Topic: Civil Engineering

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Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Arch Bridge This video segment adapted from Building Big illustrates the strength of the arch in bridge design and construction.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Avalanche Town The impact of natural disasters is made vivid in this video segment adapted from NOVA. A small town in Iceland, prepared for recurrent avalanches, is devastated when one takes a new and damaging path.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Build a Bridge Survey potential bridge sites, research bridge design, and select the right bridge for the right location in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.	6-12	Shockwave Interactive
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.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Citigroup Skyscraper Design Problem This video segment adapted from Building Big looks at the challenges faced by structural engineer William LeMessurier in designing a new skyscraper and how he very closely averted disaster.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Clifton Suspension Bridge This video segment from Building Big illustrates the basic design principles of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England.	3-12	QuickTime Video
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.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Demolition Woman Find out how controlled explosions are used to demolish multi-story buildings in this interview from the NOVA Web site.	6-12	HTML Document
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.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Elements of Steel This resource from the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Web site, which contains both an interactive activity and illustrated text, looks at the composition of different types of steel and their impact on technology.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Energy Sources This video segment produced for Teachers' Domain illustrates a variety of energy sources used to generate electricity, some of which are in use and some of which are under exploration.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Kerri-Ann Richard In this video from Science City, Kerri-Ann Richard, an environmental engineer, describes how she became interested in the field and why it is important to clean up the environment by removing contaminants from soil and ground water.	6-12	MPEG 4 Video
Fire Safety in High Rises This video segment adapted from NOVA explains how the sprinkler revolutionized fire safety and also features developments in fire-safety design for high-rise buildings.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Firth of Forth Cantilever Bridge This video segment from Building Big: "Bridges" demonstrates the basic design of a cantilever bridge by looking at Scotland's Firth of Forth Railway Bridge.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Geodesic Dome This video segment adapted from Building Big highlights the evolution of the geodesic dome, designed by legendary architect and inventor, Buckminster Fuller.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Global Trends Quiz In this interactive quiz from NOVA, take the Environmental Challenge and test your knowledge of human impact on the world's natural resources and climate.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Global Warming: Beyond Fossil Fuels Martin Hoffert, professor of physics at New York University, discusses global warming and alternative energies in this interview from the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site.	6-12	HTML Document
Global Warming: The Developing World This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at the future of global warming as developing nations, including India and China, increase their need for energy.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Grand Canyon: Conservation and Development This video segment adapted from NOVA explores the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam on the beaches, wildlife, and vegetation of the Colorado River.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Grass Bridge In this video segment adapted from NOVA, watch residents of the Peruvian Andes build a suspension bridge made entirely of grass.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Hoover Dam This video segment from Building Big: "Dams," demonstrates the basic principals at work in the Hoover Dam, a concrete gravity dam that also makes use of the properties of the arch.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Hoover Dam and Hydroelectric Power How does a dam generate electricity and what are the environmental impacts of operating these mammoth structures? Find out in this video segment adapted from Building Big.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Hurricane Katrina: A Scientist's Response In this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW, local officials, including scientist Ivor Van Heerden, share their responses to Hurricane Katrina.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Hurricane Katrina: Wetland Destruction Tour the wetlands south of New Orleans that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Hurricanes: New Orleans Under Threat This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW exposes how decades of development and geography combined to make the potential damage from a hurricane uniquely devastating in New Orleans, Louisiana.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Leaning Tower: Where It Stands Today Will the Leaning Tower of Pisa give way to gravity? In this interview from the NOVA Web site, engineer John Burland relates the difficult job of saving the tower.	6-12	HTML Document
Materials Lab This interactive activity from the Building Big Web site explores the properties of different types of building materials.	3-12	Flash Interactive
The Mississippi River Delta These images from NASA, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and U.S. Geological Survey illustrate the effects of severe storms and decades of river management on the size and shape of the Louisiana coastline and the Mississippi River Delta.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Nuclear Blast Damage This illustrated document from the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Web site examines the "zones of destruction" caused by nuclear weapons.	6-12	HTML Document
Nuclear Blast Footage These video clips from the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Web site feature actual footage of thermonuclear blast testing done in the 1950s.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Nuclear Reaction: Meltdown What happens when a nuclear reactor overheats? This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE looks at the nuclear reactor meltdown at Chernobyl, the worst accident of its kind.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Nuclear Waste: Yucca Mountain What happens to nuclear waste? This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE explores the controversy surrounding the United States' first nuclear repository site.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Off the Grid This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain presents users with three hypothetical scenarios in which they are challenged to design a wind power system that will meet their electrical needs.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Pantheon Dome This video segment adapted from Building Big: "Domes" illustrates how the design of the Pantheon Dome emerged out of another form, the arch.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Raising an Obelisk: An Engineering Puzzle This video segment adapted from NOVA follows two teams as they each test a different engineering design in an effort to explain how ancient Egyptians raised a giant stone obelisk.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Road Signs Gallery This collection of still images depicts various types of road signs and represents one form of research an engineer might conduct to design a road sign effectively.	6-12	Flash Image
Smart Bridges In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about engineering innovations that could help detect a bridge's structural weaknesses before they become dangerous.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Structure of Metal In this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site, animations explain different aspects of the properties of metal.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Train Truss Animation This animated video segment from Building Big: "Bridges" demonstrates how a truss bridge is designed to balance the weight of a train as it travels over it.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Visualizing Topography Explore the topography of a hill, a valley, and a cliff in this interactive activity featuring visualizations of three-dimensional topography in two dimensions. Adapted from Stephen Reynolds' "Visualizing Topography."	6-12	Flash Interactive
Water Conservation: Denver, CO This video segment adapted from Last Oasis explores the use of new dams as a way to provide or store water. In the 1990s, the city of Denver was looking for a new source of water for its growing population, and its plan to build a new dam suddenly became highly controversial.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Water Conservation: Israel This video segment adapted from Last Oasis shows how Israel has attempted to meet the challenge of providing enough water for agricultural needs. Featured are two methods: recycled water and drip irrigation.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Water Conservation: Mexico This video segment adapted from Last Oasis shows the challenges Mexico City faces in providing enough water for its growing population. As a result of over pumping of its ground water, some parts of the city are sinking 12 inches a year.	3-12	QuickTime Video
What Is the Design Process? This video segment adapted from Thinking Big, Building Small outlines the step-by-step design process used by engineers.	3-12	QuickTime Video

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Topic: Civil Engineering