A car propelled by the reaction between lemon juice and baking soda has more in common with rockets and jet aircraft than one might think. In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, two cast members demonstrate the power of rocket-propelled vehicles and how to exploit the force produced by the carbon dioxide gas. Grades 3-8.

It would seem that bottles of lemon juice and rockets have only their basic shape in common. However, as two cast members from ZOOM demonstrate in this adapted video segment, when baking soda is added to the mix, a plastic bottle can act very much like a real rocket. Grades 3-8.

Finches on the Galapagos Islands have evolved to exploit almost every possible niche. This diagram shows the range of food sources available on the island and the different beak shapes adapted to exploit each of them.

Indigenous peoples were able to gather their most basic needs for shelter using the items around them. Before lumber became the go to, adobe was a staple building material for the southwest and other Indigenous communities. But what makes this humble brick so simple yet sturdy and sustainable?

Hear about how respect for Earth can help us attain a more sustainable lifestyle in the face of climate change in this video segment adapted from United Tribes Technical College.

Our brains control every movement we make. Most of us take for granted our ability to pick up a cup or change the television station. However, for people who have lost a limb or become paralyzed, the inability to do these things means a loss of freedom and independence. This video segment from Greater Boston describes how neuroscientists and bioengineers have teamed up to create a system that allows people who have lost motor functions to control electronic devices through their thoughts alone. Grades 6-12

Pursuing a career in the theater can seem intimidating and overwhelming. In this video from Treasures of New York: The Drama League, students receive advice from successful theater professionals like director Diane Paulus and actress Judith Light. From practical suggestions like staying informed by reading the newspaper, to more general advice like finding one’s passion, students hear from and are inspired by the words of experienced artists.

In this media gallery, you will find a series of videos from The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross that examines the major movements and turning points in African American history from 1968 to the present, including the Black Panthers and the Black Power movement, Afrocentricity in culture, the rise of the black middle class, the development of hip hop culture, the effects of the War on Drugs, and the election of Barack Obama. As you view the videos, consider the legacy of the civil rights movement, the tensions that emerged from the progress made, and how they reshaped the African American experience.

Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. recounts the full trajectory of African-American history in his groundbreaking series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross. The series explores the evolution of the African-American people, as well as the multiplicity of cultural institutions, political strategies, and religious and social perspectives they developed — forging their own history, culture and society against unimaginable odds.

Using video clips from The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, this collection of lesson plans addresses a wide range of themes of the African-American experience from 1500 to the present.

In this video from Nature, geological detectives use ancient diamonds to learn more about Earth's inner layers.

Do you need proof that driving is a dangerous activity? More Americans have died in car crashes over the past 100 years than in all the wars the U.S. has ever fought combined. More than 40,000 Americans die each year on the nation's highways, most as the result of high-speed collisions. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn how engineers developed the air bag, an important automobile-safety device now found in most cars.
Recommended for: Grades 3-12

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members make their own hovercraft and demonstrate how the air leaking out of a balloon can make a plastic plate hover above a table.

This video from First Alaskans Institute spotlights the Alaska Native community of St. Paul and its hands-on commitment to care for the land and animals on which it depends.

In this video adapted from Storyknife Productions, Alaska Native pilots share how they use traditional knowledge to read the landscape and predict the weather.

In this video adapted from KUAC-TV and the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska Native students contribute to research on how their environment is changing as a result of global warming.

In this video adapted from Alaska Sea Grant, discover why multiple tsunamis resulted from the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964.

Anila Quayyum Agha’s installation Alhambra Nights was selected to be included in the City of Cincinnati’s BLINK festival. The event spanned twenty city blocks and included light, interactive art, and large-scale projection mapping. Inspired by Agha’s visit to the Alhambra and her efforts to connect traditional Islamic art and architecture with contemporary technology and Western audiences.

In this Evolution Web feature, test your skills at judging who's who on the tree of life while you learn about the tools and methods of cladistics.

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

This video segment from the Secret of Life School Video: "Genetic Medicine: Tinkering with Our Genes" explores the potential for gene therapy to cure diseases like Alzheimer's.