Scientists unravel the mysteries and misconceptions surrounding precious gemstones. Learn about the chemistry, physics, and geology of gems and crystals. Recorded in the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Africa's dynamic culture has always been fueled by the movement of people, things, and ideas. Africans use cultural traditions as a starting point for new innovations. In friendship, conversation, daily life, and university classrooms, African artists learn traditional techniques and develop the latest ideas.
From the Field Museum in Chicago, IL, this electronic field trip takes you through five million years of human evolution so you can picture our beginnings and imagine our future. During the program you will experience seven fossil stations that highlight a different human ancestor at a particular moment in time.
Every day, thousands of cargo ships around the world are busy loading and unloading their cargo. In addition to their intended cargo, however, these enormous vessels also ship other, unintended cargo. Hidden in the ships' ballast water - water used to stabilize the ships when not carrying a load - and stuck to the ships' hulls, millions of tiny plants and animals are also making their way around the world. These non-native organisms are released with ballast water into a new port during loading and unloading of cargo or are scraped off the hull. Though not all survive the big trip, some do, and even adapt well to the environment. Some do so well that they out-compete local species, and others introduce diseases that quickly spread through the ecosystem.
For two days, the Nation's Capitol will be turned into one of the largest classrooms in the country. Join Members of Congress, lobbyists, government officials, and your fellow students as we explore a national issue, discover the legislative process, and maneuver the forces that shape national policy.
For two days, the Nation's Capitol will be turned into one of the largest classrooms in the country. Join Members of Congress, lobbyists, government officials, and your fellow students as we explore a national issue, discover the legislative process, and maneuver the forces that shape national policy.
This electronic field trip will convene in February 2004 at the grassroots level. Students in classrooms across the country will research the issue, solicit feedback from constituents, and define their position.
Join the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum for an anniversary like no other. Celebrate the occasion by visiting the Museum's new exhibition: The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age.
Join the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum for an anniversary like no other. Celebrate the occasion by visiting the Museum's new exhibition: The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age.
Many Americans are surprised to learn that women once played professional baseball in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) from 1943-1954. Founded by Chicago Cubs owner Phil Wrigley in order to entertain Americans - and keep ballparks full - during World War II, the league provided unprecedented opportunity for young women to play professional baseball, see the country, and aspire to careers beyond the traditional roles of teacher, secretary, nurse, librarian, or housewife.
Take a front row seat on the wooden bleachers of a wind-swept-field where baseball provides a virtual view of our country's character. Journey back in time to discover a young land as its enterprising soul comes of age in the villages and towns of 19th century America. Follow the exploration of a western frontier after an anguishing Civil War to see how natives and naturalized citizens forge a familiar pastime while learning each other's customs and cultures.
Awaiting you discovery is the fascinating world of active volcanism, biological diversity, and a legacy of Hawaiian culture at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Here, your students will get to see lava up close and learn of it's impact and eruption into the sky!
Presidential campaigns are different now. People no longer come to the candidate's home. Instead, the candidate comes to the homes of the people; his picture and message are beamed into millions of bedrooms and kitchens. The notepad and pencil are gone, replaced by computers and phone lines, video cameras, and satellites. The most important thing has not changed. This year, as every four years from the beginning of the republic, candidate and press will be joined - often suspiciously, sometimes in hostility - but always from the necessity as essential partners in the quadrennial dance of democracy.
Explore the living and nonliving components of marine ecosystems. Scientists compare and contrast two unique marine ecosystems - a tropical coral reef and a temperate rocky coast.
What good are caves? In a practical sense, they are nature's plumbing system and homes to many animals. For people with various needs, values and levels of curiosity, caves provide places for adventure, shelter, and cutting-edge research. Discoveries made in caves offer us a glimpse into the past and the future and continue to lead us into future exploration. The National Park Service protects 81 sites that contain over a thousand limestone caves and lava tubes. About a dozen sites offer tours where park visitors enjoy scenic views made up of slow-growing speleothems - what you may know as stalactites, stalagmites, cave bacon, etc. Visitors also marvel at the fish, bats and insects that call caves home, but it is microbes that are a main form of life in caves. By studying bacteria that exists underground, scientists are gaining a better understanding of how biology shapes our world and influences geology. Cave microbes may hold a key to a cure for cancer or may help us recognize life on Mars. Caves also preserve evidence of ancient cultures, such as pictographs and stone tools, and keep alive the spirit of exploration through the stories of past and current explorers.
Have you ever wondered about those raised red, cotton stitches on a baseball? Sure, they hold the cowhide cover together, but did you know they also teach an interesting lesson in aerodynamics? What goes up must come down; that's why velocity, air temperature, gravity, and altitude are all fascinating factors in a batter's ability to launch a longball. Catching up to a pitch hurled at 100 miles per hour and sending it into orbit is a surprisingly scientific feat. Join us in Jupiter, Florida, where spring training 2004 becomes both classroom and clinic to explore physics and nature through our National Pastime.
Learn about our nation's firsts, as we make our first stop aboard the EFT Express in historical Philadelphia! Discover the sights 'The City of Brotherly Love' has to offer as we visit Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and many more prominent landmarks where pivotal events took place in the assembly of the good ol' U.S.A.!
The next stop on The EFT Express will be on the brickyard of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. At this stop you will explore Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion that states an object usually stays in motion with the same speed unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
During this electronic field trip, experienced museum educators will use the artifacts and stories in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's permanent exhibition, The Holocaust, to help students explore the Nazi rise to power and how countless individuals, traditionally relied upon to uphold the public good, became the active participants in civil rights violations and mass murder. Through the lens of history, students will then be asked to explore the consequences of their own daily decision making, both on their immediate environment and the world at large.
As airplanes fly, they push air out of the way and force it into taking different paths. That pushed air must go somewhere, so it "squeezes" between the wings and surrounding air. Explore the concepts of Air, Bernoulli, Wings and airplane design. Students will be taken through the "How Things Fly" exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Grand Canyon is considered the finest example of arid-land erosion in the world; however, it is more than that. A significant portion of Earth's history is revealed within the exposed rock layers of the canyon, five of the seven life zones in North America are represented within the park and it has been home to humans for nearly 10,000 years. Come explore some of the 1,217,403 acres of Grand Canyon National Park - hike into the canyon with Park Rangers, investigate fossils of animals that lived 270 million years ago, learn about the diversity of plants and animals that inhabit this semi-arid environment and explore the ruins of ancient inhabitants.