Library DVDs
Following is the list of DVDs at the Educator Resource Center and Lyman Library. Choose a category to jump to listings. All media can be borrowed for two weeks, and no more than three DVDs can be borrowed at one time. If you would like to reserve a DVD, contact us: 617-589-0174, lymanlibrary@mos.org. We hold the reserved media behind the circulation desk for up to two weeks.
Ancient Civilizations and Archaeology
Archaeology (26 min. Disney) In Archaeology, Bill digs into the fascinating science of archaeology, the study of those who lived before us. Home Improvement's Richard Karn drops by to check out some ancient "Tool Time"-style artifacts.
Greece: Secrets of the Past (45 min. IMAX®) Filmed in IMAX technology, Greece: Secrets of the Past takes viewers to the dawn of democracy and the birthplace of Western civilization on a quest to uncover the buried secrets of one of the world's most enlightened societies: Ancient Greece. The film is at once a modern detective story and a sweeping archeological journey back in time. State-of-the-art CGI recreates the massive eruption that blew Santorini sky-high and reveals the wonder of the Parthenon before it was reduced to ruins. Narrated by Nia Vardalos.
Engineering Egypt: How Egypt's two Greatest Pharaohs Built Their Way to Immortality (90 min. National Geographic) Monumental in scale and sophisticated in design, the engineering triumphs of the ancient Egyptians still inspire awe to this day. This in-depth National Geographic special explores two of Egypt's mightiest pharaohs, Khufu and Ramses.
The Mystery of the Maya (40 min. Razor Digital) This DVD explores the culture, science, and history of the civilizations who lived deep within the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala.
Secrets of Lost Empires: Colosseum, Stonehenge (112 min. WGBH/NOVA) How did the Roman builders completely cover the Colosseum with a billowing canopy? Scientists try out two competing concepts to see what engineering principles may have worked. How did early Britons construct Stonehenge 4,500 years ago without modern tools? Scientists attempt to replicate the conditions of the Stone Age to reproduce their own Stonehenge.
Secrets of Lost Empires: Inca (56 min. WGBH) This DVD takes a look into the mysterious building techniques of the Inca as it tries to reconstruct their work.
Secrets of Lost Empires II: Easter Island, China Bridge (112 min. WGBH/NOVA) Unlock secrets behind the massive Moai statues on Easter Island; learn how this vanished civilization may have carved its way to extinction; and learn the meaning of the Moai from an archaeological perspective. Return to the Song Dynasty in China Bridge where the revolutionary Rainbow Bridge reveals intricate mysteries of China's inventive past; and hear experts explain how China's technical wizardry went unrivaled in the West for centuries.
Secrets of Lost Empires II: Medieval Siege (56 min. WGBH/NOVA) Discover how the fearsome, mechanized marvel known as the trebuchet catapulted warfare in an unpredictable direction in Medieval Siege.
Secrets of Lost Empires II: Pharaoh's Obelisk, Roman Baths (112 min. WGBH/NOVA) Travel inside ancient tombs and temples, and "read" cryptic building instructions to see how ancient Egyptians used a lot of sand, ingenuity and unwavering faith to raise a 500-ton granite monument in Pharaoh's Obelisk. Learn why the intimate luxury palaces of Roman Bath remain such an impressive achievement today; and travel to an olive grove in Turkey to see the start-to-finish construction of a modern "ancient" Roman bath.
Scientific American Frontiers: Coming to America (57 min. PBS) Who were the first Americans? New discoveries and techniques for dating have archeologist rethinking what they know -- and rewriting history.
Scientific American Frontiers: The Secret Canyon (27 min. PBS) The best-kept secret of American archaeology is now revealed: an entire canyon of perfectly preserved 1,000-year-old remains.
The Story of 1 (60 min. PBS) Terry Jones embarks on a humor-filled journey to discover the amazing tale that lies behind the simplest number we have. Using computer graphics, 1 is brought to life for the program, in all his various guises. 1's story reveals how the most celebrated civilizations in history were achieved, where our modern numbers came from, and how the invention of zero changed the world forever and saved us from having to use Roman numerals today.
Animals
Amazing Journeys (106 min. IMAX) Witness nature's most incredible spectacles as millions of creatures undertake extraordinary journeys of survival.
Beavers (70 min. IMAX) Take a swim with beavers and experience the rich aquatic habitat of one of nature's greatest engineers.
Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure (40 min. IMAX) Explore the extraordinary hidden world of insects, where a leaf weighs more than a car, rain drops feel like exploding hand grenades, and a blade of grass soars like a skyscraper.
China: The Panda Adventure (49 min. IMAX Corporation) Experience the world of the magnificent and rare giant panda as you travel back in time on an exciting expedition through the breathtaking splendor of 1936 China. Inspired by the true-life story of widowed New York socialite Ruth Harkness, a fiercely independent woman who dared to take up her late husband's expedition, journeying deep into the forests of China to study the giant panda.
Chameleons Are Cool: A picture Book on DVD (8 min. Martin Jenkins, Chandlewick Press) Describes different kinds of chameleons, examining their physical features, their behavior, and their ability to change color.
Echo of the Elephants (110 min. Nature) Witness some of the most moving and intimate elephant behavior ever captured on film. Elephant expert Cynthia Moss is your guide to the daily dramas in the lives of grand matriarch Echo and her elephant herd that Moss has studied for more than 20 years in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Two classic Nature episodes, "Echo of the Elephants" and "Echo of the Elephants: The Next Generation" tell this remarkable story that includes mating struggles, difficult births, a baby elephant's first steps, mischievous children, kidnappings, emotional reunions, and, occasionally, death at the hands of a hunter.
Eyewitness: Bird (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Bird takes you soaring through the sky and around the world in an exciting journey from the bird's distant dinosaur past to its present astonishing variety. Take an up-close look at the staggering range of sizes, shapes, and habitats of these feathered creatures, and experience the miracle of flight.
Eyewitness: Butterfly & Moth (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Butterfly & Moth takes a flight of fancy with nature's most beguiling creatures. See their miraculous transformation from lowly caterpillar to airborne adult, and learn why these delicate insects have long inspired and entranced us. Ages: 8 – 12.
Eyewitness: Insect (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Insect zooms in on a world of creatures that are industrious, sociable, and environmentally useful, but that are nevertheless avoided and ignored. Here, you can safely examine the wonders of the insect through macro-photography and startling 3-D graphics that reveal the true importance of these amazing life forms. Ages: 8 - 12.
Eyewitness: Mammal (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Mammal reveals the most amazing facts and folklore about our favorite furry animals. Towering or tiny, ferocious or friendly, mammals trot, hop, swim, and soar. Meet the creatures that make up this huge and varied family.
Eyewitness: Reptile (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Reptile reveals the alien world of these often misunderstood cold-blooded vertebrates, uncovering reptilian facts that are stranger than fiction. From hot, steamy swamps to dry-as-bone deserts, travel the world in search of these amazing animals. Ages: 8 - 12.
Growing Up Wild: Bouncing Babies (180 min. BBC) Growing Up Wild provides a fun and exciting look at baby animals in their growing-up years. This fascinating series offers a humorous and engaging view of the animal kingdom that the whole family can enjoy together. Your animated host, Madison the cat, brings the whole family right into the natural habitats of creatures large and small with amazing close-up footage that will enchant young audiences.
Hanging with the Sloth (30 min. Perezoso Production) Discover how conservation efforts are protecting the sloth and its habitat which is under constant threat from development. Scientists and animal experts discuss how efforts at rescue centers set up especially for sloths are contributing to better understanding.
India: Kingdom of the Tiger (110 min. Slingshot Entertainment) India: Kingdom of the Tiger surrounds us with the landscape of one of the oldest civilizations in the world and brings us face to face with one of the world's most intriguing animals -- the Bengal tiger. Traveling through this land of tremendous beauty, we are guided by the story of Jim Corbett -- a writer, hunter and conservationist who, in the early 1900s, became famous in India as both a hunter of man-eating tigers and as a protector of Indian wildlife.
Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees (75 min. IMAX) This IMAX film shows Jane Goodall's extraordinary trip deep into Tanzania and across four decades of research to experience the world of the chimpanzee.
The Last Great Ape (56 min. WGBH/NOVA) Deep in the Congo lives a little-studied group of apes called the bonobos. Like the more-familiar chimpanzees, bonobos are among the humans' closest relatives, but unlike the chimps who are known for their violent behavior, bonobos are far more peaceful.
Life in the Undergrowth (2 discs, 250 min. BBC) David Attenborough guides the viewer through a miniature universe teeming with life, never normally seen, yet all around us. New technology reveals surreal vistas and their extraordinary inhabitants -- swarming antler moths, desert locusts and a mountain of cockroaches -- up close and personal. The bizarre and the beautiful are represented and their habits, lifestyles, and characteristics explained in David Attenborough's inimitable style. Though small, these creatures are as ferocious as any seen before.
The Life of Birds (3 discs, 580 min. BBC Video) Colorful, mysterious, noble, and intriguing, birds have fascinated us since the dawn of history. David Attenborough, one of the world's foremost naturalists, hosts an extraordinary exploration into the secret lives of these magnificent creatures.
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1 (150 min. BBC) Includes three episodes. In "A Winning Design," David Attenborough makes a worldwide journey of discovery in search of fascinating mammals to illustrate why we mammals are so incredibly successful and diverse. "Insect Hunters" takes a look at the insect-eating mammals and why they are still thriving. "Plant Predators" examines the threats herbivores face.
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 2 (150 min. BBC) Includes three episodes. "Chisellers" examines the chisel-sharp front teeth and underground dwelling of the chiseller mammals. "Meat Eaters" takes a look at meat-eating predators and their prey. "Opportunist" investigates how omnivores are among some of the most charismatic and widespread mammals on the planet.
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 3 (100 min. BBC) Includes two episodes. In "Return to the Water," we look at sea mammals. With perfect streamlined bodies and great underwater speed, seals, dolphins, porpoises, and whales became the new hunters of the sea. "Life of Trees" examines tree-dwelling mammals and their adaptations.
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 4 (100 min. BBC) Includes two episodes. In "Social Climbers," see the daily hubbub of monkey life, where only those with talent as social wheelers and dealers get ahead. "Food for Thought" takes a look at human beings.
Living with Wolves (83 min. Discovery Channel) For centuries, wolves have been characterized as bloodthirsty beasts, tormentors of ranchers and the bane of helpless livestock. Determined to overcome this misconception, filmmakers Jaime and Jim Dutcher – creators of the Emmy-winning Wolves at Our Door – spent six years in a tented camp in the wilderness of Idaho, living with a pack of wolves, listening to them, and earning their trust.
