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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Agricultural Technology Student: Farming & GPS/GIS

Learn how agricultural technology is changing farming, and one student's life, in this video adapted from Pathways to Technology.

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Agricultural Technology Student: Water Management & GPS/GIS

See one adult student's experience attending community college, studying agricultural technology, and discovering career opportunities, in this video adapted from Pathways to Technology.

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Allison Bolinger: Spacewalk Flight Controller and Trainer

In this video from Design Squad Nation, NASA spacewalk flight controller and trainer Allison Bolinger teaches astronauts how to work outside their spacecraft.

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Animal Cloning 101

Learn about clones and explore the methods scientists use to create clones in the lab in this interactive activity from the Dolan DNA Learning Center.

Arch Bridge

This video segment adapted from Building Big illustrates the strength of the arch in bridge design and construction.

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Are Computers Intelligent?

This video excerpt from NOVA: “Smartest Machine on Earth” explains why computers can be so good at chess.

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Ask an Engineer

Explore some of the wonders of modern engineering in this video from the Sciencenter in Ithaca, New York. Hear a diverse selection of engineers explain how things work.

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Associate Scientist Andres Berrio

In this video segment produced for Teachers' Domain, Andres Berrio, an associate scientist at Biogen Idec, discusses what he has done to succeed in the biotechnology field.

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ATE Internships and Co-ops

In this video adapted from ATETV, learn how Bristol Community College promotes internships and co-ops to prepare students for work in technology-related careers.

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Automatic Door Opener

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, watch the design process in action as cast members create automatic door openers to open their bedroom doors while still lying down.

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Balloon Brain: Designing a Helmet

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members are challenged to design protective headgear for a water balloon using what they know about the properties of the materials available.

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Bandwidth and Data Conversion

This interactive activity adapted from the Wisconsin Online Resource Center describes the factors that affect the speed of data transfer in computer networking systems and some of the techniques used to increase the data capacity of these systems.

Bioengineering Body Parts

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists discuss their attempts to grow human body parts in a jar.

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Biomanufacturing Supervisor

In this video adapted from Connecticut's College of Technology/Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, hear firsthand about what it’s like to be a biomanufacturing supervisor, making products that help save people's lives.

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Biomedical Technician Training

In this video adapted from ATETV, hear from a medical electronics engineering technology student about how she is improving her math, science, electronics, and communications skills in her community college program.

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Biotechnology: Production Support Associate

Learn how a community college degree in biotechnology led one woman to a career in helping to treat cancer, in this video excerpt from Pathways to Technology.

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Biotechnology Student Profile

Follow a high school student who is exploring the field of biotechnology by taking community college classes and job shadowing in this video segment adapted from Pathways to Technology.

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Biotechnology: Training & Careers

Learn what biotechnology is and what careers are available in the field, in this video excerpted from Pathways to Technology.

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Biotechnology: Upstream Processing Associate

In this video excerpted from Pathways to Technology, watch how one woman happily spends her days looking for a protein to help treat cancer, thanks to her community college degree in biotechnology.

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Blacker Than Black

In this video adapted from NASA, two members of a NASA research team working to produce carbon nanotubes share some background behind this new technology, show examples of how it will be useful, and explain the various tests being performed to ensure readiness for spaceflight.

Brain Trauma

Find out how serious head concussions can be in this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

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Breaking Point: Testing Tensile Strength

This video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Stronger" and accompanying demonstration illustrate the toughness and tensile strength of Kevlar® and other everyday materials.

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Building a Cleaner Battery

This video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Cleaner" and accompanying activity guide for grades K–8 introduce students to the design and use of batteries and the rapidly developing science of clean energy and clean materials.

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Building a Dam Like a Beaver

In this video segment from PEEP and the Big Wide World, children make a dam with dirt, sticks, and stones to try to stop the flow of water.

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Building a Fence

In this Cyberchase video segment, Harry must build a rectangular fence in his grandmother's backyard using fencing of various sizes.

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Building Curiosity: Rover Rocks Rocker-Bogie

NASA engineers test Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory rover, and demonstrate its material properties, its handling and mobility, and its design features in this NASA video.

Building Simple Machines: A Glass of Milk, Please

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast shows how the 34 steps in their Rube Goldberg invention use everything from gravity to carbon dioxide gas in order to accomplish one simple task: pouring a glass of milk.

