AC / DC: What's the Difference?
This animated essay from the American Experience Web site explains the difference between alternating and direct electric current and offers in-depth explanations about the role played by a battery, light bulb, wire, and generator.
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6-12 |
HTML Interactive
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Advances in Neurotechnology
In this video segment from Greater Boston, learn how a man with severe motor disabilities can operate a computer and move a prosthetic hand by simply thinking the commands, thanks to the combined efforts of bioengineers and neuroscientists.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Aerodynamics: What Causes Lift?
How does an airplane stay aloft when upside down? This media-rich essay from the NOVA Web site offers an explanation based on Newton's third law of motion.
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6-12 |
HTML Interactive
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Air Bag Design
Using automobile crash test footage, this video segment adapted from NOVA shows some of the challenges in designing the air bag.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Airplanes: Designing for Stealth
Explore this NOVA interactive activity to see how engineers have modified a military plane's sound, shape, and heat emissions to minimize detection.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Air Power: Making a Hovercraft
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members make their own hovercraft and demonstrate how the air leaking out of a balloon can make a plastic plate hover above a table.
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Arch Bridge
This video segment adapted from Building Big illustrates the strength of the arch in bridge design and construction.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Astronauts in Hard Hats
This media-rich series of interviews from the NOVA Web site explores the unique challenges faced by astronauts doing construction work in outer space.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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The Bridge Challenge
In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, use your knowledge of bridge design to match the right bridge to the right location in a fictitious city.
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3-12 |
HTML Interactive
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Bt Corn
This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" looks at corn that has been genetically modified to resist one insect pest, and the multiple concerns it raises.
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
Shockwave Interactive
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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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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Capturing Renewable Energy
Students investigate renewable energy sources and how to transition from an energy source to a usable, on-demand power source.
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6-12 |
Lesson Plan
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Chernobyl: What Really Happened?
This text excerpted from Richard Rhodes' book, Nuclear Renewal and reprinted on the FRONTLINE Web site examines the causes of the Chernobyl accident.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Classical vs. Transgenic Breeding
This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explains that genetic engineering and classical breeding both alter the genetic makeup of crop plants.
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Clifton Suspension Bridge
This video segment from Building Big illustrates the basic design principles of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Construct an Aqueduct
Think like an engineer and build an aqueduct in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.
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3-12 |
Shockwave Interactive
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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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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
Shockwave Interactive
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The Dam Challenge
In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, investigate dams in distress and decide if they should be repaired, removed, or left alone.
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3-12 |
HTML Interactive
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Demolition Woman
Find out how controlled explosions are used to demolish multi-story buildings in this interview from the NOVA Web site.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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6-12 |
Lesson Plan
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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.
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K-8 |
Flash Image
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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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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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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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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Designing the Citigroup Skyscraper
This video segment adapted from Thinking Big, Building Small shows how a structural engineer overcame the challenge of building New York's Citigroup skyscraper over a church.
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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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3-8 |
Flash Image
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DNA Databases
This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" investigates the promises and concerns surrounding the use of DNA databases.
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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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9-12 |
PDF Document
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The Dome Challenge
In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, think like an engineer and use your knowledge of dome design to match the right type of dome to the right location in a fictitious city.
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3-12 |
HTML Interactive
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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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6-12 |
MPEG 4 Video
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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.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Energy Production
Students examine the role of energy in our daily lives and how we produce energy to power our cities, homes, and schools. The advantages and disadvantages of each energy source are also addressed.
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6-12 |
Lesson Plan
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Energy Sources
This video segment illustrates a variety of energy sources used to generate electricity, some of which are in use and some of which are under exploration.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Engineer a Crop: Transgenic Manipulation
You're the geneticist now. In this interactive feature from the NOVA/FRONTLINE "Harvest of Fear" Web site, use the latest in genetic technology to engineer your own "supercrop" of tomatoes.
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9-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Engineering Career Options
It's a profession that can take you from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space, from within the microscopic structures of the human cell to the top of the tallest skyscrapers. In this stills collage adapted from The American Society for Engineering Education, learn about some of the most popular engineering fields.
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3-12 |
Flash Image
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Engineering for the Red Planet
In this video segment from NASA, robotics researcher Ayanna Howard uses engineering to improve the intelligence of robots in space exploration.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Jennifer Hannaford
In this video from Science City, meet Jennifer Hannaford, a forensic scientist. She describes the steps to recover and analyze fingerprints to help solve crimes. She also discusses common attributes between art and science.
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6-12 |
MPEG 4 Video
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FAQs About Nuclear Power
Nuclear physicist, Dr. Charles Till, answers questions about nuclear power in this interview from the FRONTLINE Web site.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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Finding Cures Is Hard
This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explains the difficulty of curing genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Finding Disease Genes
This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explains the process of finding genes that cause disease.
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Forces Lab
In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, select one of the actions of squeezing, stretching, bending, sliding, or twisting to explore the forces of compression, tension, shear, and torsion.
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3-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Forensic DNA Analysis
This video segment from NOVA: "The Killer's Trail" investigates the potential for DNA evidence to solve murder cases, even those from the distant past.
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Fuel Cells
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, hydrogen fuel cell cars promise pollution-free driving, but will we see them anytime soon?
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Genetic Modification
This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the potential created by understanding the human genome.
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Geodesic Dome
This video segment adapted from Building Big highlights the evolution of the geodesic dome, designed by legendary architect and inventor, Buckminster Fuller.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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Getting Airborne and Wing Design
What makes an airplane fly? Discover the connection between Newton's third law of motion and flight in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Global Warming: The Hydrogen Car
Is the hydrogen car the answer to global warming? This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at the pros and cons of this developing technology.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Grass Bridge
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, watch residents of the Peruvian Andes build a suspension bridge made entirely of grass.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
Browse through a table full of genetically modified (GM) foods to see what's available now and what's to come. From the FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" Web site.
