Life on Earth is an exhibit at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, that runs through Sept. 2, 2012.

The exhibit examines life on our planet resulting from 3.4 billion years of evolution. Specimens collected from Cranbrook, the Smithsonian, as well as other institutions, represent  all major groups of plants and animals.

“The whole concept of the exhibit is biodiversity, not only modern, but biodiversity throughout the years,” John Zawiskie, curator of the Life on Earth exhibit, said.

The exhibit examines the evolution of life on Earth going dating back 3.4 billion years.

Some of the displays are on loan from the Smithsonian Museum as well as Wayne State University.

The exhibit is laid out so that visitors can go chronologically through time and look at how the five mass extinctions affected biodiversity.

“Anyone would benefit from coming to this exhibit, especially biology or ecology majors” Zawiskie said.

The exhibit features several examples of taxidermy, including a Bengal tiger and a white rhino head, both of which are from Wayne State University.

“This is aesthetically one of the best exhibits we have had,” Zawiskie said.

The exhibit also features one of the most complete Megalodon teeth rows ever found. The Megalodon was a species of shark that lived roughly 1.5 million years ago.

There are quite a few artifacts from the Hankla Collection, including fossils that are 35-million-years-old.

The exhibit has a massive herbology collection, which focuses on plant life found in Oakland and Wayne counties.

Also located in the exhibit is a area named the “Galapagos Trail,” which is especially geared towards children eight years and under.

The area features a real salt water coral fish tank, as well as an exact replica of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle, which was built in house by Cranbrooks’ staff.

“Recently we have been doing a lot of exhibits by pulling artifacts from our store room instead of bring traveling exhibits in,” Stephen Pagnani, head of marketing at Cranbrook, said.

A world population calculator is also in the exhibit.

Seventy-five percent of ice free landscape has been modified by humans, Zawiskie said.

There is a section of the exhibit that focuses on the evolution of the human genome, as well as how animals around us have adapted to their surroundings.

Evolution area also features “The Hall of Origins,” from the Smithsonian Museum, which features the 11 stages of human evolution.

The cost of the exhibit is $12.50 for adults and is free after 5 p.m. on the first Friday of the month.

For more information on the Life on Earth Exhibit, visit Cranbrook’s website at science.cranbrook.edu