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Building Simple Machines: Plant Quencher

In this video segment from ZOOM, Jillian explains how her simple machine uses marbles, levers, flowing sand, and a spinning wheel to water a plant.

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Building the Alaska Oil Pipeline

This video segment adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE tells the story of how environmentalists, Alaska Native peoples, and engineers concerned about the effects of permafrost challenged plans for the Alaska oil pipeline.

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Building the Channel Tunnel

How do you build a tunnel 32 miles long -- under water? This video segment adapted from Building Big, follows the construction of the Channel Tunnel (nicknamed "Chunnel"), the engineering wonder that connects England to France.

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The Business of Bioplastics

This video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Cleaner" and accompanying demonstration introduce students to the production and importance of bioplastics, or plastics made from plant or animal products.

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Can a Computer Fly an Airplane?

This video excerpt from NOVA shows how the computer system on the A330 airplane can fly the plane safely without a human pilot.

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Cancer Nanotech

This interactive slideshow adapted from NOVA scienceNOW shows some of the nanoscale structures that scientists are using in the experimental diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Capturing Carbon

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, a scientist, inspired by his daughter's science fair project, develops a synthetic "tree" to remove excess carbon dioxide from the air.

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Carbon-Fiber Car of the Future

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, find out how cars made of a material stronger than steel and half the weight can help combat climate change.

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Careers in Agricultural and Environmental Technologies

This interactive activity produced for Teachers’ Domain explores several career paths available in agricultural and environmental technologies.

Careers In Biotechnology

This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain examines several career paths available in the biotechnology field.

Careers in Engineering Technologies

This interactive activity produced for Teachers’ Domain explores various career paths in engineering technologies.

Careers in Plastics

Learn about opportunities for working in the growing field of plastics, including the emerging area of "green" technologies, in this video segment adapted from Pennsylvania College of Technology and WVIA.

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The Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Learn about the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's telescope system, science instruments, and spacecraft system in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

China’s Innovative Past

This audio segment from PRI's The World Science Podcast explores the roots of China's creative past and examines why China, a country that over 1500 years came up with some of the most important inventions the world had ever seen, might have lost its innovative edge to the West.

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City Farm

In this interactive game from WGBH, players learn about sustainable practices by growing crops, protecting them against unforeseen problems, and determining how best to conserve resources.

Clean Coal?

Explore the challenges facing the deployment of clean coal technology in this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: "Heat."

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Closed-Loop Systems

This interactive activity adapted from the Wisconsin Online Resource Center explores the processes, controls, and components that make up a typical closed-loop system used in automated manufacturing.

Collecting Data Below the Earth's Surface

This video segment adapted from Discovering Women demonstrates how scientists use sound waves to collect data about the structure of Earth's crust.

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Colliding Neutron Stars Create Black Hole and Gamma-ray Burst

This video from NASA describes the detailed computer modeling used to predict that colliding neutron stars can produce gamma-ray bursts similar to those associated with black holes.

Columns: Experimenting with Paper Cups

In this video segment from ZOOM, the cast experiments to see if a bunch of paper cups covered by a piece of cardboard can support the weight of a cast member.

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Columns: Hillary's Neighborhood

In this video segment from ZOOM, Hillary, from Randolph, MA, takes us on a tour of the columns in her neighborhood.

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Composite Materials for Space

Discover why engineers use composite materials to build spacecraft prototypes in this video segment adapted from NASA 360.

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Computer Game and Simulation Technology

Find out more about the cutting-edge field of simulation and computer game development in this video adapted from ATETV.

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Computer Networks

This interactive activity adapted from the Wisconsin Online Resource Center describes types of computer networks and how they function.

Converting to Biodiesel

Meet a college student whose class project to turn cooking grease into diesel fuel resulted in converting bus fleets to biodiesel, in this video from Earth Island Institute's New Leaders Initiative.

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Cooking Cookies with Solar Power

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, two solar cookers are tested against a control to see which can cook a "s'more" faster.

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Cosmic Origin Spectrograph

This video from NASA features the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph (COS), which allows scientists to use spectrographic analysis to assess the composition of intergalactic material.

