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.

Scale City: FAQs and Media List

This PDF answers questions teachers may have about Using Scale City To Teach Proportional Reasoning, including contact information. It also includes a Media List with the times of all the videos in the teaching modules that may be used to help plan a group professional development event around Using Scale City.

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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Acid Mine Drainage: General Level Background Essays

These two background essays provide general information about acid mine drainage (AMD) for grades 6-12. The first explores how AMD is formed and its environmental impact, and the second focuses on the chemical processes involved in AMD. They can be shared with students or used as a reference by teachers.

Bernheim Forest: Background Essays

These two essays provide background information for grades 4-12 about water conservation and preservation at Bernheim Forest. The first essay describes the water-friendly features of the Bernheim Visitor Center, and the second describes two restoration projects undertaken at the forest.

Acid Mine Drainage: Advanced Level Background Essay

This background essay for high school chemistry explores the chemical processes that underlie the problem of acid mine drainage and includes detailed equations representing these processes. It can be shared with students or used as a reference by teachers.

Bernheim Forest Discussion Questions

This PDF combines all discussion questions from the eight “Bernheim Forest” videos into a single document for teachers to download and print.

Acid Mine Drainage Discussion Questions

This PDF combines all discussion questions from the eight “Acid Mine Videos” pages into a single convenient document that teachers can easily download and print. The discussion questions are divided into three levels: General (6-12), Intermediate (9-12), and Advanced (High School Chemistry).

Bernheim Forest Graphic Handouts

This set of five graphic handouts illustrate concepts from the eight “Bernheim Forest” videos including the design of the green roof, the cistern, and the peat filtration system as well as mycoremediation to offset oil and gasoline pollution and restoring a creek to its original meander.

Acid Mine Drainage Quantitative Questions, Advanced Level

This handout for high school chemistry students is divided into general, intermediate, and advanced problems that require students to balance chemical equations, write equilibrium expressions, and answer other quantitative questions related to acid mine drainage.

Bernheim Forest Glossary

This glossary provides definitions for scientific and technical terms used in the eight “Bernheim Forest” videos.

Acid Mine Drainage Glossary

This glossary provides definitions for scientific and technical terms used in the eight “Acid Mine Drainage” videos.

Acid Mine Drainage Lesson Plans, Grades 6-9

These two physical science/chemistry lesson plans for grades 6-9 are both lab activities. One involves using acid/base indicators to test the acidity or alkalinity of common household chemicals, and the other involves testing how different factors affect the solubility of substances in water.

Acid Mine Drainage Graphic Handouts

This set of four graphic handouts illustrate important concepts from the eight “Acid Mine Drainage” videos: the pH of water, what the term “logarithmic scale” means relative to pH, how raising pH causes metal ions to fall out of solution, and an acid mine drainage remediation system.

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.

Acid Lake

Add acidity to a healthy lake and see what happens to the plants and animals in this interactive activity adapted from EcoKids.

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.

Allopatric Speciation

These images from the Smithsonian Institution depict Nancy Knowlton's work with snapping shrimp in Panama. Knowlton found that the closing of the isthmus -- dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean -- resulted in new species of shrimp.

All Planet Sizes

This illustration from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory shows the approximate sizes of the planets relative to each other. Note that the planets are not shown at appropriate distances from the Sun.

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.

Amplitude

This interactive activity adapted from the University of Utah's ASPIRE Lab shows how a pendulum's amplitude changes as you set it swinging from different distances from its axis, and how the amplitude of a sound wave changes as you adjust the volume.

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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Analyzing an Ecosystem

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta, identify the living and nonliving things in an ecosystem. Then look further at the living things to identify the producers, the consumers, and examples of mimicry.

Animal Classification Game

Learn about classes of animals and test your ability to identify animals as mammals, birds, reptiles and more in this interactive activity adapted from Sheppard Software.

Animal Coverings

It takes a thick skin to withstand the hardships that life has to offer. This collection of images shows a variety of animals, each with a slightly different type of protective covering.

Arctic Sea Ice Satellite Observations

In this interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain, learn how Arctic sea ice has changed over the past 25 years in terms of maximum winter extent, concentration, and the timing of breakup each spring.

