At age twenty-seven, physicist Philip Morrison joined the Manhattan Project, the code name given to the U.S. government's covert effort at Los Alamos to develop the first nuclear weapon. The Manhattan Project was also the most expensive single program ever financed by public funds. In this video segment, Morrison describes the charismatic leadership of his mentor, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and the urgency of their mission to manufacture a weapon 'which if we didn't make first would lead to the loss of the war." In the interview Morrison conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: 'Dawn,' he describes the remote, inaccessible setting of the laboratory that operated in extreme secrecy. It was this physical isolation, he maintains, that allowed scientists extraordinary freedom to exchange ideas with fellow physicists. Morrison also reflects on his wartime fears. Germany had many of the greatest minds in physics and engineering, which created tremendous anxiety among Allied scientists that it would win the atomic race and the war, and Morrison recalls the elaborate schemes he devised to determine that country's atomic progress. At the time that he was helping assemble the world's first atomic bomb, Morrison believed that nuclear weapons 'could be made part of the construction of the peace.' A month after the war, he toured Hiroshima, and for several years thereafter he testified, became a public spokesman, and lobbied for international nuclear cooperation. After leaving Los Alamos, Morrison returned to academia. For the rest of his life he was a forceful voice against nuclear weapons.

The CyberSquad creates a bar graph representing the amount of bugs that are infecting the Cybrary in this video from Cyberchase.

In this Cyberchase video segment, the CyberSquad locates the Cyberchase Council by using negative numbers.

This animation from KET's distance learning physics course demonstrates the mathematical formula for a scientific law as it applies to light.

Students use media resources and an in-class investigation to explore the types of energy within different types of systems. They also use the formulas for kinetic and potential energy to examine the path of a projectile.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast builds a suspension bridge from a couple of chairs, some cardboard, and rope.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a scientist explains the unexpected heat source fueling widespread volcanic activity on Io, a moon of Jupiter that many had previously assumed to be frozen.

In this interactive activity from ChemThink, learn how ionic bonds are formed and how an ionic bond structure is represented by its formula.

In this video segment from Greater Boston, learn about conflicting theories regarding the cause of autism.

Members of the Islamic Center of Washington, DC discuss the religious and spiritual significance of Ramadan and the celebration that concludes it, Eid al-Fitr, in this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, follow scientists in their quest to understand how stable elements are made and how to create the elusive element 114.

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, provides a portrait of IŰ__ŒóíŠupiaq whaling as a community activity, as told through the story of one hunt.

In this video from the American Masters film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey, scholars discuss the author’s ideas about jazz music. Ellison recognized jazz as an art form that represented the complexity of America’s multicultural democratic society. This resource may be used alongside Ellison’s Invisible Man, but is also well suited for use in a lesson, unit, or course on African American literature.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

In this video from Science City, meet a forensic scientist. She describes the steps to recover and analyze fingerprints to help solve crimes. She also discusses common attributes between art and science.

In this video from Science City, meet a forensic scientist. She describes the steps to recover and analyze fingerprints to help solve crimes. She also discusses common attributes between art and science.

Dried meat has long been a staple for Indigenous communities throughout the world. The process and practice of using time, heat, and seasonings to create something that is safe, satisfying and sustainable is a delicate balance that Indigenous people have mastered for Millenia. And that's science!

Learn about the work of artist Roberto Juarez. Inspired by his memories of childhood, Juarez combines collage, painting, and printmaking to make large-scale artworks. In the related activity, students will work with these techniques to create their own mixed media piece. The video and discussion will take one class session. The art activity will take 3 or more class sessions.

More About This Resource

For more studio tours and other arts content from WMHT, visit AHA! A House for Arts. AHA! A House for Arts features the stories of artists, makers, and creative institutions right here in our backyard and across the country. A celebration of all things creative, AHA! features everything from the traditional to the innovative.

In this Spark video produced by KQED, travel to Yosemite with Julia Parker who is helping revive the art form of Native American basket weaving. For Julia Parker, weaving baskets connects her to the lives and traditions of her ancestors, telling the story of a people that for more than 4,000 years populated villages throughout the Yosemite Valley.

This video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department describes how humans are helping restore safe nesting grounds for the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle to ensure its successful repopulation.

In this video from Science City, Kerri-Ann Richard, an environmental engineer, describes how she became interested in the field and why it is important to clean up the environment by removing contaminants from soil and ground water.