Lions: Kings of Africa (50 min. Reel Productions) Wildlife cinematographers capture the lives of a lion pride in Ngorongoro Crater in Northern Tanzania where three generations of lions revealed their fascinating lives.
The Magic School Bus: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs! (82 min. Scholastic) Buzz, flutter, and march into three busy episodes with Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus! With this trio, discover the fascinating world of insects as the class explores the sticky home of a bee, the industrious life of an ant, and the surprising identity of a caterpillar.
March of the Penguins (80 min. National Geographic) Every year, thousands of emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They are birds, but they do not fly. They are aquatic animals, but this time they will not swim. Instead, they walk, marching day and night in single file, 70 miles into the darkest, driest, coolest continent on Earth. Narrated by Morgan Freeman.
Marty Stouffer's Wild America, Season 1 (2 discs, 300 min. PBS) Our favorite wildlife explorer, Marty Stouffer, is seen climbing mountains to film grizzlies and bighorns, sloshing through dangerous swamps to find alligators, as well as capturing tender scenes of wild babies. He explores wildlife's struggle for survival in the exciting Season 1 of Wild America.
Marty Stouffer's Wild America, Season 2 (2 discs, 300 min. PBS) In Season 2 of Wild America, Marty Stouffer films our fastest and sleekest animals. You'll also enjoy the heart-warming adventure of Marty raising a grizzly cub and returning it to the wild. You'll laugh as you watch Marty sloshing through the swamps and trying to outrace a wild hog.
Marty Stouffer's Wild America, Season 3 (2 discs, 300 min. PBS) Marty Stouffer takes his camera underwater to film a wide variety of fish; uses high-speed photography to show us humming birds; brings a pair of fishers into his home; and hikes the back country to find the elusive wolverine, or devil bear.
Marty Stouffer's Wild America, Season 4 (2 discs, 300 min. PBS) Marty Stouffer explores animal designs, woodpeckers, coyotes, and mice in Season 4. His favorite park, Yellowstone, becomes the backdrop for exciting shows on the cutthroat trout, including never-before-seen underwater scenes examining their secretive spawning rituals.
Marty Stouffer's Wild America, Season 5 (2 discs, 300 min. PBS) Marty has established his own unique tradition by focusing exclusively on North American wildlife. In Season 5, Marty begins to narrow the programs down to regions and states, highlighting the unique habitat and scenic wonders found in Texas, Pennsylvania, and the Adirondacks.
Marty Stouffer's Wild America, Season 6 (2 discs, 300 min. PBS) Marty Stouffer films Season 6 from the far corners of Maine in Moosehorn Wildlife Refuge, home of the slow-flying woodcock to the Pacific Coast's seal and sea lion colonies during the violent breeding season. In between, he visits Minnesota, Oklahoma, and our favorite big game bird, the wild turkey.
Parasites: Eating Us Alive (50 min. Discovery) While many of us harbor secret fears of vicious or venomous animals, most are unaware that living on or even inside us are some of the deadliest creatures on Earth: microscopic parasites. Take a fascinating tour of a hidden, miniature world that will make your skin crawl
Popular Mechanics for Kids: Gators and Dragons and Other Wild Beasts (92 min. Hearst Entertainment) Join the cast as they encounter some of the most dangerous animals on the planet, including komodo dragons, alligators, and safari animals.
Popular Mechanics for Kids: Slither & Slime and Other Yucky Things (92 min. Hearst Entertainment) Join Jay, Elisha, Tyler and Vanessa as they skulk down stinky sewers, dig through piles of garbage, and bug out with leeches, roaches, and worms.
Really Wild Animals: Swinging Safari (44 min. National Geographic) Come along on a wild African safari and experience the amazing ways that animals like cheetahs, crocodiles, rhinos, and elephants survive. Experience life in a lion pride, what it's like to be a chimp, and much more. Includes bonus program: Hanging with the Primates as well as Interactive African Safari Creature Feature with fun facts, quizzes, sounds clips, and maps. Ages 4 - 10.
Survival Island: The Animal Cities of South Georgia (40 min. IMAX) This IMAX film follows the magical return each year of animals to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. The island, the only land for thousands of square miles suitable for breeding, hosts half the world's population of elephant seals (up to 6,000 on one beach), 500,000 penguins, the world's largest colony of albatross, and it receives about 2 million southern fur seals which breed there annually.
Swamp Tigers (90 min. HIT Entertainment) This enthralling film brings you face to face with the beautiful yet terrifying man-eating tigers that stalk the mangrove swamps in the Bay of Bengal, striking fear into the heart of every living being!
Winged Migration (89 min. Sony Picture Classics) Witness five film crews follow a rich variety of bird migrations through 40 countries and each of the seven continents.
Wolves (101 min. IMAX) Discover the world of wolves by plane, helicopter, on foot, and through time. Meet the pack and find out what really goes on in the wolf world where family members play, hunt, travel, howl, and struggle to survive. Find out why wolf reintroduction is making news in the American west and setting a precedent around the world.
Zoo Diaries: Season 1 (6 discs, 888 min. Mill Creek Entertainment) An intense look at life behind the scenes at the Toronto Zoo! One of the world's biggest, the Toronto Zoo has expanded its longstanding role as an exhibitor to devote more of its resources to protecting endangered species. Each episode of Zoo Diaries focuses on the relationship between the animals and their keepers, allowing viewers to experience what it's like to bond with some of the world's most exotic creatures.
Astronomy and Aeronautics
Apollo 12: Uncensored (50 min. Global Science Productions) From the lightening strike at liftoff, to the splashdown disaster that almost caused the first space flight fatality, Apollo 12: Uncensored tells the true story of the Apollo 12 Moon mission that NASA never told. All three members of the crew were interviewed specifically for this documentary: Mission Commander Charles Pete Conrad, Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean, and Command Module Pilot Richard Dick Gordon. In addition, top NASA officials were interviewed for this program, which also contains audio and video footage never before heard or seen.
Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back (90 min. WGBH) Tells the story of the catastrophic flight of Apollo 13 and the heroic struggle to bring the astronauts back alive. Grades: Adult.
Apollo 8: Leaving the Cradle, A Bold Mission, Vol. 1 (Twentieth Century Fox) Explores the first time human beings adventured outside Earth's orbit with the Apollo 8 mission. Grades: Adult.
Apollo 8: Leaving the Cradle, Television Transmissions, Vol. 2 (Twentieth Century Fox) Presents the six complete television transmissions from the Apollo 8 spacecraft. Grades: Adult.
Apollo 8: Leaving the Cradle, Onboard 16MM Film, Vol. 3 (Twentieth Century Fox) Presents the complete 16 mm picture film exposed onboard the Apollo 8 spacecraft. Grades: Adult.
Asteroids: Deadly Impact (60 min. National Geographic) Learn more about these "stray bullets" that streak through the skies.
Astrobiology: Does Extraterrestrial Life Exist? (25 min. Disney) Bill Nye explores how scientists search for life in outer space.
Astronomy Adventure: Learn Astronomy — History & Principles (105 min. Standard Deviants) This DVD offers interactive testing, instant accessibility to key content areas and helpful resources such as Newton's laws, Kepler's laws and Planck's laws.
Blue Planet (42 min. Warner Home Video) Orbit the Earth's surface from space and discover familiar landforms from this amazing vantage point.
Comets & Meteors (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye explains how the impact of meteors & comets on Earth may have created the oceans, caused the extinction of dinosaurs, or even brought life to Earth. Grades: 4-up.
Cosmic Voyage (36 min. IMAX®) Explore the universe from its tiniest particles to its greatest expanse.
Cosmos (7 discs, 780 min. Cosmos Studios) In the course of 13 one-hour episodes, Carl Sagan's Cosmos spans its own galaxy of topics to serve Sagan's theme; each segment deepens our understanding of how we got from there (simple microbes in the primordial mud) to here (space-faring civilization in the 21st century). In his "ship of the imagination," Sagan guides us to the farthest reaches of space and takes us back into the history of scientific inquiry, from the ancient library of Alexandria to the NASA probes of our neighboring planets. Upon this vast canvas Sagan presents the "cosmic calendar," placing the 15-billion-year history of the universe into an accessible one-year framework, then filling it with a stunning chronology of events, both interstellar and earthbound.
Eyewitness: Planets (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Planets journeys through space and time, witnessing the birth of the Sun and traveling to the outer limits of the solar system. Ages: 8 - 12.
Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye: Astronomy (45 min. Discovery School) Host Bill Nye discusses the great discoveries of astronomy that give insight and clues about our vast universe. Grades: 6-12
If We Had No Moon (50 min. Discovery Communications) Scientists use the latest computer simulations to show how an ancient rogue planet – Orpheus – collided with the Earth millions of years ago, producing a sizable chunk of debris that eventually became our Moon. If that collision had never occurred, we would live in a very different place.
In Space: Earth, Moon, Sun & Beyond, Squibs Vol. 2 (60 min. Ignite!) This DVD teaches the basics about space science.
The Magic School Bus: Space Adventure (82 min. Scholastic) Arnold's know-it-all cousin Janet drives the whole class crazy when she joins Ms. Frizzle's class on a field trip and the Magic School Bus gets lost in space!
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon (40 min. IMAX Corporation) Only 12 have walked on the moon. You're next! Presented and narrated by Tom Hanks, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon is an IMAX documentary film that transports the viewer to the lunar surface, where they can walk alongside the 12 extraordinary astronauts who have been there, experiencing what they saw, heard, and felt.
Mars: Dead or Alive (60 min. WGBH) Take a look inside NASA's risky field trip to the red planet. Grades: Adult.
Mars: Past, Present & Future (83 min. Finley-Holiday) Discover the complete Mars story from man's earliest discovery and science fiction fascinations to the latest revealing images from Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor and beyond.
Monster of the Milky Way (56 min. WGBH) From the explosive birth of a black hole to its cannibalistic death throes, NOVA investigates one of the universe's darkest secrets.
The Moon (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye illuminates our knowledge about the orbit and phases of the Moon. Grades 4 and up.
Our Amazing Solar System (90 min. Finley-Holiday Films) Experience the eerie majesty of the giant outer planets and their amazing moons. Grades: Adult.
Outer Space (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye gives students the inside scoop on planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe. Grades: 4-up.
The Planets (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye gets closer and personal with each of the solar systems' planets and moons. Grades: 4-up.
