For families & teachers
What is inside Earth?
Earth has layers. From the outside toward the centre, its main layers are the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core. We live on the thin outer crust.
Try the adventure
The crust is Earth’s rocky outer skin. Beneath it lies the much thicker mantle, made mostly of solid rock that can slowly change shape and flow over very long times. Deeper down is the outer core, made of liquid metal. The inner core at the centre is solid metal. Although it is extremely hot, the enormous pressure helps keep it solid. A cutaway picture lets us imagine these hidden layers without pretending that we could open the real Earth like a toy.
Explore together
- Open Peek inside and choose Earth. Use the control to open the planet and reveal its layers.
- Select each layer, starting at the outside. Read its name and description together.
- Return to the crust, then find the centre again. Try naming the layers in the order you pass through them.
One thing to remember
Earth is not filled with one giant ocean of lava. Most of the mantle is solid rock, even though it can move slowly over geological time. The model’s colours and layer thicknesses help us tell the parts apart; they are not an exact photograph or a scale drawing. Try drawing four nested layers and labelling them together.
Science reference: NASA ↗
