The Three Levels of Biodiversity

This interactive adapted from Kentucky's Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity, introduces learners to the three levels of biodiversity: genetic, species, and ecosystem.

Migratory Songbirds

Adapted from the Kentucky Life Biodiversity series, this video interactive offers information about the different species of birds and their migration patterns.

Indicator Species: Hooded Warbler

Adapted from the Kentucky Life Biodiversity series, this video interactive offers information about the Hooded Warbler and its role as an indicator species in the Natural Bridge region of Kentucky.

Animal Defenses

In nature, survival is the name of the game. This video segment explores the world of animal defense and shows that predators don't always have the upper hand.

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Animal Hearing

This video segment discusses the physical adaptations that give several nocturnal animals a heightened sense of hearing. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Hearing."

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Animal Hearing

Students explore how sound is created, the importance of hearing in certain environments and some environmental causes of hearing loss.

Arctic Tundra

This video segment from Wild Europe: "Wild Arctic" explores the struggle for survival in one of Earth's most extreme environments.

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As the Crow Flies

In this video from Nature researchers from the University of Washington conduct a long-term experiment to see if crows can pass information down from one generation to the next.

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Basic Instincts

This video from Nature: "My Life as a Turkey" explores the knowledge wild turkeys have about the world around them.

Beavers

This video segment explores the world of the beaver, including the biology of the species and, more importantly, its ability to transform an ecosystem for its own benefit.

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Bee Navigation

This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores honeybee communication and navigation.

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Being Human

Using segments from the PBS program The Human Spark, students explore the question “What makes us human?”

Beneath the Waters of Cocos Island

The nutrient-rich waters surrounding Cocos Island set the stage for astounding predator-prey interactions, as seen in this video segment from NOVA: "Island of Sharks."

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Beyond the Present

This video from The Human Spark provides a look at humans' unique ability to reflect upon events that have happened in the past and think about things that could possibly happen in the future.

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Birds of Prey

This video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K defines birds of prey and explains what characteristics they have that identify them as a raptor and help them catch their prey.

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Body Breakdowns

This interactive feature from the NOVA "Surviving Denali" Web site details the variety of ways the body can fail while climbing a high-altitude peak.

Body Needs

This interactive feature from the NOVA "Dying to Be Thin" Web site describes the nutritional needs of the body and how to meet them.

The Brain

This video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K explores the anatomy of the brain and how your brain interacts with the rest of your body.

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Brain Geography

Which part of your brain controls your ability to swallow? Your instinct to survive? And how do all the brain's parts function cooperatively? Find out with this interactive feature from the NOVA: "Coma" Web site.

Chain Reaction

This inquiry-based Nature lesson plan will challenge students to design and conduct scientifically valid experiments to evaluate hypotheses regarding an animal’s expected behavior in response to changes in its environment.

Cooperation Over Competition

In this video from The Human Spark, scientists discuss what may be the uniquely “human spark” which separates us from animals: our ability to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with others.

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Dances with Bees

This interactive feature from the NOVA "Tales from the Hive" Web site explores the methods honeybees use to communicate to their hivemates the location, quantity, and quality of nearby food sources.

Decision-Maker Bees and the Human Brain

Learn about the similarity between the pattern of communication within a bee colony and neural networks in the human brain, in this video adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

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Desert Biome

This video segment from NOVA: "A Desert Place" describes the physical characteristics and organisms that define the desert biome.

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Destructive Forces

In this video segment from Nature, scientists question how animals mysteriously survive natural disasters.

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Dolphin Reproductive Behavior

This video segment from the Science and Technology Chat series focuses on dolphin pregnancy, birth, and care of the young, and features Atlantic bottlenose dolphins living in captivity at the Mirage Resort Dolphin Habitat.

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Dr. Jay Giedd: The Adolescent Brain

In this transcript from FRONTLINE: "Inside the Teenage Brain," neuroscientist Dr. Jay Giedd discusses new research on brain development in teenagers.

Ear Shape

Students use scientific inquiry to investigate how ear shape affects hearing.

Energy Flow in the Coral Reef Ecosystem

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, describes the energy flow in a coral reef, including its food web.

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Everest: Test Your Brain

This interactive feature from the NOVA "Everest" Web site lets you take the same brain quizzes that researchers used to test the brain function of climbers on Mount Everest.

Experimenting with Experiments

Using segments from The Human Spark, students learn how to design and critique experiments with living subjects.

Fish Research

This video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K explains the Chinook salmon's life cycle in the Pacific Northwest and why it is an endangered species. A fisheries biologist takes students through some steps of fish research with explanations of the kinds of information biologists gather to perhaps help manage fish recovery.

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The Function of Sleep

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, discover what researchers are learning about sleep by examining the dreams of rats.