The Planets: Different Worlds & Terra Firma, Vol. 1 (100 min. BBC) Presents a detailed introduction to the creation and composition of the planets. Search for clues of the geological forces behind the true nature of our planetary neighboors.
The Planets: Giants & Moon, Vol. 2 (100 min. BBC) Take a closer look at awsome planetary giants and explore Earth's huge "companion world," the moon.
The Planets: Star & Atmosphere, Vol. 3 (100 min. BBC) Step aboard the Skylab space station and plunge into the ecenter of the sun.
The Planets: Life Beyond the Sun & Destiny, Vol. 4 (100 min. BBC) Early planetary researchers learn that conditions on our neighboring planets may be too hostile to support life. Explore the long-term fate of the planets in our solar system.
Project Gemini: A Bold Leap Forward, Vol. 1 (60 min. Twentieth Century Fox) Discover the challenges, achievements, and hardships met by Project Gemini, the pivotal project in America's space history. Grades: Adult.
Project Gemini: A Bold Leap Forward, Vol. 2 (60 min. Twentieth Century Fox) View amazing Earth-orbital photography captivated by Gemini's on-board 16 mm cameras.
Project Gemini: A Bold Leap Forward, Vol. 3 (60 min. Twentieth Century Fox) Discover the missions of Gemini VI-A through Gemini XII and the bridge created between these and the voyages to come on Project Apollo.
Scientific American Frontiers: Dark Side of the Universe (58 min. PBS) New discoveries about dark matter and dark energy have astronomers wondering if ours is but one of an infinity of universes.
Space Exploration (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye examines the "final frontier" and shows the tools humans invent to explore space. Grades: 4-up.
Space Station (47 min. IMAX) A fascinating look at the space station where today's space explorers develop technologies that will make possible future human voyages to Mars as well as provide new solutions to Earthbound problems.
Stargaze: Hubble View of the Universe (60 min. Alpha) Take a look at the most incredible images of the universe through the lens of the Hubble space telescope. Grades: 8-up.
The Sun (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye sheds light on solar flares, eclipses, sunspots fusion, and solar energy, and visits an enormous solar power farm outside of Sacramento, California. Grades: 4-up.
To the Moon (120 min. WGBH) Presents the fascinating story behind the Apollo space program, including the most remarkable feat in human history: the historic walk on the Moon in 1969. Grades: Adult.
Biology
Architecture and Design of Man and Woman (50 min. Discovery) In terms of biology and design, the architecture of a man and woman begins with indifference; men and women start out exactly the same. Though sex has been identified and codified genetically, a six-week-old embryo is physiologically indistinguishable as either male or female.
Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies (70 min. NTSC) Witness the exhibition that literally gets under your skin. The DVD offers a commented tour of the exhibition and explains the revolutionary plastination technique.
Digestion (23 min. Disney) Bill Nye explains how the body's digestive system is a fine-tuned machine that turns food into energy. Grades: 4-up.
The Double Life of RNA (60 min; HHMI) Thomas Cech explains the role of RNA in cellular biology. He also discusses other implications of RNA catalysis.
Eyewitness: Skeleton (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Skeleton takes you beneath the surface to reveal the hidden secrets of an incredible variety of skeletal structures, none more complex than our own. See the skeleton -- a symbol of our deepest fears, a miracle of engineering -- as never before.
Fat: What No One is Telling You (90 min. PBS) Open abuse of fat people is our last accepted prejudice. As the number of obese Americans climbs to frightening levels, the quest for answers is becoming even more urgent. Obesity experts have a sobering awareness of the complex human puzzle that is driving this epidemic and creating so much personal pain. This program gives viewers a window into the intense human dramas of those labeled obese and the difficulty of solving weight problems.
Genetic Diversity: Sexual Reproduction (24 min. Disney) Bill Nye explores the evolutionary advantages and risks of sexual reproduction versus asexual reproduction. Nye discusses scientific theories and evidence that seek to explain why we reproduce sexually. Further topics include genetic diversity and sexual selection.
Germs (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye uses foam models to illustrate the various types of germs and how they function. Grades: 4-up.
Heart (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye checks out this important muscular pump and its function in the body. Grades: 4-up.
Human Characteristics and Adaptations: Is Race Cultural or Biological? (25 min; Disney) Research has shown that racial differences are only skin deep. Then why do humans look so different from one another? Bill will go to any length to find scientific answers—even if it means having his own DNA analyzed.
In the Body: Organs, Health, & Nutrition, Squibs, Vol. 8 (60 min. Ignite!) This DVD takes you inside the amazing machine that is the human body.
The Incredible Human Body (60 min. National Geographic) An astonishing journey inside bodies of real people, right down to their stem cells.
My 5 Senses (40 min. Braincandy) Features funny puppets representing the 5 sense parts and kids engaged in animations of how the senses work. Ages: 6 months - 4 years.
The Magic School Bus: Human Body (80 min. Scholastic) Join the Magic School Bus gang to an exciting journey through the human body. Ages: 3-8.
The Miracle of Life (60 min. WGBH) Takes one on an incredible voyage through the human body as life begins. Grades: Adult.
The Meaning of Sex: Genes & Gender (60 min. HHMI) Two leading scientists in the field of sex determination research answer intriguing questions such as "why does sex exist?" and "what is its purpose?" Grades: Adult.
The Science of Fat (120 min. HHMI) In the 2004 Holiday Lectures on Science, HHMI investigators Ronald M. Evans and Jeffrey M. Friedman discuss how the body regulates weight by carefully controlling the storage and burning of fat and how a better understanding of these complex metabolic systems could lead researchers to treatments that curb obesity and improve public health.
Scientific American Frontiers: Chimp Minds (27 min. PBS) Watch a visit with an engaging if unruly bunch of cousins that humans formally broke up with about 6 or 7 million years ago. We share almost all of our genes with them, but not a lot of our lifestyle. Why the difference? Maybe it's in how we learn.
Scientific American Frontiers: Don't Forget (57 min. PBS) Scientists attempt to unravel the mysteries of memories -- how we make them, where they come from and why some slip away.
Scientific American Frontiers: Losing It (57 min; PBS) Scientists try to figure out the body's complex weight-regulation system, while host Alan Alda and 10 volunteers try to shed unwanted pounds.
The Ultimate Guide: The Human Body (92 min. Discovery Channel) Discover the secrets you keep inside as you explore the inner workings of the human body.
The Universe Within (60 min. WGBH) Take an incredible voyage into the microworld of the human body. Grades: Adult.
World in the Balance: The Population Paradox (120 min. WGBH) Explore how world population is now careering in two dramatically different directions: one in which birth rates are declining and another in which more than half of the population is under 25. Grades: Adult.
Biotechnology and Medical Sciences
2000 and Beyond: Confronting the Microbe Menace (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) Two scientists describe the latest advances in understanding how pathogens invade the body and how this knowledge is leading to the development of new therapies.
The Age of AIDS (240 min. WGBH/FRONTLINE) Winner of a 2007 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism. After more than two decades of stigma, research, and education, Frontline presents the definitive chronicle of one of the worst pandemics ever known. Through interviews with researchers, activists, and patients, Frontline investigates the science, politics, and human cost of this disease, and asks: what has been learned, and what must be done to stop AIDS?
And the Band Played On (140 min. HBO) Based on Randy Shilts' bestselling book, the movie And the Band Played On is the story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community that hampered the early fight with it.
Antibiotics: Man vs. Microbe (24 min. Disney) Learn with Bill Nye how antibiotics work and find out how germs continually evolve to evade -- and survive.
Ethics in Biomedical Research (79 min. HHMI) This video explores how researchers navigate the complex issues presented by modern science, including the experimental use of animals, DNA research, stem cell research, and the challenges of maintaining scientific integrity.
Learning from Patients: The Science of Medicine (240 min. HHMI) Join doctors Bert Vogelstein and Huda Zoghbi, as they discuss how their patients have led them to a deeper understanding of the genetic and molecular bases of cancer and neurological disorders.
Of Hearts and Hypertension: Blazing Genetic Trails (240 min. HHMI) Scientists are gaining a greater understanding of the genetic and molecular bases of cardiovascular diseases -- knowledge that can lead to new tests and therapies. In four lectures, Dr. Christian E. Seidman and Dr. Richard P. Lifton discuss their groundbreaking research. The lectures feature an animation on the anatomy of the human heart and questions from the student audience.
Potent Biology: Stems Cells, Cloning and Regeneration (240 min. HHMI) What are embryonic stem cells? Why are they potent? How do they differ from adult stem cells? Are embryonic development and regeneration intimately connected? In four presentations, Dr. Douglas A. Melton and Dr. Nadia Rosenthal discuss how stem cells may hold the key for curing diseases and unlocking the secrets of regeneration.
Scientific American Frontiers: Cybersenses (27 min. PBS) Explore replacement synthetic Cochlear implants for hearing and artificial retinas for seeing.
Scientific American Frontiers: Hidden Motives (30 min; PBS) Host Alan Alda explores how our unconscious determines our behavior including why we buy things that are "cool."
Scientific American Frontiers: Surgical Slimmers (27 min. PBS) In spite of the risks, people are lining up to solve their weight problems in the operating room. And if the latest device -- an implantable stomach "pacer" -- works out, millions more will be taking the surgical way out.
Scientific American Frontiers: Worried Sick (27 min. PBS) The "fight or flight" response to stress once helped us evade predators, but its long-term effects can get us into a different kind of trouble: ill health.
A Talk With Your Kids About Smoking (38 min. Tobaccofree) The 2006 edition of A Talk With Your Kids About Smoking is a multimedia presentation following CDC guidelines. Patrick Reynolds is perhaps the nation's best known tobacco prevention educator. A grandson of the tobacco company founder R.J. Reynolds, his advocacy work, motivational talks to youth, and appearances in the national press have made him a well known and respected champion of a smoke-free society. Patrick watched his father, R.J. Reynolds, Jr., his oldest brother R.J. Reynolds III, and other members of his family die from cigarette-induced emphysema and lung cancer. Concerned about the mounting health evidence, he made the decision to speak out publicly against the industry his family helped build. Grades 6 - 12.
Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France (50 min. Partners Healthcare System) Discover what elite athletes have on their minds before, during, and after a competition. Wired to Win takes a look at the human brain and what it goes through as athletes gear up for the Tour de France.
Chemistry
Absolute Zero (112 min. NOVA) Absolute Zero presents the epic story of humanity's struggle to master extreme cold. This NOVA special recreates groundbreaking discoveries across four centuries that expanded our knowledge of low temperatures and led ultimately to today's cutting edge "cold technologies."
