VIDEO / TEACHER GUIDE

Primary Level

VOLUME 13     2003/04
1	THE MINDS OF BIRDS	Sample VIDEO Print Guide
This program investigates birds’ abilities to communicate, solve problems, make decisions, and to memorize. It illustrates how an African Grey Parrot learned to count, identify objects, and verbally express feelings, how Northwestern Crows developed a technique to crack open clamshells, and how Pinyon Jays can remember where to recover seeds buried months earlier.
2	POWER FROM THE OCEAN TIDES	Sample VIDEO Print Guide
This issue explains how the earth’s tides are formed, their relationship to the moon’s gravity, how the power of the tides is used to produce electricity in underwater turbines, and how undersea transformers adjust the voltage so the electricity can be sent over long distances.
3	THE SCIENCE OF LIGHT	Sample VIDEO Print Guide
This program explores the concepts of visual light through demonstrations of how light emanates from the sun and affects the earth, how we see color, how light can be reflected, and how the light of lasers can be made to bend, enabling it to carry information and making it an essential element in telecommunications technology.
4	FARMER ANTS	Sample VIDEO Print Guide
The leafcutter ant produces their own food by growing fungus gardens. This edition shows how they produce a growing medium using collected leaves, and how they plant, weed, and irrigate their crops. Close-up photography shows them building nests and creating underground, growing chambers and reservoirs to capture rainwater for irrigation. The program also explains how biologically produced chemicals keep their crops pest and disease free, and what scientists learned from them to help human farmers.
5	OUR GREEN PLANET	Sample VIDEO Print Guide
This issue explores how plants moved from the sea to land after developing a vascular system to transport water, minerals and food throughout the plant. It discusses how the plants and trees we know developed over time, explains the process of photosynthesis, and the unique ways some plants and trees have adapted in order to survive in difficult conditions.
6	THE PROPERTIES OF FUELS AND GASES	Sample VIDEO Print Guide
This issue explores the basic properties of gases. Demonstrations show how gases spread to fill their containers, that all gases have weight, how gases can be compressed, and how a scent is created when particles of matter are diffused in the air and reach the nose. It illustrates why some gases are used to inflate toys, lift blimps, put fizz in soda pop, and provide power to fuel our engines. A brief, cartoon animation also explains the history of fuels.
7/8	HOW WEATHER HAPPENS	Sample VIDEO Print Guide
Our planet's diverse but consistent climate creates the conditions for life to flourish. This double issue explores the interaction of natural forces that create our weather. It demonstrates the role of the oceans in creating weather patterns, huge storms and events such as El Niño, and how technology is increasing forecast accuracy to boost our abilities to prepare for any type of weather.