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Gallery of Visual Illusions

Are your eyes playing tricks on you? Discover more about eyesight and the brain as you test your eyes with these visual illusions adapted from the University of Washington's Neuroscience for Kids Web site.

Gray Whale Obstacle Course

This video segment, adapted from Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures, summarizes in brief, the path traveled by gray whales on their annual migration from Mexico, to Alaska.

Guess How Whales Hear!

This video segment explores how one marine biologist used the scientific process to discover how whales hear.

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Habitat and Diet in Racehorse Development

This animated segment from KET's Electronic Field Trip to a Horse Farm demonstrates one of the ways calcium, a naturally occurring mineral derived from limestone, enters a horse's diet to give it an advantage in bone strength.

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Hearing

This video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K describes the parts of the ear and the path a sound wave makes to your brain. It points out the role of the ear in maintaining balance and why and how to protect your ears.

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The Science Behind Appetite

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, tells the story of a ballerina battling anorexia. It explains how serotonin regulates appetite, and presents some of the health risks that accompany the eating disorder.

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Hook, Line and Sinker

In this video from Nature learn how on the tiny, remote island of New Caledonia, crows are much smarter than anyone ever expected.

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Horned Lizard

In this video from Outdoor Nevada, learn about the habitat, diet, and defense mechanisms of horned lizards.

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How Animals Use Their Senses to Find Food

Students consider how animals solve the problem of finding food, especially under harsh climatic conditions.

How the Body Responds to Exercise

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, follow novice runners as they train for a marathon, and discover how quickly the body responds to regular aerobic exercise.

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How to be an Alpha Male Koala

This video resource from Nature: "Cracking the Koala Code" offers ringside seats to a territorial battle for dominance between two male koalas.

How We Learn

In this segment from The Human Spark, host Alan Alda observes experiments at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology which demonstrate how differently human children and orangutans learn how to complete tasks.

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How Whales Hear

Students learn how researchers use scientific inquiry to investigate whale hearing, and then explore the differences in ear structure between aquatic and land mammals.

Human vs. Chimp Thinking

This video segment from The Human Spark features a discussion about how human thought differs from that of chimpanzees.

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Idaho Fish

This video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K introduces Idaho's native fish species, and discusses why some populations are doing fine while others are struggling with declining numbers.

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An Imprinting Experiment

This video resource from Nature: "My Life as a Turkey" explores how Joe Hutto, a wildlife artist and naturalist, became a parent to 16 wild turkeys by having them imprint onto him.

Insight and Imagination

Get an overview of how insight and imagination distinguish humans from others in this segment from The Human Spark.

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The Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle

This video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department describes how humans are helping restore safe nesting grounds for the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle to ensure its successful repopulation.

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The Koala Diet

This enhanced video resource from Nature: "Cracking the Koala Code" examines how the koala’s unique diet of eucalyptus leaves affects their behavior.

Learning to be a Raccoon

This video resource from Nature: "Raccoon Nature" explores how raccoon kits learn from their mother.

Marathon Migrators

This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores how the migratory patterns of shorebirds have evolved to coincide with the spawning of horseshoe crabs.

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Masters of Disguise

In the face of danger, what's a spineless animal to do? This video segment introduces the concept of camouflage -- how animals achieve it and how this form of disguise benefits both predators and prey. Footage from NOVA: "Animal Impostors."

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A Matter of Size

Learn about the brains of a rat, monkey, chimp, and human and why some brains are bigger than others in this video from The Human Spark.

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Migration of the Monarch

This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores the migratorial exploits of monarch butterflies.

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Mirror Neurons

This video segment, adapted from NOVA scienceNow, introduces the latest research on a system of neurons that plays a part in how people relate to each other.

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Monarch Migration

This video from Nature features the start of the monarch butterfly’s northward trek.

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Monkey See, Monkey Do

Through experimentation, scientists at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta demonstrate how chimps faithfully transmit learned behaviors from one chimp to another.

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Monkey See, Monkey Take

In this video segment from The Human Spark, an experiment is done that indicates monkeys have a working notion of other minds.

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More Than an Image

This video segment explores how humans perceive the world through vision. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Vision."

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Moriussaq: A Case Study in Hearing Loss

This video segment follows neurophysiologist Allen Counter as he studies an epidemic of hearing loss in Moriussaq, Greenland, one of the quietest places on Earth. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Hearing."

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A Night in the Coral Reef

Coral reefs are often portrayed as brightly lit, bustling underwater marvels full of colorful creatures. This video segment, adapted from NOVA, paints a different picture as it explores the nocturnal behavior of organisms in the reef.

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Smart Sea Lions

This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW explores whether animals and humans are more similar than we think. Meet Rio, a sea lion who demonstrates to researchers reasoning skills once thought limited to humans.