Chemical Reactions (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye uses blasting explosives to explain that everything is made of chemicals. Grades: 4-up.
In Matter: Atoms, Elements, & Chemistry, Squibs Vol. 5 (60 min. Ignite!) This DVD introduces the science concept of matter and atoms.
The Periodic Table of the Elements: Metalloids (56 min. Discovery) Some earthly elements are not metals, even though they exhibit similar chemical properties. Learn about arsenic and other so-called metalloids, and get a behind-the-screen look at computers and how they work.
Phases of Matter (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye takes viewers on a tour of a steel mill to help demonstrate that matter exists in three phases: solids, liquids, and gases. Grades: 4-up.
Physical Science in Action: Elements, Compounds & Mixtures (23 min. Schlessinger) Examines how substances combine in mixtures, compounds, and solutions to make up the world in which we live. Grades: 5-8.
Climate and Weather
Climates (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye delivers hot sand from Saudi Arabia and bananas from humid Costa Rica to explain how different climates are created and how they affect our planet. Grades: 4-up.
Eyewitness: Weather (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Weather takes you on a whirlwind tour of Earth's turbulent atmosphere and reveals the forces that make the day fair or foul. From hurricane, to heat wave, weather is the most closely watched wild card in nature -- yet it can still baffle us every day.
Global Warming: The Signs and the Science (60 min. PBS) This documentary profiles people who are living with the grave consequences of a changing climate, as well as the individuals, communities and scientists inventing new approaches to safeguard our children's future. Filmed across the United States, Asia and South America, this program brings the reality of climate change to life and offers viewers a variety of ways to make a difference in their own communities.
Global Warming: What's Up with the Weather? (112 min. NOVA / Frontline) Deadly flooding in Africa. Catastrophic hurricanes in the United States. Record-high temperatures worldwide. Are these natural, temporary glitches in our global climate, or is the devastation the result of global warming? The weather is different now -- but why? Find out when Nova and Frontline join forces to determine What's Up with the Weather? Man-made carbon dioxide has overloaded the Earth's atmosphere. With demand for fossil fuels increasing daily, experts predict emission levels will triple in the next 100 years. But the greenhouse effect remains the subject of heated debate among scientists, climatologists, and futurists. Some believe the Earth's temperature will rise by nearly 10 degrees, melting arctic ice caps and, paradoxically, bringing about a new Ice Age. Others believe the weather will stay relatively normal. Who's right? Decide for yourself as this riveting two-hour special gives you the fascinating -- and occasionally frightening -- forecast for the future.
Hunt for the Supertwister (60 min. WGBH) Join scientists and metereologists as they untwist mysteries and close in on a breakthrough that may solve the puzzle how these killer storms spawn and where they strike. Grades: Adult.
Hurricane! (60 min. NOVA) Watch highly trained scientists as they routinely -- and carefully -- fly into the world's most destructive storms to discover what makes them tick and to measure their intensity and probable path. Then hear first-hand accounts of Hurricane Camille, the most devastating storm ever to strike the United States.
Hurricane on the Bayou (42 min. MacGillivray Freeman) This large-format film takes viewers to one of the most vibrant places in America: the Louisiana bayou and the city of New Orleans, a region overflowing with life, love, music, history, and heartbreaking natural beauty. Tragically, the delta's bountiful coastal wetlands are eroding into the sea at the speed of one acre every 30 minutes, leaving the entire area ever more vulnerable to major hurricanes. Footage shot both before and after Hurricane Katrina poignantly documents both an environmental calamity and the staggering effects of one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history.
Hurricane Katrina: The Storm that Drowned a City (56 min. WGBH) Hour-by-hour reconstruction of Hurricane Katrina. Exposes critical failures in preparation and engineering that led to the worst disaster in U.S. history.
Inside Hurricane Katrina (120 min. National Geographic) National Geographic takes you inside Hurricane Katrina to shed new light on the fateful decisions of those in charge -- and the desperate struggles of those fighting to survive the awesome impact of one of nature's ultimate weapons of mass destruction.
Lightning! (60 min. WGBH/NOVA) Take this high-voltage trip into the most electrically charged weather in the world, culminating in a dazzling lightning show set to music that rivals the most extraordinary fireworks display.
Nature's Fury (55 min. National Geographic) Seen from the safe distance of a satellite, it can be a thrilling spectacle. But as anyone caught in the middle of a hurricane knows, the place that poets call Mother Earth is not always such a gentle parent. Extreme weather such as hurricanes and tornadoes, and violent upheavals of the Earth in the form of earthquakes and volcanoes, often bring misery and destruction. They are all expressions of a living planet, still changing after billions of years of existence. Satellites help scientists understand the forces behind natural catastrophes and mitigate their effects on humans.
Popular Mechanics for Kids: Lightning and Other Forces of Nature (88 min. Hearst Entertainment) Watch out for lightning! Mother Nature unleashes her spectacular natural phenomena as Elisha, Jay, Tyler, and Vanessa witness the inner workings of Niagara Falls; an actual lightning storm; and try to get out of the way of an avalanche. Includes four episodes: "Ice," "Water," "Earth Power," and "Electricity."
Scientific American Frontiers: Hot Times in Alaska (57 min; PBS) Melting glaciers, dying forests, and disappearing lakes; scientists explain why warmer temperatures are cause for alarm.
Stormchasers (67 min. MacGillivray Freeman) Join stormchasing meteorologists who track extreme weather storms in order to understand how they form. Follow them into the eye of a hurricane and within two miles of a tornado. Filmed in IMAX.
Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life
Before the Dinosaurs: Walking With Monsters (90 min. BBC) From the makers of Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts comes the prequel: the epic and entertaining story of life on Earth before the dinosaurs and beasts. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh.
Chased by Sea Monsters (100 min. Discovery) Scour the depths of seven different prehistoric seas with renowned zoologist Nigel Marven as your guide – and marvel at the computer animation techniques that bring each aquatic world to life. Get up close and personal with creatures like the vicious sea scorpions of 450 million years ago, the armor-plated fish of the Devonian Period and a whale-chomping shark called Megalodon. Finally, wade out into the deadliest sea of all time – "Hell's Aquarium" of the late Cretaceous, an ominous body of prehistoric water that gets its name from its elevated water temperatures and the devilish creatures that call it home.
Dinosaur George Live! (60 min. Dinosaur World) Join "Dinosaur George" Blasing as he explores the world of dinosaurs in this new DVD. George highlights different aspects of dinosaurs, including where they lived, what they ate, how they were different from other prehistoric animals, and how they became extinct. Filmed at Dinosaur World's Prehistoric Journey Traveling Fossil Exhibit. Grades K – 6.
Dinosaur Hunters (60 min. National Geographic) Learn all about the Oviraptor, a dinosaur that lived in what is now the Gobi in Mongolia.
Eyewitness: Dinosaur (35 min. Dorling Kindersly) Dinosaur takes you inside the world of paleontologists and the real-life monsters they study. Experience the process of discovery: the excitement of digging, reconstruction, and the realization of how dinosaurs lived and died.
Prehistoric America: A Journey Through the Ice Age and Beyond (2 discs, 300 min. BBC) Go back 14,000 years ago and explore North America at the end of the last Ice Age.
Sky Monsters (90 min. National Geographic) Relive the age when monsters ruled the skies! Join scientists making astonishing new discoveries about the stunning diversity and complexity of pterosaurs -- the largest creatures ever to take wing.
T-REX: Back to the Cretaceous (44 min. Warner Home Video) Join teenager Ally Hayden as she pluges throught time and becomes eyewitness to the primeval era of dinosaurs.
What Killed The Mega Beasts (92 min. Discovery Channel) Take a fascinating journey through time where you will attempt to solve the reasons behind the extinction of the mega beasts.
Earth Sciences
Earth's Seasons (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye goes full tilt to give the reasons for the seasons. Grades: 4-up.
Energy Resources: Use & Conservation (23 min. Schlessinger) Learn about a variety of natural resources of energy. Grades: 5-8.
Eyewitness: Plant (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Plant is a colorful tour of the world's most dazzling flora, from the most magical to the most bizarre. Watch buds burst, flowers bloom, and discover the myriad ways plants struggle to survive.
Eyewitness: Rock & Mineral (35 min; Dorling Kindersley) This DVD shatters the stone's reputation for "rock-solid" permanence. Discover how rocks keep a constantly changing record of our planet's fascinating history, and see how minerals are at the very core of our civilization. Ages: 8 - 12.
Eyewitness: Volcano (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Volcano explodes the myths surrounding Earth's violent nature. Journey to the most inhospitable regions of the planet, where rock melts, and all life trembles. Witness the destructive effects of volcanoes and earthquakes -- and the life-giving results of their aftermath.
FireWars (120 min. WGBH) Explore America's war on wildfires and the science of fire, from the smallest burning match to uncontrollable, landscape-sized conflagrations. Grades: Adult.
Forces of Nature (40 min. National Geographic) Witness the awesome power of volcanoes, groundbuckling earthquakes, and deadly tornadoes as you head into the field with scientists who explore these natural disasters.
An Inconvenient Truth (96 min. Paramount) Former Vice President Al Gore explains the facts of global warming, presents arguments that the dangers of global warning have reached the level of crisis, and addresses the efforts of certain interests to discredit the anti-global warming cause. Between lecture segments, Gore discusses his personal commitment to the environment, sharing anecdotes from his experiences.
In the Environment: Organisms and Ecosystems, Squibs Vol. 4 (60 min; Ignite!) This DVD shows how organisms relate to their ecosystems.
In the Ground: Geology, Tectonics and Rocks, Squibs Vol. 9 (60 min; Ignite!) This DVD unveils the powerful forces beneath the Earth's surface.
In the Path of a Killer Volcano (56 min. WGBH/NOVA) The Philippines' Mount Pinatubo is about to blow big. Is there enough time to evacuate the hundreds of thousands in its raging path? Stay with the scientists who remain behind -- and see some astonishing footage of the world's largest volcanic eruption in 80 years.
The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth (4 volumes, 720 min. BBC) Host David Attenborough visits the great environmental regions of the planet to examine how plants and animals adapt to their surroundings and how otherwise unrelated organisms, molded by similar conditions, develop similar techniques for solving problems of survival.