Astronomical Images in Different Wavelengths

Visible light is just one portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that a telescope may detect. This collection of images produced for Teachers' Domain features radio wave, infrared, visible light, and X-ray images of distant stars and galaxies as well as images of the telescopes designed to detect the various wavelengths of radiation.

Atmospheric Oxygen

In this feature, adapted from Interactive NOVA: "Earth," students explore the relationship between oxygen concentration and the well-being of various organisms by simulating a change in oxygen levels and observing what happens.

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.

Backyard Wildlife Interactive

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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Biomes

This interactive resource adapted from NASA describes the different temperature, precipitation, and vegetation patterns in seven biomes: coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, desert, grassland, rainforest, shrubland, and tundra.

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 Flow and Thermoregulation

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta, learn about the ways your body can regulate its temperature.

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.

Carbon Cycle Diagram

This diagram from NASA Earth Science Enterprise illustrates Earth's carbon cycle.

Carbon Cycle Diagram

This diagram from NASA's Earth Science Enterprise illustrates the Earth's carbon cycle .

Carbon Cycle Diagram

This diagram from NASA's Earth Science Enterprise illustrates Earth's carbon cycle.

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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Cell Division

In this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium, explore the step-by-step process by which an animal cell divides to make more cells.

Cell Explorer

Explore the parts of a virtual animal cell in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium. Learn about various cell structures and the roles they play in cell division, cellular respiration, and protein synthesis.

Cell Membrane: Just Passing Through

This interactive feature describes some of the most important structures and functions of the cell membrane.

Cell Transcription and Translation

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Nebraska, learn how and where transcription and translation occur within a cell and observe both processes in detail.

Cellular Service

The goal of this interactive game is to keep a group of target cells healthy by using blood to deliver and take away various substances to and from the cells.

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.

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.

Chemical Bonds

This interactive activity developed for Teachers' Domain demonstrates how attractive forces between atoms create chemical bonds, resulting in the formation of molecules and compounds.

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.

Cloud Types

This interactive resource, adapted from NASA's S'COOL Project Tutorial, explains how you can classify and identify various types of clouds.

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.

Coastal Geological Processes

This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service describes the many forces that affect shorelines, including tides, weathering, erosion, and deposition.

Collisions on an Air Track

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Toronto, observe the effect of mass on momentum in elastic and inelastic collisions.

Colorful Creatures

For animals, bright, flashy coloration can serve as a warning or as an invitation. Either way, colorful skin, feathers, and scales yell, "Notice me!" This collection of images shows examples of some of the world's most colorful creatures.

Compost Office

This interactive activity from Keep America Beautiful, Inc. uses illustrated text and a game to explain why it is important to compost, the science involved, and the perfect recipe for decomposition.

Continental Divide: The Breakup of Pangaea

Examine geological evidence found in fossils, rock deposits, and ancient mountains that supports the theory of continental drift in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.

Cooking with Sugar

Find out about the chemistry of candy and how sugar reacts at different temperatures to become fudge, caramel, lollipops, and more in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.

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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Cow's Eye Dissection

In this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium, watch videos of a cow eye dissection and see how an eye works.

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.

Dance of Development

Watch the "dance" of development as a zebrafish egg divides and differentiates on its way to becoming an embryo in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.

Deforestation in Bolivia

This visualization adapted from NASA features two satellite images from 1984 and 2000 that show the dramatic deforestation of the Bolivian rainforest.

Desert Tortoise

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

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The Disappearing Aral Sea

This visualization adapted from NASA features satellite images showing how more than 60 percent of the Aral Sea has disappeared during the last 30 years.

Disappearing Milk

A magician pours milk into a glass, but when he turns the glass upside down, nothing comes out. How does he do it? Discover the science behind the "magic" in this video adapted from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Discovering Antarctica

Take a guided tour of Antarctica by watching brief video segments of its landscape and wildlife in this interactive activity adapted from the British Antarctic Survey.

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.

Documenting Glacial Change

This collection of comparative glacier images adapted from the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows substantial changes in five Alaskan glacier positions over periods of 60 to 100 years.

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.

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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