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Interfering with Fear

Discover how cognitive psychologist Sian Beilock is working to overcome how we experience mental pressure and to maximize our brain’s performance, in this video adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

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Observing the Secret Lives of Raccoons

This video resource from Nature: "Raccoon Nation" explores how scientists are using technology to gain a deeper understanding of raccoon behavior.

Penguin Response to Climate Change

Find out how climate change is affecting Antarctic Adélie penguins and their ecosystem in this video segment adapted from Lloyd Fales and Sweetspot Pictures, Inc.

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Personification: Cowbirds

In this lesson designed to enhance literary skills, students explore personification as a literary device through the story of the cowbird, which is portrayed as "evil" in a documentary video.

Planetary Moves

This video segment from Nature offers an introduction to four species’ migratory patterns.

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The Power of Touch

This video segment explores the role of touch in the development of young animals, including humans. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Touch."

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Questions about Hearing

Students use scientific inquiry to understand how sound is generated, how animals hear, and the role hearing plays in survival.

Raccoons and the City

This video resource from Nature: "Raccoon Nation" explores the migration of raccoons to big cities and traits that help them thrive in urban environments.

Rattlesnakes

This video segment from Wild Nevada answers questions about the rattlesnake, a reptile that is often misunderstood.

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The Role of Genetics in Obesity

In this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW, meet researchers who are studying obesity and trying to understand the role that hormones and genetics can play in regulating appetite.

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Scent of an Alewife

This video segment from NOVA: "Sea Behind the Dunes" tracks the return of spawning alewife fish from the open ocean back to the freshwater streams and ponds where they were born.

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Scorpions

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada takes a look at an ancient desert dweller, the scorpion.

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Sea Turtles

This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Animal Pathfinders" describes the life history of the sea turtle.

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Sense of Smell Leads Salmon Home

This video segment adapted from Northwest Indian College reveals how Native American life and knowledge is connected to natural cycles.

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The Sense of Taste

This video segment explores the sense of taste in humans -- why we have it, and what happens when we lose it. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Taste."

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Shark Attack! The Hunt

This interactive feature from the NOVA "Shark Attack!" Web site details the six senses sharks use to find and capture their prey.

Signs of Migration

Students research and examine the practical and instinctual characteristics of the migration patterns of many different animal species. The will also work in groups to illustrate their research and make presentations.

Smell

This short video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K explains how a scent particle moves from your nose to a nerve cell which sends a signal to your brain.

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Social Skills

Students think about the building blocks of human society and investigate how different or similar they are to behaviors found in the animal world.

Surviving Winter

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the varied physical and behavioral adaptations that animals rely on to help them survive changing environmental conditions, such as the arrival of winter.

A Tail Like This

We use our senses to communicate and explore the world around us. Animals use their senses to help them find food and tell them when danger is near. You may not be able to move your ears like a rabbit, but you both have ears. Learn about traits you share with other animals in this KET original video.

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A Tail Like This Interactive

We use our senses to communicate and explore the world around us. Animals use their senses to help them find food and tell them when danger is near. You may not be able to move your ears like a rabbit, but you both have ears. Learn about traits you share with other animals in this original interactive from KET.

Talking Bacteria

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, microbiologist Bonnie Bassler shares her discovery that bacteria coordinate group activity by communicating through chemical signals.

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Taste

This short video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K illustrates the anatomy of the tongue, showing how it works to help you taste sweet, sour, bitter, and salty food items.

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Taste, Touch, and Vision

Students explore the senses and discuss the importance of each sense to an organism's survival.

The Teenage Brain

Why do teenagers act the way they do? This video segment from FRONTLINE: "Inside the Teenage Brain" explores the work scientists are doing to explain some of the mysteries of teenage behavior.

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Thinking About Thinking

This video from The Human Spark features a discussion about the ability of humans to think about others' thoughts.

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Touch

This short video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K shows a cross section of the body's largest organ, skin, and explains that it has at least 7 different kinds of sensors.

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Turkey Talk

This video resource from Nature: "My Life as a Turkey" explores the ways in which wild turkeys communicate.

Vehicle Stopping Distance

How far will your car travel once you decide you need to stop? This video adapted from KET’s Street Skills explains the biology and physics involved in individual reaction time and provides cautionary information for young drivers.

Venom: A Viper’s Deadly Weapon

This video excerpt from NOVA: “Venom: Nature’s Killer” explains how venom enters a human body and causes it to shutdown.

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Waves of Destruction

Learn about the anatomy of a tsunami in this segment from Nature.

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Whale and Human Ears

What do whale ears look like? You might be surprised! These two versions of this diagram -- one with the anatomical parts labeled and one that students can label themselves -- compare the anatomy of a whale ear to that of a human ear. From Marine Biology: Environment, Diversity, and Ecology by David Lerman

Who Comes to the Feeder?

Children learn about the different birds they can attract to a backyard feeder in this original video from KET.