Killer Quake! (60 min. WGBH/NOVA) Metropolitan Los Angeles is sitting on ground zero. Slicing under the high rises of downtown is a network of potentially deadly faults which could trigger the nation's most devastating natural disaster. On January 17, 1994, a previously unknown fault convulsed beneath Northridge. It was the most destructive earthquake in modern Los Angeles history. NOVA takes viewers from urban trench sites to the top of the Santa Susanna Mountains, in search of clues to where nature will strike next.
The Magic School Bus: Holiday Special (90 min. Scholastic) Kids learn about the world around them and how to care for it in this trio of engaging adventures based on Joanna Cole's bestselling books. In the title story, Miss Frizzle's class gets a clever tutorial on the wonders of recycling when Wanda makes a regrettable wish to abolish it forever. Faster than you can say "tin can," the Friz whisks her students into the future to discover the perils of a world without recycling. Dolly Parton lends her voice in a guest appearance while several holiday tunes add seasonal mirth. In the other episodes, Phoebe and friends receive a hands-on lesson about the extreme conditions of the desert and how native plants and animals not only survive, but flourish. Then, it's on to the rainforest as the students celebrate Earth Day uncovering the interdependent relationships of cocoa trees, midge flies, and mud wallows.
Magnetic Storm: Earth's Magnetic Field (60 min. WGBH) Magnets have the power to attract and repel, sometimes on a massive scale. The Earth's molten core -- a violent mix of searing heat, crushing pressure, and a billion trillion tons of liquid iron -- creates an invisible shield that surrounds the globe, guarding against a constant barrage of deadly radiation from space. But over the last few decades, the Earth's magnetic field has weakened dramatically, intriguing scientists across the globe.
Planet Earth (5 discs, 550min. BBC) More than five years in the making, Planet Earth redefines blue-chip natural history filmmaking and continues the Discovery Channel mission to provide the highest quality programming in the world. Actress Sigourney Weaver narrates this 11-part series. You'll be amazed by the never-before-seen animal behaviors, startling views of locations captured by cameras for the first time and unprecedented high-definition production techniques.
Plant Life in Action: Photosynthesis (23 min. Schlessinger Media) Viewers explore what makes plants so unique by studying the chemical process of photosynthesis. Diagrams and microscopic photography illustrate the parts of a leaf that are involved in photosynthesis.
Scientific American Frontiers: Hot Planet –- Cold Comfort (27 min. PBS) So you think global warming won't affect you? Wait until the great Atlantic Conveyor shuts down. And find out what's already happening in Alaska.
The Secrets of Life on Earth (41 min. IMAX) Go on a breathtaking adventure through time and across five continents to reveal nature's most vital secret. Climb into the prickly jaws of insect-eating plants. Watch a flying fox gorge itself on a midnight snack of figs. Witness a mantis disguised as a flower petal lure its prey to doom. You'll see the alarming destruction humankind has caused to our ecosystems and find hope in recent efforts to restore the natural balance we have disturbed. Narrated by Patrick Stewart.
Tsunami: Killer Wave (60 min. National Geographic) Tsunamis are one of nature's most powerful forces, yet they are one of the least understood. Usually created by undersea earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, these killer waves can race across entire oceans at more than 600 miles an hour and swallow cities whole, leaving thousands dead. Heart-stopping footage and stories of survival illustrate how catastrophic a tsunami can be.
Tsunami: The Wave that Shook the World (56 min. NOVA) On December 26, 2004, a series of tidal waves killed hundreds of thousands and devastated communities around the Indian Ocean. With around 100 tsunamis striking the world's coastlines each decade, NOVA investigates what made the recent event so powerful and catastrophic. In a special report shot within days of this shocking disaster, NOVA's Tsunami: The Wave That Shook The World presents a clear explanation and analysis of the tragedy, revealing exactly how these deadly waves were triggered by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded this century.
Volcano Above the Clouds (60 min. WGBH) Explore Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa and the world tallest volcano. Grades: Adult.
Volcano: Nature's Inferno (60 min. National Geographic) Travel around the world for a first-hand look at volcanoes — perhaps the most dazzling but destructive natural force on Earth.
Evolution
Adapting to the World (52 min. Discovery School) This DVD demonstrates how adaptations have enabled species to evolve and thrive. Grades: 6-12.
Charles Darwin: Evolution's Voice (50 min. A&E Biography) In his lifetime, Darwin was reluctant to reveal his findings for fear that he and his family would be ostracized. His concerns were valid; his views were considered by many to be slanderous heresy. From his historic voyage on the Beagle to his personal anguish over publicizing his work, Charles Darwin: Evolution's Voice offers a fascinating profile of "the Great Naturalist."
Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads (120 min. HHMI) Join two leading biologists on an exploration of how key developmental genes, natural selection, and time fuel the evolutionary process.
Evolution: Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Vol. 1 (120 min. WGBH) Explore Darwin's revolutionary idea and how they might matter even today that it did in his own time. Grades: 8-Adult.
Evolution: Great Transformations & Extinction! Vol. 2 (120 min. WGBH) Explore the evolutionary changes that triggered the earth's incredible diversity and the causes for the extinction of some 99.9 percent of all species that ever lived on earth.
Evolution: The Evolutionary Arms Race & Why Sex, Vol. 3 (120 min. WGBH) Explore our arms race with microrganisms and discover why, in evolutionary terms, sex is more important that life itself. Grades: Adult.
Evolution: The Mind's Big Bang & What About God? Vol. 4 (120 min. WGBH) Explore the forces that may have contributed to the emergence of modern human mind and why humans try to explain who they are and how they came to be. Grades: Adult.
Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye: Evolution (45 min. Disney) Bill Nye showcases great scientific discoveries that have given insight to extinction and survival patterns of the Earth's diverse species. Grades: 6-12.
Journey of Life: Human Life (50 min. Discovery) Today, there are few places on Earth devoid of life. But long ago, this was a barren planet. Watch as the latest integrated graphic techniques reveal the amazing evolutionary processes that gave rise to all manner of adaptations – legs, wings, eyes and more – and allowed life to progress from its single-cell origins to domination of the entire planet.
Journey of Man (120 min. PBS) How did the human race populate the world? A group of geneticists have worked on the question for a decade, arriving at a startling conclusion: the "global family tree" can be traced to one African man who lived 60,000 years ago. Dr. Spencer Wells hosts this innovative series, featuring commentary by expert scientists, historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists.
Origins (112 min; WGBH) This DVD examines Earth's origins, in regards to both the life sciences and earth sciences. Through the last century, scientists were able to formulate and prove more precise theories about the evolution of life and of the world we live in. A brief history of these discoveries unfolds here.
Flight
Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag (48 min. Image Entertainment) Follow an American pilot as he makes his way through Red Flag — the world's most intense simulated air combat training event.
The Magic of Flight (82 min. MacGillivray Freeman) This film takes you on a technological thrill ride that is faster, higher, and wilder than modern science or even your imagination! Relive the historical first flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903, then soar with the world-famous Blue Angels as they defy the laws of gravity with their most breathtaking maneuvers. Narrated by Tom Selleck, The Magic of Flight highlights and salutes a variety of modern aircraft, the people who fly them, and the human potential of training and performance.
Wright's Brothers' Flying Machine (60 min. WGBH) Join a team of modern pilots, builders, aviation experts, and historians in their quest to rebuild one of the first powered airplanes.
The Wright Stuff: The Life of Orville and Wilbur Wright (60 min. WGBH) Explore the achievements of aviation's first family: the life of Orville and Wilbur Wright.
Food and Nutrition
Genetically Modified Food: The Benefits and Risks (24 min. Disney) Bill Nye explores the benefits and risks of genetic engineering. Hear from traditional wheat breeder, researchers who analyze organic and pesticide-free crops, and corporations engaged in genetic engineering.
Food Web (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye becomes tangled in a complex food web in his quest to demonstrate that all living things depend on other living things to survive. Grades: 4-up.
The Future of Food (Lily Films) This DVD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods found in the grocery stores.
Forensics
Forensics (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye explores the world of forensics. Learn how detectives reconstruct events from the past using bloodhounds, fingerprints, and DNA. Grades: 4-up.
Forensic Detectives: Archaeology at Work (55 min. Discovery School) This DVD invites students on a worldwide journey to study the forensic uses of archaeology and geology. Grades: 6-12.
Forensic Files (Court TV, 2 Discs) Follow forensic scientists through real crime scene investigations. Grade: Adult.
General Science
Classification of Living Things (School Videos) A routine castle tour turns enchanting when King Philip shows up to teach a lesson in classification.
Cyberchase: Codename Icky (80 min. PBS) The Emmy Award-winning series CYBERCHASE teaches math concepts to kids ages 8 - 12 in a fun way they can understand. Packed with mystery, humor, and action, the TV show features a team of curious kids who outwit, outsmart, and outlast the bad guys in their adventurous quest to save Cyberspace. This three-episode disc includes "Codename Icky," "Harriet Hippo and the Mean Green," and "Of All the Luck."
Cyberchase: Ecohaven CSE (80 min. PBS) The Emmy Award-winning series CYBERCHASE teaches math concepts to kids ages 8 - 12 in a fun way they can understand. Packed with mystery, humor, and action, the TV show features a team of curious kids who outwit, outsmart, and outlast the bad guys in their adventurous quest to save Cyberspace. This three-episode disc includes "Ecohaven CSE," "A Crinkle in Time," "The Creech Who Would Be Crowned."
Cyberchase: The Snelfu Snafu (80 min. PBS) The Emmy Award-winning series CYBERCHASE teaches math concepts to kids ages 8 - 12 in a fun way they can understand. Packed with mystery, humor, and action, the TV show features a team of curious kids who outwit, outsmart, and outlast the bad guys in their adventurous quest to save Cyberspace. This three-episode disc includes "The Snelfu Snafu Parts 1 and 2" and "The Wedding Scammer."
Cyberchase: Starlight Night (80 min. PBS) The Emmy Award-winning series CYBERCHASE teaches math concepts to kids ages 8 - 12 in a fun way they can understand. Packed with mystery, humor, and action, the TV show features a team of curious kids who outwit, outsmart, and outlast the bad guys in their adventurous quest to save Cyberspace. This three-episode disc includes "Starlight Night," "Snow Day to Be Exact," "A Time to Cook."
Cyberchase: Totally Rad (80 min; PBS) The Emmy Award-winning series CYBERCHASE teaches math concepts to kids ages 8 - 12 in a fun way they can understand. Packed with mystery, humor, and action, the TV show features a team of curious kids who outwit, outsmart, and outlast the bad guys in their adventurous quest to save Cyberspace. This three-episode disc includes "Totally Rad," "The Borg of the Ring," and "Fortress of Attitude."
