch,” Mateo shouts, swatting at a bug. “These prehistoric mosquitoes are huge!”
“Quiet, I think I hear something,” Jayla says.
The three of you quietly listen. Over the sound of the water and the buzz of insects, you think you hear voices.
“It’s people,” Mateo says.
“We should go investigate,” Jayla says.
You walk quietly in the direction of the voices. You keep your heads down and duck behind bushes as you creep along. Then you crawl up a hill and peek over the top of it.
In the distance you see a large fire in the middle of a small village. The shelters look somewhat like Native American tepees, but they seem to be built out of plant materials.
“They might be Neanderthals,” Mateo says.