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9-12 |
Flash Interactive
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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.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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How Is a Radio Wave Emitted?
This illustrated essay from A Science Odyssey Web site explains the science behind radio waves, including the role of electrons and electromagnetic fields.
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6-12 |
HTML Interactive
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How to Build A Road
Geology and weather introduced a variety of unexpected problems when construction crews were building the Alaska Highway. In this interactive activity from the American Experience Web site, see how Army engineers improvised solutions to blaze a trail through the wilderness.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Human Genome Project
This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the meaning and significance of the effort to decode the human genome.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Imaging with Radar
This interactive activity from NOVA features synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which uses radio waves to create high-quality images. Examine SAR images of Washington, D.C., and learn about this technology's unique advantages.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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The Impact of Technology: Cars
This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey looks at the invention of the automobile and the development of mass production.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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It's Cool to Be a Civil Engineer
Who decides how massive structures like skyscrapers are made? This video segment adapted from Thinking Big, Building Small showcases the job of a civil engineer.
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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Kismet
In this video segment adapted from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory working to engineer smarter robots are now building a machine that interacts socially with people.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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Lever an Obelisk
Investigate the mechanical advantage of the lever in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.
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6-12 |
Shockwave Interactive
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Loads Lab
This interactive activity from the Building Big Web site examines different types of loads and how structures might be reinforced to withstand them.
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3-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Mars Dead or Alive: A Hostile Environment
This NOVA video segment describes the challenges presented by the frozen desert environment of Mars to NASA engineers designing two robots that will journey millions of miles to the red planet.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Mars Dead or Alive: Where to Land?
In this video segment from NOVA, engineers and scientists designing the Spirit and Opportunity rovers struggle to choose landing spots both safe enough for landing and geologically promising.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Materials Lab
This interactive activity from the Building Big Web site explores the properties of different types of building materials.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Motorcycles for Health
In this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival, health care workers in The Gambia learn to use and maintain motorcycles in order to travel to isolated villages with a uniquely designed ambulance attachment that can mean the difference between life and death.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Nuclear Reaction: Fission
This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE looks at nuclear fission as an energy source that can be used to generate electricity.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Nuclear Reaction: Searching for Safety
This text excerpted from Beyond Engineering: How Society Shapes Technology by Robert Pool and reprinted on the FRONTLINE Web site looks at the impact of nuclear power.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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On Human Cloning
Three cloning experts share their opinions in these interviews from the NOVA "18 Ways to Make a Baby." Web site.
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9-12 |
HTML Document
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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.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Radio Transmission
This interactive activity from A Science Odyssey tracks the journey of a sound wave from the moment a musician sings into a microphone until his voice reaches the vibrating speakers of an AM Radio.
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6-12 |
Shockwave Interactive
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Radio Waves & Electromagnetic Fields
In this interactive simulation adapted
from the University of Colorado's Physics Education Technology project,
explore how a radio transmitter broadcasts electromagnetic radiation.
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6-12 |
Java Web Start Interactive
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Radio Waves: FM vs. AM
This brief essay from A Science Odyssey Web site describes the difference between FM and AM radio waves.
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6-12 |
HTML Interactive
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Rate Tornado Damage
In this interactive activity from NOVA Online, use the Fujita tornado intensity scale to assess the level of destruction left in the wake of actual tornadoes.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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The real C.S.I.
In this video segment from QUEST, learn about a specific area of forensics and how it is applied to areas of immigration.
Collection Developed by:
KQED Public Television
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
Flash Image
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Robofly
Featuring slow-motion footage of insects in flight, this video adapted from NOVA explores the engineering challenge of designing a robotic aerial vehicle that flies like a bug.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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RoboSnail
In this video segment adapted from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a
team from the Mechanical Engineering Department studies snail movement for inspiration
that may lead to new forms of robotic locomotion.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Robot Race
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, cars drive themselves. Teams of designers using different technologies compete for a two-million-dollar prize to see which unmanned vehicle will make it to the finish line first.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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The Sequencing Race Begins
This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at one of the key players in the race to decode the human genome.
|
9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Shapes Lab
This interactive activity from the Building Big Web site compares the strengths of the rectangle, triangle, and arch.
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3-8 |
Flash Interactive
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6-8 |
Lesson Plan
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9-12 |
HTML Interactive
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Should We Grow GM Crops?
Learn the pros and cons of genetically modified (GM) crops, and cast your vote on whether they should be grown. From the FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" Web site.
|
9-12 |
HTML Interactive
|
The Skyscraper Challenge
In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, investigate hypothetical structural emergencies and figure out how to repair them.
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3-12 |
HTML Interactive
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|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Steam Machine
Explore NOVA Online's interactive steam engine and discover how this machine can convert heat to mechanical energy.
|
3-12 |
Shockwave Interactive
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Stem Cell Debate
This essay from the NOVA "Life's Greatest Miracle" Web site explores the debate over the use of embryonic stem cells in scientific research.
|
9-12 |
HTML Document
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Super Salmon
This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explores genetic modification of salmon and possible consequences.
|
9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Tension and Compression
Students experience the forces of tension and compression by manipulating objects that are strong in each but not in both and then take what they have learned and apply it to the construction of various structures.
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6-12 |
Lesson Plan
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|
6-12 |
Shockwave Interactive
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Tracking Polar Bears
In this interactive activity adapted from the USGS Alaska Science Center, track the movements of a polar bear as it migrates across the changing Arctic sea ice and compare the paths of four different polar bears.
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K-8 |
Flash Interactive
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