Connections 1 (5 vol., 520 min. Ambrose Video) James Burke begins tracking 12,000 years of science history in this ten-part series. Connections traces the history of technology and the interrelationships between ancient discoveries and present-day necessities.
Connections 2 (5 vol., 460 min. Ambrose Video) James Burke's 20-episode sequel to the first Connections. The new version corkscrews through history, linking seemingly unrelated events.
Connections 3 (5 vol., 520 min. Ambrose Video) This humorous and upbeat science series shows that history is filled with seemingly unrelated discoveries that are actually connected in the most surprising ways. Host James Burke continues to delight viewers as he explores the effects and origins of inventions and events that shape the modern world.
Do-It-Yourself Science (26 min. Disney) Students get a lesson from Bill Nye in conducting scientific research. Grades: 4-up.
The Magic School Bus: Creepy, Crawly Fun! (90 min. Scholastic) The kids are all ears as they explore the musical mysteries of sound during a spooky trip Inside the Haunted House! Next, things really start "Going Batty" when a lesson about nocturnal creatures convinces Ralphie that Ms. Frizzle is a vampire! Finally, the kids are zapped into a monster movie, where they discover the ingenious hunting skills of spiders as Scholastic's Magic School Bus spins a web!
Population: Human Demographics (24 min. Disney) Bill Nye compares population issues around the world, from demographics to social and cultural aspects. Explores how education and industrialization can affect human population.
Pseudoscience: Looking for Evidence and Proof (26 min; Disney) Bill Nye shows students how to examine out-of-this-world claims by using the scientific method.
Genetics
Clockwork Genes (120 min. HHMI) This lecture series highlights the research of two biomedical scientists who have made discoveries in understanding the molecular basis of circadian clocks, the internal timekeepers that govern fluctuations in behavior and physiology on a 24-hour-cycle.
Cracking the Code of Life (120 min. WGBH) Meet the scientists who decoded human DNA: Francis Collins, Eric Lander, and Craig Venter. Grades: Adult.
DNA: Interactive (60 min. HHMI) DNA Interactive is dedicated to the moment on February 28, 1953, when Jim Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helical structure of DNA - and to the scientists who breathed life into that structure. Many leading scientists, including 11 Nobel Laureates, were interviewed for their viewpoints on how we came to understand the language of DNA, how we bend it to our own service, and what it can tell us about who we are.
DNA: The Secret of Life (32 min. Windfall Films) Chronicles James Watson and Francis Crick's 1953 revolutionary scientific breakthrough: the discovery of the double helix. Grades: Adult.
Genes (26 min. Disney) Join Bill Nye as he explores the chromosomal world of DNA. Grades: 4-up.
Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye: Genetics (45 min. Disney) Bill Nye explains why certain traits are passed through families and species. Grades: 6-12.
Inside: Cells, DNA, & Adaptation, Squibs Vol. 1, (60 min. Ignite!) This animated DVD is designed to introduce young learners to the cell, the most basic unit of life.
Scanning Life's Matrix: Genes, Proteins and Small Molecules (240 min. HHMI) The sequencing of the human genome has set the stage for a vast revolution in the biomedical sciences. In four presentations featuring state-of-the-art animations and compelling graphics, Dr. Stuart L. Schreiber and Dr. Eric S. Lander open a window onto the fast-paced world of genomic science and chemical genetics.
Machines and Transportation
All About John Deere for Kids: Part 1 - 4 (180 min. TM Books and Video) See both new and antique John Deere equipment in action tractors, excavators, cultivators, planters, and dump trucks. We trace the growing season, show how soil is prepped, how seeds are planted, and how the soil is cultivated.
Big Stuff: Air, Land, and Sea (180 min. Acorn Media) What captures the imagination like nothing else? Few things make people stop, stare, ask questions or just say "wow" like the huge, the gigantic, and the enormous. People really want to see Big Stuff! This series looks at how the really gargantuan things of the world work; satisfying everyone's curiosity while teaching a little science, engineering, and design along the way.
Fred Levine's Road Construction Ahead (30 min. Little Hard Hats) Kids get to watch something that's really constructive. As civil engineers work on roads and bridges, young viewers will learn about bulldozing, road-building, rock-blasting, and dirt-hauling.
Popular Mechanics for Kids: Radical Rockets and Other Cool Cruising Machines (92 min. Hearst Entertainment) In these four episodes of the Popular Mechanics for Kids television show, hosts Jay and Elisha take the audience on an adventure from the depths of the ocean in submarines to the far reaches of space. Along the way they work in a racing pit crew, ride in a monster truck, and drive a powerboat.
Popular Mechanics for Kids: Rip-Roaring Roller Coasters and All Access to Fun (92 min. Hearst Entertainment) Join Jay, Elisha and Tyler on a huge adventure into fun! You'll brave some of the world's fastest rollercoasters, learn how to fly on the circus trapeze, go backstage at a mega-rock concert, and even step into the ring with a real WCW wrestler!
Transportation: Traffic, Fuel Consumption, and Air Pollution (24 min. Disney) Bill Nye explains the environmental impact of American car culture.
Marine Life and Oceanography
Aliens of the Deep (47 min. Buena Vista) This underwater adventure gives you a glimpse of unbelievable creatures that live in an alien world in the deepest depths of the sea.
Aliens of the Sea (50 min. New Era Media) An extraordinary wildlife film about Australian marine life.
Blue Planet: Seas of Life (392 min. BBC) Before creating the monumental Planet Earth, producer Alastair Fothergill and his team from the BBC put together one of the most breathtaking explorations of the world's oceans ever assembled, The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. The winner of two Emmy(R) Awards, The Blue Planet: Seas of Life is the definitive exploration of the marine world, chronicling the mysteries the deep in ways never before imagined.
Deep Sea (41 min. IMAX) Famed oceanic filmmaker Howard Hall guides this immersive adventure that lets you swim alongside some of the most exotic creatures of the planet. An unusual array of finned and scaled stars are ready to steal every scene, among them: green sea turtles who gather off Kona so that surgeonfish can strip harmful algae from their shells; an ominous, predatory Humboldt squid that changes color four times per second like a flashing strobe light; an underdog mantis shrimp, whose claws have the speed of a 22-caliber bullet, in battle against a hungry octopus (the shrimp wins!).
Dolphins (89 min. IMAX®/ MacGillivray Films) This movie captures the amazing lives of dolphins in the wild.
Coral Reef Adventure (43 min. MacGillivray Freeman) Join ocean explorers Howard and Michele Hall and learn about their concern for the future of the world's coral reefs.
Eyewitness: Fish (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Fish takes you deep into the waters of the world to discover some of the most exotic creatures in nature. Take the plunge from dazzling coral reefs to the darkest depths to meet fish -- a vast and varied group of animals, much closer to humankind than you might imagine.
Eyewitness: Ocean (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Ocean visits the alien world of the deep, bringing us face to face with some of the most bizarre creatures on our planet. Ocean inhabitants have always remained mysterious, yet oceans contain 99 percent of the living space on the planet –--an enormous habitat for an amazing aquatic population.
Eyewitness: Pond & River (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Pond and River takes you on a twisting journey down the great rivers of the world, pausing to visit the thriving realm of the freshwater pond. Travel upstream to find civilization's source, then down again to see the key to our very survival.
Eyewitness: Shark (35 min. Dorling Kindersley) Shark takes you down into the murky world of sharks and their relatives and reveals what motivates these fascinating creatures. Discover a shark that eats only plankton, and learn that not all sharks are killing machines.
Great Barrier Reef (39 min. Slingshot Entertainment) Filmed in IMAX technology, this film unveils the most colorful and diverse undersea world ever known. Viewers will experience not only the enchanting beauty of the reef, but will also learn of its complex ecosystem, symbiotic relationships and the extreme fragility of its environments.
Jacques Cousteau: River Explorations (6 discs, 698 min. Warner Home Video) The Danube...the Mississippi...the Amazon. The names breathe adventure and excitement, history, and culture. Renowned explorer Jacques Cousteau and his team travel three of the world's great rivers and take you along for every enthralling moment of discovery. By ship, canoe, raft, plane, and helicopter, on foot and underwater, Cousteau and his team of scientists, divers, mariners, and filmmakers investigate the myths and mysteries of these amazing rivers that empty different continents, flow through different landscapes and shelter different ecosystems.
The Living Sea (77 min. McGillivray Freeman) Explore mysterious depths to discover the beauty, diversity, and importance of the ocean to all life on Earth. Narrated by Meryl Streep.
The Magic School Bus: Catches a Wave! (80 min. Scholastic) Dive into three refreshing episodes with Ms. Frizzle and The Magic School Bus! The Friz takes her class on a rainy ride through the life cycle of a water drop, on the rough-'n'-tumble journey of a boulder subject to water erosion, and on a bubbly trip to the bottom of Walkerville Lake.
Oceanography (26 min. Disney) Students get "current" information as Bill Nye explains why oceans are salty and explores how they flow. Grades: 4-up.
Ocean Origins (40 min. Les Productions Dussart) This IMAX film takes viewers on an adventure through 4 billion years in the ocean, from the beginning of life until that incredible moment when the first vertebrate emerged onto dry land.
Popular Mechanics for Kids: Super Sea Creatures and Awesome Ocean Adventures (60 min. Hearst Entertainment) Four episodes of the program Popular Mechanics for Kids are included on one disc. Join the cast as they explore the seas in some sophisticated equipment and check into an underwater hotel.
Scientific American Frontiers: Going Deep (27 min. PBS) A look back at the decades of effort that culminated in the deep sub Alvin reaching the ocean floor, and a look forward to what's next now Alvin is retiring.
Scientific American Frontiers: Mysteries of the Deep (60 min. PBS) Scientists unlock secrets from the last frontier on Earth: the ocean depths.
Volcanoes of the Deep Sea (45 min. Volcano Ocean Films, Inc.) The depths of the ocean remain one of the last great mysteries on Earth. Far below the waves is an incredible place teeming with life, but few people have seen it.. -- until now. For the first time you can be there, 12,000 feet below the ocean's surface, inside an unparalleled undersea volcanic world filled with strange creatures and dramatic landscapes.
Window to the Sea (60 min. Driftwood Productions) This DVD presents exhibits, research, and behind-the-scenes activities of four leading U.S. aquariums. The program introduces viewers to many of the dedicated and fascinating people who work in marine centers.
