Animal Survival: Physical Characteristics of Environments

Learn about the physical characteristics of environments and act out the animals that live there! You are the next contestant on the Take the Stage game show ANIMAL SURVIVAL where you will travel in a hot air balloon to the forest of North America, the savanna of Africa, and then take a submarine ride underwater in the ocean. To play the game, you will act out an animal that would live in each environment, and then write how the physical characteristics of each environment helps your animal survive. Learning Objective: observe and describe the physical characteristics of environments and how they support populations and communities of plants and animals within an ecosystem.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson

Antarctica: A Challenging Work Day

What happens when the ground under your feet is ice and it's moving? This video segment adapted from NOVA features some of the dangers faced by scientists conducting research in Antarctica.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Antarctica: Sea Ice

This video segment adapted from NOVA uses microwave images to reveal how sea ice doubles the size of Antarctica each winter. Rare footage shows how sea ice crushed the famous ship Endurance in 1914.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Arch Bridge

This video segment adapted from Building Big illustrates the strength of the arch in bridge design and construction.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Arctic Tundra

This video segment from Wild Europe: "Wild Arctic" explores the struggle for survival in one of Earth's most extreme environments.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Arrangement 1

The CyberSquad tries to figure out a table arrangement for 20 workers in this video from Cyberchase.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: U.S. Department of Education, WNET

Arrangement 2

In this video segment from Cyberchase, Matt tries for a second time to arrange tables and chairs to accommodate 20 workers.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: U.S. Department of Education, WNET

Arrangement 3

Matt's third table arrangement helps fit all 20 workers at five tables in this video segment from Cyberchase.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: U.S. Department of Education, WNET

Ask an Engineer

Explore some of the wonders of modern engineering in this video from the Sciencenter in Ithaca, New York. Hear a diverse selection of engineers explain how things work.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: Argosy Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Ataturk

This Wide Angle video segment illustrates Islamic and secular elements of life in Turkey, and introduces Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of Turkey, and his reforms.

Material Type: Lecture

Atmospheric Oxygen

In this feature, adapted from Interactive NOVA: "Earth," students explore the relationship between oxygen concentration and the well-being of various organisms by simulating a change in oxygen levels and observing what happens.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Average Practice Time

In this video segment from TV411, figure skaters compute their average daily practice time.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: U.S. Department of Education, WNET

Backyard Bugs

This video segment from Wild TV takes a closer look at backyard bugs, their habitat and characteristics.

Material Type: Lecture

Basketball Physics

In this video from DragonflyTV, Jai and Jonathan track, graph, and analyze the motion of basketball shots as they investigate what factors influence the accuracy of their game.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Bats of the Southwest

This video segment from the Nevada Department of Wildlife looks at various species of bats and how they impact the environment.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, VegasPBS

Beavers

This video segment explores the world of the beaver, including the biology of the species and, more importantly, its ability to transform an ecosystem for its own benefit.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Bee-ing in a Swarm

Learn about bees, their habitat and how to interact with a swarm in this Wild TV video segment.

Material Type: Lecture

Bees

In this video segment from WILD TV, learn about bees and the different techniques for handling them.

Material Type: Lecture

Bianca the Spy

This video segment from Cyberchase introduces the idea of inverse operations as Bianca imagines herself as a spy.

Material Type: Lecture

Authors: U.S. Department of Education, WNET

"Biome" in a Baggie

This ZOOM video segment shows how to create a self-contained environment and explores evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Interactive

Authors: National Science Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation