Acid Mine Drainage and Precipitates

In this video, environmental scientists measure the pH of water to detect acid mine drainage from an abandoned coal mine and then demonstrate how metals present in acid drainage fall out of solution as precipitates when a basic substance is added to the water.

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Controlling Water Run-off

This video shows how the environmentally friendly design of the Visitor Center at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville slows down water run-off and helps to control non-point-source water pollution, conserve water, and prevent soil erosion

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Environmental Impact of Acid Mine Drainage

This video shows how acid mine drainage from an abandoned coal mine has affected Wildcat Branch in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest. Because the creek has a very acidic pH of 2.9, most organisms cannot survive there, and Wildcat Branch is essentially dead.

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Reusing Wastewater

This video demonstrates how peat filtration beds at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky purify and conserve wastewater and eliminate one cause of non-point-source water pollution.

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The Geology of Coal

In this video, a geologist describes how coal, a sedimentary rock, was formed when organic materials piled up in swamps millions of years ago. Over time, heat and pressure transformed the buried materials into forms of coal that cause acid mine drainage when exposed to oxygen.

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Recycling and Restoration

This video explains how Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky used recycled cypress from pickle vats to build its visitor center and then “paid back” nature by creating a cypress-tupelo swamp at one end of a lake on the park grounds.

High-Sulfur Coal and Acidic Water

In this video, a geologist measures the pH of water after high-sulfur coal from a Kentucky coal mine has been added to it. This test demonstrates that the sulfate salts found on the coal’s surface cause the water to become much more acidic.

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Rain Gardens

This video shows how a rain garden at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky slows down the flow of water from the forest’s parking lot and helps prevent soil erosion.

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Mycoremediation

This video explores the process of mycoremediation: planting fungi such as oyster mushrooms to mitigate non-point-source water pollution caused by oil, gasoline, and other toxic substances.

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Restoring Lower Rock Creek

This brief video describes how Lower Rock Creek’s location between two National Wild and Scenic Rivers caused Kentucky environmentalists to choose the creek as a target for acid mine drainage remediation.

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Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

In this video, an environmental technologist visits an abandoned coal mine in Kentucky to talk about how a remediation system (a series of settling ponds and treatment cells) is neutralizing the acid drainage flowing from the mine and keeping it from damaging a creek downstream.

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Applying the Scientific Method

This video provides a real-life example of the scientific method: testing hypotheses about which plants will grow most successfully on a green roof in Kentucky.

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Results of Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

In this video, a biologist visits Rock Creek in Pulaski County, Kentucky to show how acid mine drainage remediation has increased the stream’s pH from acidic levels to almost neutral. Although the ecosystem has not been completely restored, many species have returned to Rock Creek.

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Stream Restoration

This video explores how Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky has restored a channelized or straightened stream to its original meandering path, thereby improving the stream’s water quality and creating a better habitat for wildlife.

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Aquatic Insects

In this brief video, a biologist talks about the macroinvertebrates (typically aquatic insects) that form the basis of food webs in healthy Kentucky streams.

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Detached Wetlands

This video depicts a detached wetland, a small pool that forms beside a shallow meandering stream when it overflows its banks. These wetlands are important breeding grounds for the invertebrates that live in and beside streams

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20-Year Map of Global Rainfall

This visualization from NASA shows global rainfall patterns over a 22-year span. It incorporates data from a combination of remote-sensing and ground-based sources.

Unpacking the Standards

This video clip shows Kentucky adult education instructors working together to explore the language of common core standards. They learn how to locate the specific skills that a standard requires a student to use.

American Flag

This Building Block video shows a close-up of an American flag billowing in breeze. The camera pulls out to reveal the shadow of an eagle statue in the foreground.

American Flags

This Building Block video features nine American flags on poles billowing in a strong wind.

An Alaska Native Community Helps Seals

This video from First Alaskans Institute spotlights the Alaska Native community of St. Paul and its hands-on commitment to care for the land and animals on which it depends.

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Baboon

In this Building Block video, watch as a big fluffy baboon sits in the tall grass and eats.

Backyard Birdfeeders

This video from WPSU’s series Outside suggests how to feed birds in winter, a hobby that can foster awareness, care, and respect for birds.

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Backyard Turtles

In this video from the WPSU’s series Outside, learn about backyard turtle habitats, their favorite foods, and why they don’t make good pets.

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Backyard Wildlife

Squirrels and chipmunks are just two of the animals you might see. Backyard Wildlife, an original KET video, encourages children to explore the world outside their back door.

Aligning Resources to Standards

This video clip shows Kentucky adult education instructors working together to align resources to common core standards. They learn how to identify the most effective resources for standards-based instruction.

Bighorn Sheep

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada explores the adaptations that help desert bighorn sheep survive in their habitat.

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Birds Surround Washington Monument

This Building Block video shows birds flying by the Washington Monument under gray skies, as shot through tree branches hung with lights.

Blood Vessels Help Tumors Grow

In this video segment, adapted from NOVA, Dr. Judah Folkman uses the scientific method to discover how cancer cells induce the formation of new blood vessels, which in turn nourish those cancer cells.

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Booming Sands

This video segment, adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, presents basic concepts of physics behind "booming" sand dunes. See how surface tension affects potential and kinetic energy and how it all works together to create sound.

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Brooklyn Bridge

This Building Block video features an aerial shot from a helicopter circling over the Brooklyn Bridge and following the span across part of the river. Manhattan Bridge is visible in the background in New York City.

Butterflies

This video from Vegas PBS features colorful insects known as butterflies, and looks at the coloration, species, life cycle, and migration habits within their habitat.

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U.S. Capitol Dome at Night

This Building Block video begins on a long shot of the United States Capitol at night as seen from Pennsylvania Avenue. The camera then zooms in to a medium long shot of the brightly lit dome.

Capitol Fountain

In this Building Block video, an American flag flaps in a strong breeze next to the Capitol Dome. As framed by two plumes of water from the Senate Garage Fountain, this clip first focuses on the fountains, then switches focus to the building and the flag.

Carnivorous Plants of Texas

In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, learn about carnivorous plants that act as both producers and consumers in an ecosystem. See sundews and blatterworts capture and digest insects.

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Carnivorous Plants of Cartwheel Bay

In this video segment from NatureScene, explore Cartwheel Bay, a wetland in South Carolina, and learn about the variety of carnivorous plants native to this unique landform.

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Changing Views of Pluto

See images from the Hubble Space Telescope that show evidence of seasons on Pluto, in this video adapted from NASA.

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Characteristics of the Sun

This video segment adapted from NASA describes the basic characteristics of our star, the Sun.

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Cheetah

In this Building Block video, watch as a cheetah walks through green grass toward the camera, sits down, and looks around.

Close-up of Smoke Stack

In this Building Block video, the camera looks close-up at the top of a smokestack that is releasing exhaust into the clear blue sky.

Clouds

In this Building Block video, observe cumulonimbus clouds as seen from an airplane window.

Coal Factory

In this Building Block video, the camera follows a conveyor belt that carries a black line of coal across barren earth to a factory, which is furnished with cooling towers exhaling steam.

Counting Neutrons on the Moon

Find out how scientists are using a neutron detector onboard a satellite to try to find water on the Moon in this video adapted from NASA.

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Coyote

This Building Block video shows a close-up shot of a coyote on the hunt as it sniffs the air.

Dam

See an aerial wide shot of Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell in Page, Arizona, in this Building Block video.

Desert Tortoise

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada examines threats to the desert tortoise population.

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Diversity of Hardwoods at Congaree Swamp

In this video segment from NatureScene, observe some methods of plant identification with regards to the diversity of hardwoods at the Congaree Swamp.

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DNA Animation

This Building Block video features an animation of a rotating DNA spiral.

DNA Lab

This Building Block video shows a close-up of a lab technician withdrawing a DNA sample from vial, then injecting it into a gel medium.

Domes at Piazza del Popolo

This Building Block video from the Building Big series features the twin domes of the churches at the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. In front of the churches is a lion fountain keeping guard, spewing water from its jaws.