White Shark Outside the Cage (75 min. Digiview Entertainment) Research biologist Mark Marks leads us on a dangerous and thrilling quest to understand the great white shark.
People
Da Vinci and The Code He Lived By (91 min. The History Channel) Explore the world of Leonardo Da Vinci, from his great artistic masterpieces to his visionary inventions.
The Discoverers (72 min. IMAX Corporation) From the earliest voyages that mapped the Earth to today's launches into space, The Discoverers reverberates with the passion to explore our universe. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Dr. Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers examines our desire to expand the boundaries of knowledge. The stories presented in this film span space and time, taking us around the world to participate in the act of discovery.
Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition (97 min. Sony Pictures) Originally presented as a PBS Nova special and narrated by Liam Neeson, this excellent film --based on Caroline Alexander's acclaimed book, also titled after the ironic name of Shackleton's doomed ship -- chronicles the astonishing events of 1914 - 16, when Shackleton and 27 crewmen survived against all odds after their ship was crushed in the polar ice floes.
Ernest Shackleton: To the End of the Earth (50 min. Kultur Video) This is the incredible story of explorer Ernest Shackleton's heroic attempt to lead the first expedition across the last unknown continent of Antarctica in 1914 - 16. During this voyage, his ship, the Endurance, became locked in sea ice, and for nine months Shackleton fought a losing battle with the harsh elements before the drifting ship was crushed and his crew marooned. With historical photos and rare film footage, this astonishing story explores the limits of unparalleled human courage, and ranks Ernest Shackleton's voyage among history's greatest adventures. New location footage, specially commissioned filmed reconstructions and expert authorities bring historical background and provide modern perspective to this unique film.
The Films of Charles and Ray Eames, Vol. 1 (46 min. Pyramid Film and Video) "Powers of Ten" illustrates a picnic in Chicago and then begins moving ten times farther out every ten seconds, until our own galaxy is visible only as a speck of light. Then we move inward into the hand of a sleeping picnicker with ten times more magnification every ten seconds.
The Films of Charles and Ray Eames, Vol. 2 (46 min. Pyramid Film and Video) This volume contains a variety of short films from the Eames design duo's library. Toy trains, Eames chairs, wet asphalt, and more are included.
The Films of Charles and Ray Eames, Vol. 3 (46 min. Pyramid Film and Video) The films contained on this volume all stem from the exhibition "The World of Franklin and Jefferson," which was designed by Charles and Ray Eames for the celebration of America's bicentennial. The films display the historic contributions of these two founding fathers, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how the exhibit was put together.
The Films of Charles and Ray Eames, Vol. 4 (46 min. Pyramid Film and Video) This volume contains a variety of short films from the Eames design duo's film library. Mathematical concepts, design philosophy, fiberglass chairs, and more are included.
The Films of Charles and Ray Eames, vol. 5 (46 min; Pyramid Film and Video) This volume contains a variety of films from the Eames design duo's film library. Spinning tops, airport history, lounge chairs, World's Fair memories, and more are included.
The Films of Charles and Ray Eames, Vol. 6 (46 min. Pyramid Film and Video) This volume contains films from the Eames design duo's film library. Mathematical concepts, Day of the Dead celebrations, Solar-Do-Nothing machines, and much more is included.
History's Mysteries: The True Story of Marco Polo (50 min. The History Channel) Initially circulated in the 14th century, "The Travels of Marco Polo" gave Europeans a glimpse into Far Eastern mysteries. But if Polo was an emissary to Kublai Khan, why isn't he mentioned, as are other foreigners, in the Khan's meticulous records? We'll delve into the ongoing dispute over the Venetian's veracity and very existence.
Jane Goodall's Return to Gombe (50 min. Discovery) World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall makes her annual return to Gombe Stream National Park in this exciting and somewhat heartbreaking visit to the chimpanzee research station she made famous. It seems a revolution has broken out among her favorite group of chimps and its brutal and bullying leader, Frodo, has been overthrown. With a power struggle imminent among the other chimps, Jane searches for Frodo and reminisces about the groundbreaking research, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions she has invested in these wild chimpanzees and protecting primates around the world. Return to Gombe makes for a fascinating and unforgettable journey.
Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West (40 min. National Geographic) Re-live one of the greatest tales of adventure and exploration in history, as National Geographic brings to life the epic journey of Lewis, Clark, their guide Sacagawea and the brave Corps of Discovery across the land that would become the United States.
Navajo Code Talkers (50 min. History Channel) In this documentary, historians and several Navajo veterans relate how a mere handful of WWII marines devised the only unbreakable code in modern military history.
Shackleton's Antartic Adventure (41 min. Image Entertainment) Recounts the true story of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914-1916 British Imperial Trans-Antartic Expedition.
Wings of Madness: The Daring Flights of Alberto Santos-Dumont (56 min. NOVA/WGBH) A century ago, Europe's most acclaimed celebrity was a fashionable, frail, Brazilian-born aviator named Alberto Santos-Dumont. Based on the acclaimed biography by Paul Hoffman, Wings of Madness tells the colorful and tragic life of this neglected pioneer and brilliant technical improviser, who cut a dashing figure in turn-of-the-century Paris.
Physics
Chirp Flies (60 min. WGBH) Take to the air in six fun-filled adventures as Chirp tries to fly — with a little help from Peep, Quack, and some of other feathered friends. Grades: Preschool.
Electrical Current (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye gets a charge explaining "watts up" with electricity. Learn how electricity makes the world a brighter place. Grades: 4-up.
The Elegant Universe (180 min. WGBH) Illuminating one of the most revolutionary theories in physics today, known as string theory or superstring theory. Grades: Adult.
Force and Work: Energy in Action (26 min. AIMS Multimedia)Viewers are introduced to everyday mechanical forces and the mysteries of field forces like gravity and electromagnetism. The concepts of work, pressure, potential, and kinetic energy, and power and efficiency are also explored.
Friction (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye illustrates how various types of transportation utilize friction, from traction in trains to the "roll" of ball bearings in skateboards and automobiles. Grades: 4-up.
Force and Work: Energy in Action (26 min. AIMS Multimedia)Viewers are introduced to everyday mechanical forces and the mysteries of field forces like gravity and electromagnetism. The concepts of work, pressure, potential, and kinetic energy, and power and efficiency are also explored.
Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye: Physics (45 min. Disney) Bill Nye tells us that all interactions in the universe are the result of gravity, electromagnetism, the force between protons and neutrons, and the force causing radioactive decay. Grades: 6-12.
In Force: Gravity, Friction, & Work, Squibs Vol. 3 (60 min. Ignite!) This DVD presents the laws of motion in all their glory.
In Motion: Light, Heat, & Energy, Squibs, Vol. 7 (60 min. Ignite!) This DVD illuminates the concept of energy.
Momentum (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye shows how weight and speed affect momentum. Explore how much crash test dummies know about momentum in a car and the importance of wearing a safety belt. Grades: 4-up.
Motion (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye shows how everything needs a push or pull-a- force to make it move or stop. Grades: 4-up.
Peep Figures it Out (60 min. WGBH) Join Peep, Chirp and Quack on six exciting, new adventures! Find out what a "whatchamacallit" is. Discover where the Sun goes at night. Figure out how to un-flip a turtle. And learn why a step, a squirm, and a hop are very different measurements. There's a big wide world out there and it's waiting for YOU! Then join real kids as they experiment and play in their OWN "big wide worlds."
Physical Science in Action: Friction (23 min. Schlessinger Media) Viewers discover the characteristics of light and learn how light travels in waves; they also learn about wavelength, amplitude, and frequency. Grades 5 - 8.
Physical Science: The Basics K - 2 (180 min. Discovery) From electricity and magnetism to light and sound, this video introduces young students to a wide variety of physical science topics with these segments drawn from Discovery Channel School's award-winning series. Along with the 12 student video segments, this video includes six scientific literacy segments to aid classroom teachers.
Peep Explores (60 min. WGBH) Join Peep, Chirp, and Quack as they explore the big wide world. Find out why Peep lives in a can, discover some dark secrets about the night, follow "duck prints" in the snow as Peep tracks Quack, and chase the perfect leaf on a wonderfully windy fall day. Kids are invited to explore in their big wide worlds too by investigating ice, building a house, making tracks, and exploring the sky at night.
Peep Floats (60 min. WGBH) Join Peep, Chirp, and Quack as they learn about sinking and floating. Sail a toy boat to Green Island. See "the power of duck feet!" in action. Help fish understand the big, wide world "up there." Then join the real kids as they experiment and play in their own "big wide worlds."
Peep's New Friend (60 min. WGBH) Join Peep, Chirp, and Quack as they explore the big wide world of animals! Meet an eager beaver, three shy bunnies, a frisky cat, a colorful butterfly, and Hoot the owl. Watch as Quack teaches his new fish friends about the greatest animal of all: ducks.
Peep Finds (60 min. WGBH) Visit Peep's big wide world and join in the search. Discover a flashlight, a bouncing weasel, a stand-offish duck, and the very last flower of the summer. Explore the wonders of a mirror -- and enjoy the comic spell it casts on a certain duck.
Quack Knows It All (60 min. WGBH) Explore the power of duck feet as Quack, Peep, and Chirp take six web-footed adventures. Then join real kids as they experiment with ice, make instruments out of household items, and create their own treasure maps. Narrated by Joan Cusack. Also includes episodes in Spanish.
Simple Machines (26 min. Disney) Bill Nye careens around on a roller coaster and furiously pedals his bike on the Tour de France to show that simple machines doing complicated things can be found everywhere. Grades: 4-up.
Spinning Things (26 min. Disney) In Spinning Things, Bill Nye the Science Guy tells us what the Earth, a big storm, and a rolling ball have in common. Discover why some things spin and others don't.
Waves (23 min. Disney) Bill Nye explores sound waves, light waves, seismic waves, energy waves, and even "the wave" that is so popular with stadium crowds. Grades: 4-up.
What the Bleep!? Down the Rabbit Hole (152 min. Fox) This film plunges you into a world where quantum uncertainty is demonstrated; where neurological processes and perceptual shifts are engaged and lived by its protagonist; where everything is alive; and where reality is changed by every thought.
Places
1421: The Year China Discovered America? (120 min. PBS) This special examines the theories outlined by Gavin Menzies in his best-selling book. An amateur historian and former submarine commander in the British Navy, Menzies poses an argument that could change the way we perceive global history forever -- that Chinese admirals discovered America and Chinese junks first circled the Earth. Traveling across the continent, the film combines history, science and technology with adventure and exploration.
