This collection emphasizes the recent inhabitants and happenings of our planet. The seven animal specimens are of extinct creatures who have lived within the last few millions of years on Earth. When thinking of bones and fossils, it is easy to think on the scale of tens and hundreds of millions of years and forget how radically different life and our planet were much more recently. Additionally, the three examples of quaternary and glacial sediments exhibit how geologic events on a similar timescale are still seen today. Unlike fossils, items of geologic interest tend to be passed by or considered boring. In fact, these examples are an existing time machine to the processes of their formation thousands to millions of years ago. All specimens call back to Earth's relatively recent history biologically and geologically.