Subtopic: Plants and Animals

Animal Babies
This interactive slide show illustrates the variety of animal babies that exist on earth -- some completely independent and others deeply reliant on parental care.

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.

Animals Making a Living
For most animals, finding food is a full-time job. This video segment explores the food-finding strategies of a variety of creatures, illustrating the idea that different animals have very different ways of getting enough to eat.

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.

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.

Bird Beak Gallery
This collection of images of 10 different birds illustrates the diversity of bird beaks.

The Bounty of Bees
Bees are an extremely vital part of life on this planet. In this video segment from QUEST, explore the huge impact these small insects have on our civilization.

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.

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.

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

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.

Duckweed
These images of duckweed (Lemna spp.) illustrate the basic anatomy and environment of these fast-growing plants.

Exploring Plants
In this media-rich lesson, students observe plant growth by watching a time-lapse video and by growing their own seeds. They identify the conditions seeds need to germinate and consider the role that fruits play in seed dispersal.

Flood Plain and Higher Ground Habitats
This video segment from NatureScene features the area of the Congaree Swamp where the high ground and the flood plain meet. Learn how a few feet of difference in elevation on a floodplain can yield drastic changes in what you’ll find living there.

Fruit Wrappers
In this video from Curious George, join students as they investigate banana peels and fruit seeds to discover their different functions.

Gila Monster
This video segment from Outdoor Nevada looks at the Gila monster's behavior, habitat, and unique adaptive characteristics.

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.

Hummingbirds
This video segment from Outdoor Nevada explores the traits, behaviors, and habitat of four hummingbird species.

Kratts' Creatures
This informative and entertaining Web site explores the relationships between organisms and the environments to which they're adapted.

Map of the Human Heart
See how the human heart moves blood through the body in this animated feature from the NOVA: "Cut to the Heart" Web site.

The Needs of Living Things
Students learn what animals and plants need to survive, how their habitats support these needs, and how organisms can change their environment.

Patterns in Nature
In this video segment from Cyberchase, a plant expert shows Bianca the patterns and symmetry found in nature.

Pink Dolphins of the Amazon
This video resource from Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures explores the unique adaptations developed by the pink river dolphin in order to survive in the freshwater rivers of the Amazon.

Plants-in-Motion
While we tend to think of plants as stationary, they are in constant, though very slow motion, as they respond to environmental factors. Watch plants move in time-lapse videos in this interactive activity adapted from Indiana University.

Redwoods at Redwood National Park
This video segment from NatureScene describes the characteristics of redwood trees at Redwood National Park.

Root Systems of Trees at the Congaree Swamp
Learn about root systems of trees in the Congaree Swamp National Park in this video segment from NatureScene.

Snake Jaws: A Lesson in Evolution
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn how animals' physical characteristics, such as jaw structure, are directly related to the function they perform when the animal interacts with its environment.

Supermarket Botany
Can you eat the stem, root, or seed of a plant? In this interactive activity adapted from the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, test your knowledge of plant parts by identifying everyday foods as plant parts.

Tree Identification
This video from WPSU’s series Outside provides tips on how to identify a tree from its bark, twigs, buds, and fruit as you walk through the woods in winter.

What Do Animals Eat?
Some animals -- like some children -- are notoriously picky eaters. Others will eat whatever they can find. This video segment explores the diversity of feeding habits among some of the world's creatures.

Wildlife Biology
In this What's Up in the Environment? video segment, learn how various indicator species are used to monitor the environmental condition of the Everglades.