Six thousand million years ago, the earth had no form. It was just a cloud of dust particles and gases swirling around in empty space.
     Gradually, the tiny specks of dust and drops of water began to stick together. They formed larger flakes, which were a mixture of minerals, rock, frozen gases and splinters of ice. As time passed, these flakes also stuck together and eventually snowballed into a massive, spinning globe. The earth was first formed about 4600 million years ago.
     The different particles became more crushed together. As this happened the centre of the earth grew hot and melted. Heavy matter sank to the centre and the lighter particles rose to the surface to form the crust.
     Water trapped inside as steam escaped to form the atmosphere. As the crust cooled, the steam fell as rain. Gradually, the dips and cavities in the earth's surface filled with water. So the land and the sea were formed.
     Life on earth started in the waters. Plant life began. Then very simple one - cell animals grew in the lakes and oceans. Over millions of years these early life forms developed and grew into different creatures. Some were able to adapt to survive on both land and sea. Others grew legs and crawled on to the land to find plants for food. These were the first reptiles. Others developed wings and became the first birds. Insects flourished and birds increased in numbers. Gradually some of the animals developed fur instead of scales. Finally, over 1 million years ago ape - like creatures developed. They began to walk upright on their hind legs. As they became free to use their front legs as hands, they began to make tools and weapons to help them survive. This according to scientists, was the beginning of the human race.