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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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Create a DNA Fingerprint

Learn DNA profiling, the technique police use to catch the guilty and free the innocent. From NOVA: "The Killer's Trail" Web site.

The Cumberland Gap Tunnel

This KET video chronicles the incredible engineering effort that built the tunnel through Cumberland Mountain as well as the challenges posed by the geological composition of the area.

De-Twinkling the Stars

Find out why stars twinkle and adjust a telescope to sharpen a star's image in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

The Deployable Energy Absorber

Watch how engineers stage a crash to test a new helicopter safety design technology in this video from NASA.

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Design a Liquid Fuel Rocket Engine

Learn about rocket engines, and then design and launch a liquid fuel rocket in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

Design an Ion Engine

Learn about ions and then design an ion engine to maximize thrust in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

Design: Building a House

This collection of images follows the process of building a house from cutting the trees and making the bricks to finishing construction.

Design for Function

In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad designs an invention that will help them cross a swamp and also reach the top of a tall cliff.

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Designing a Paper Bridge

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members make a bridge from a single piece of paper. Will it be strong enough to hold a hundred pennies?

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Designing a Puff Mobile

The air you exhale can power a puff mobile. Watch as the ZOOM cast races their air-powered designs to see which design features are the most successful.

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Designing a Roller Coaster

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast is challenged to design and test a roller coaster with loops, hills, and U-turns.

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Designing Balloon Cars

Can the air in a balloon power a car? Watch students from Weston, Massachusetts, demonstrate their balloon car designs in this video adapted from ZOOM.

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Designing Electric Circuits: Steadiness Tester

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members discover that metal is a good conductor of electricity as they play the steadiness tester game.

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Designing Future Cities: Alternative Energy

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, visit a class as they design a city of the future that will use solar, wind, and water power to fuel its economy.

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Designing Swimming Prosthetics for a Dancer

In this video segment adapted from DESIGN SQUAD, teams of high school kids use the engineering design process to build specialized prostheses for a double-amputee dancer who performs underwater.

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Designing a Wheelchair for Rugby

In this video segment adapted from DESIGN SQUAD, teams of high school kids use the engineering design process to build an automated wheelchair to help a U.S. Paralympic athlete train.

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Design Inspired by Nature

In this stills collage produced for Teachers' Domain, see several examples of everyday inventions that were either inspired by nature or are similar in form and function to plants or animals.

The Design Process Poster

This printable image from DESIGN SQUAD illustrates the five steps of the engineering design process.

Design: The Right Tool for the Job

Which tool is the right tool for the job? This collection of images features a series of cutting tools performing the tasks for which they were designed.

A Different Kind of Fuel

In this segment from Curious, learn about creating energy from solar rays to meet the growing energy needs of the world.

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DNA Extraction

This interactive activity adapted from the University of Nebraska's Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary illustrates how DNA, which is normally locked inside of cells, is extracted from living tissue.

DNA Libraries

This interactive resource adapted from the Dolan DNA Learning Center explores the different types of DNA libraries used to store and access genetic information.

DNA on the Witness Stand

In this article, Dr. Eric Lander of the Human Genome Project comments on the use of DNA as an identification tool -- the theoretical versus the practical results.

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DNA Sequencing

This interactive activity adapted from the Dolan DNA Learning Center looks at two techniques used to sequence DNA: the Sanger method and an automated process based on the Sanger method.

Down to the Core Challenge

In this video from Design Squad Nation, kids design and build devices that can extract a core sample from a potato “asteroid.” They also learn how samples give NASA scientists insight into solar system objects.

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Drafting and Graphics Engineering

In this video adapted from ATETV, hear firsthand from an engineering technology graphics student about her plans to work with an architect after she completes her community college program.

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Drilling to Antarctica’s Rock Core

In this video adapted from ANDRILL, find out how geoscientists get through more than a dozen football fields of ice and water in order to study the rock and sediment beneath Antarctica.

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Eduardo Torres-Jara

In this video from Science City, meet Eduardo Torres-Jara, a postdoctoral associate in electrical engineering and computer science at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab. He describes his work on innovative robots that use tactile feedback to locate and grasp objects.

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Dust-Proofing a Mars Rover

Enter the lab of NASA scientist Dr. Carlos Calle to see how systems are being developed to keep planetary rover solar panels dust-free, in this video from NASA EDGE.

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