The Alps (45 min. IMAX Corporation) In the air above Switzerland, on the sheer rock-and-ice wall known as the Eiger, an American climber is about to embark on the most perilous and meaningful ascent he has ever undertaken: an attempt to scale the legendary mountain that took his renowned fathers life. Against a backdrop of overwhelming natural beauty, The Alps is a true-life story of extraordinary courage. It's the intensely personal journey of a man who has every reason not to climb the deadly Eiger North Face, yet climb it he must. Narrated by Michael Gambon.
Deadly Ascent (56 min. WGBH / NOVA) Alaska's Mount McKinley, commonly referred to as Denali, is the highest and coldest peak in North America, and one of the deadliest mountains on Earth. Each year more than 1,000 people attempt to summit it; many never to return alive. While some climbers die in accidents sliding off of icy cliffs, crushing bones against rocks, falling into hidden crevices, or losing their way and succumbing to the cold, others, often in top physical condition, die from a strange disease that strikes at extreme altitudes. Now, as a new season dawns on the mountain, a team of doctors, rescuers, world-class mountaineers, military special forces and an astronaut return to save lives, and using themselves as subjects, decipher the deaths on Denali.
Descent into the Ice (60 min. WGBH / NOVA) Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest peak, rises majestically in the Alps. But deep inside its massive glaciers lurks a hidden danger: killer lakes with the potential to burst free just as they did in 1892 when a mid-summer torrent of cascading mud and water claimed 200 lives. Armed with high-tech gear and boundless courage, a Nova team goes where no one has gone before, deep inside the sub-freezing waters of Mont Blanc's 1000-foot-thick Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice). Grades 7 - adult.
Everest (45 min. IMAX) Relive a breathtaking journey to the top of the world with Everest, the spectacular giant-screen motion picture for IMAX theatres! Filmed during the infamous 1996 storm that claimed eight lives, Everestdocuments the filmmakers' harrowing rescue efforts to help surviving members of the ill-fated group. Join an international team of climbers as they scale the world's tallest peak. Witness the perils of skin-blistering cold, violent blizzards that drop the wind chill to minus-100 degrees, and air so thin it numbs the mind.
Everest: 50 Years on the Mountain (90 min. National Geographic) Fifty years later, three sons of Everest's most celebrated climbers return to the mountain to challenge it again. Join their journey as they brave the elements and face death to climb 29,000 feet of wind-blasted rock and ice.
Everest: The Death Zone (60 min. WGBH / NOVA) In the wake of the 1996 disaster that took eight climbers in a single day, scientists follow a team of hikers to measure, for the first time ever, the toll high-altitude climbing takes on the heart, lungs, blood, and brain. Why do seemingly rational people make poor, sometimes fatal decisions as they approach the peak? And the danger doesn't end there—as Nova discovers during the descent, when one climber's respiratory illness takes a terrifying turn on the isolated mountainside. ''Even with the best technology, the best training,'' says team member, producer and director David Breashears, ''you can still end up frozen to death at 27,500 feet. That's what makes Everest Everest.''
Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine (60 min. NOVA) Did George Mallory reach the top of Mount Everest in 1924, nearly 30 years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? More than just a spellbinding Everest saga, the story of Mallory and Irvine evokes memories of an era of exploration and heroic idealism when one could still "walk off the map."
Galapagos (45 min. IMAX) Shot on the famed archipelago and in its surrounding waters, this IMAX film follows marine biologist Dr. Carole Baldwin as she makes her initial venture into the island world first chronicled for science 160 years earlier by Charles Darwin.
Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets (60 min. Slingshot) Explore the Grand Canyon's beauty and majesty.
The Hidden World of Africa (50 min. Exploration Films) This film reveals some of the hundreds of invertebrates in the bush and savannas of Africa. These creatures thrive and support lives far larger than their own.
Journey into Amazing Caves (40 min. MacGillivray Freeman) This is a visceral, suspenseful expedition with a new breed of scientists who boldly explore places once thought off-limits to human presence, let alone IMAX cameras. Join Dr. Hazel Barton and Nancy Aulenbach as they travel to unique and forbidding ice caves in Greenland, underwater caves in the Yucatan, terrestrial caves in the Grand Canyon and other spectacular locations.
Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa (70 min. Sling Shot) Follow five trekkers and their Chagga Mountain guide up the largest freestanding mountain in the world.
Lost On Everest (60 min. NOVA) Join the historic search for the body of mountain-climbing legend George Mallory atop Mount Everest. Climb the daunting slopes that challenged Mallory's mind, body and archaic equipment. And take part in mountaineering history as Nova brings you an up-close look at this headline-making quest.
Mountain of Ice: Antarctica's Vinson Massif (56 min. WGBH / NOVA) In this high-altitude adventure, Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air, world-class mountaineer Conrad Anker, and their team of climbers, scientists, and filmmakers take a trailblazing expedition to the top of Antarctica's tallest peak Vinson Massif. Along the way, their experiences are contrasted with those of Norwegian adventurer Roald Amundsen and British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who in 1911 raced to be the first to reach the South Pole.
Tropical Rain Forest (40 min. Finley Holiday Films) This film takes the viewer on a 400-million-year journey to illustrate the diversity and beauty of life in the forests.
Yellowstone: Everything Else is Just a Movie(32 min. IMAX) Yellowstone National Park is a land of constant contrast. Lush, flourishing forests stand next to cracked, gasping landscapes. Half-frozen rivers run beside boiling patches of earth. Packs of wolves breeze by a group of filmmakers. Enter this amazing land, and follow our crew as they employ ground-breaking film techniques to create a totally unique experience.
Ships
Last voyage of the Lusitania (60 min. National Geographic) The date is May 7, 1915, just nine months into World War I. A German U-boat torpedoes the Lusitania -- one of the largest and fastest luxury liners in the world. Why did Germany torpedo a civilian vessel? And why did such an enormous ship sink so fast? Now, take a high-tech plunge beneath the Irish Channel and relive one of the century's most mysterious maritime tragedies.
Secrets of the Titanic (51 min. National Geographic) Join researcher Dr. Robert Ballard as he locates and investigates the ill-fated R.M.S Titanic.
Titanic: The Complete Story (300 min. A&E) Of all the many documentaries that have been made about the Titanic disaster, this two-part, 192-minute film, produced in 1994 for the Arts & Entertainment network, remains the most thorough, authoritative, and fascinating chronicle of the Titanic tragedy. From blueprint design and construction in Ireland, to the ill-fated maiden voyage and the lasting legacy of Titanic's fateful sinking, no detail has been neglected in the film's meticulous description of events.
Titanic Revealed (60 min. Genius Productions LLC) Join Dr. Robert Ballard as he returns to the RMS Titanic, and learn how the lost liner is once again threatened with disaster.
Robotics
Great Robot Race: The Darpa Grand Challenge (56 min; WGBH) Join NOVA for an exclusive backstage pass to the DARPA Grand Challenge -- a raucous race for robotic, driverless vehicles sponsored by the Pentagon, which awards a $2 million purse to the winning team. Armed with artificial intelligence, laser-guided vision, GPS navigation, and 3-D mapping systems, the contenders are some of the world's most advanced robots. Yet even their formidable technology and mechanical prowess may not be enough to overcome the grueling 130-mile course through Nevada's desert terrain.
Robots: A Look into the Future (16 min. Cambridge Educational) This DVD examines robots created for a wide range of purposes, from six-legged computerized lumberjacks that help protect forest habitat to molecular-sized automatons that might someday search out and destroy disease inside the human body.
Scientific American Frontiers: Cars That Think (27 min. PBS) The fully automatic car may be down the road a ways, but cars that do your thinking for you are just around the corner -- they watch out for hazards, they listen to you, they read your lips, and they even know when you're distracted.
Scientific American Frontiers: Robot Pals (27 min. PBS) Viewers meet three robots, including a future member of an astronaut team.
Sports
Baseball (10 discs, 1380 min. PBS) Ken Burns tops himself with this epic of American history, told in "nine innings," with a skilled narration by John Chancellor and the voices of Paul Newman, Jason Robards, Billy Crystal, and other stars. The series spans 150 years, starting with the myth-debunking tale of baseball's true beginnings -- when it was a game "one degree above mayhem." Then follow the growth of America's national pastime through the decades of glory and record-setting achievements, as well as the scandals, the bigotry, and the big money. The series portrays the game as a mirror of America itself -- the passions, prejudices, and ambitions that have shape the country.
Modern Marvels: Baseball Parks (50 min. The History Channel) Modern Marvels® traces the development of the old ballpark from the days of sandlots and bleachers to the retro stadiums with up-to-the-minute features that are bringing fans back to the game. Visit some of baseball's greatest shrines, including Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, and Camden Yards, and see how the years have changed the way they were conceived and built. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how they work and tour areas off-limits to the public. Hear from the men who built them and play in them, and get an early glimpse of what the 21st century stadium may look like.
The Magic School Bus: Super Sports Fun! (80 min. Scholastic) Put your game face on and race into these three pumped-up adventures with Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus! From a "frictionless" baseball game to an up-close look at the muscles that make us move, the Friz and her students jump into action to solve the mysteries of everyday life.
Popular Mechanics for Kids: X-treme Sports and Other Action Adventures (92 min. Hearst Entertainment) Four episodes of the program Popular Mechanics for Kids are included on this one disc. Join the cast as they hit the mountains to meet some Olympic snowboarders and gear up for some off road racing, desert style!
Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France (50 min. Partners Healthcare System) Discover what elite athletes have on their minds before, during, and after a competition. "Wired to Win" takes a look at the human brain and what it goes through as athletes gear up for the Tour de France.
Technology and Engineering
2057: The Body. The City. The World (2 discs, 129 min. Discovery Channel) Experience the world 50 years in the future in this unique three-part series that examines the world of tomorrow. Supported by the world's leading scientists and research institutes, embark on a quest to answer some of society's most fundamental questions while revealing the dramas of tomorrow's world along the way. Bonus episode focuses on the cars of the future.
Design: E2 (180 min. PBS) Design E2 examines the economies of being environmentally conscious in green building design. Includes all six series episodes: "The Green Apple," "Green for All," "The Green Machine," "Gray to Green," "China from Green to Red," and "Deeper Shades of Green."
Engineers Can Do Anything! An Inspirational Guide into the World of Engineering Careers (Engineering Education Service Center) Everyone interested in becoming an engineer should take a look at the facts presented in this DVD to understand how engineers are involved in every segment of society. Ages10 - up
Engineering an Empire, Vo