Building Stuff

Engineering is a big part of the Next Generation Science Standards. Classroom teachers are encouraged to integrate engineering into their curricula. Tabletop and classroom-scale building projects are one way to do that, and the hands-on nature of such projects has great value.

Another way to integrate engineering into the science curriculum is seeing larger scale engineering projects documented. PBS NOVA's Building Stuff miniseries does just that.

BUILDING STUFF at TPT

Engineering is all around us, and we humans have been doing it forever. But how does it actually work? Find out by watching some of the most creative and innovative folks in the game build stuff that helps extend our range, amplify our abilities, and alter our environment for the better. Experience the ups and downs with engineers as they design, build, and iterate their way through challenges, inspiring the inner “maker” in all of us.

1. Boost It! at TPT

SPIN LAUNCH · HAPTIC DANCE · DOUBLE DUTCH · BIONIC VISION

Around the world, engineers are finding ingenious ways to amplify our abilities and senses—allowing us to access and shape the world way beyond our natural gifts. From helping a blind man see without the use of his eyes to building a sling so powerful it can shoot rockets into space, see why engineering just might be the closest thing to a superpower we humans have.

2. Reach It! at TPT

WINDSCRAPERS · SAFE SUBMERSIBLES · FITTED FIRE SUIT · SPACE BASKET BOOM

From the time our species first evolved, we’ve been on the move. Not content to stay in one place, we’ve imagined and invented and built our way from one place to the next. From deep sea subs to wind-resistant skyscrapers to next-gen space habitats, see how today’s engineers are designing and building creative new ways for us to get all around—and even off—our planet.

3. Change It! at TPT

DRONE TAXI · TUNABLE E-NOSE · CORAL SEE · EARTH FILTER

Thousands of years of human innovation have allowed us to shape the environment to improve lives. The consequences of our activities are not always benign—but there are solutions. From electrifying aviation, to building robots to protect threatened coral reefs, a new generation of engineers is finding creative solutions to some of our most critical environmental challenges.

Rebuilding Notre Dame

The world watched in horror as Notre Dame Cathedral burned in the middle of Paris in April, 2019. France immediately embarked on the massive undertaking of restoring the cathedral. And they were intent on restoring the cathedral as it was before the fire. This made things even more challenging.

[It's always nice when I can use a photo from my own archives for the cover art. My polarizer was working hard on that shot.]

REBUILDING NOTRE DAME at TPT

Following the April, 2019 fire that almost destroyed Paris’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, a team of engineers, masons, and timber workers set out on the daunting challenge of restoring France’s historic landmark. The program traces the dramatic human and technical challenges of the project’s first three years, going behind-the-scenes with carpenters shaping lumber for the new roof and spire, stone masons repairing gaping holes in the vault, and artisans who use traditional techniques to restore stained glass windows. A symbol of the nation’s identity and resilience, Notre Dame gradually rises from the ashes, thanks to a restoration project like no other.

You're Probably Wrong About Rainbows

Veritasium's Derek Muller did a deep dive into rainbows, and brought his YouTube content creator skills to bear in articulating an explanation. 

I thought I dove pretty deep in my Understanding Rainbows classroom lesson. Derek dialed it up to 11 in You're Probably Wrong About Rainbows.

Naturally, I had questions.

YOU'RE PROBABLY WRONG ABOUT RAINBOWS at TPT

You probably don’t understand how a rainbow really works. In this video, Veritasium’s Derek Muller dives deep into the optics of rainbows. Caustics and Brewster’s angle deep. The video is divided into chapters; see the product listing for complete details.

Leonardo Da Vinci

 

American documentary film-making legend Ken Burns has expanded his horizons. In his first off-shore foray, he examines the life and times of Leonardo Da Vinci. 

There is much to explore. And I have questions.

LEONARDO DA VINCI at TPT

A 15th century polymath of soaring imagination and profound intellect, Leonardo da Vinci created some of the most revered works of art of all time, but his artistic endeavors often seemed peripheral to his pursuits in science and engineering. Through his paintings and thousands of pages of drawings and writings, Leonardo da Vinci explores one of humankind’s most curious and innovative minds.

1. THE DISCIPLE OF EXPERIENCE at TPT

Leonardo da Vinci grows up in a Tuscan village surrounded by nature, then moves to Florence, where the Renaissance is in full bloom, to apprentice as an artist and craftsman. He shows extraordinary talent but at times struggles to finish commissions. Later, in Milan, he joins Duke Sforza’s court, begins writing treatises, and paints a monumental fresco depicting the Last Supper.

2. PAINTER-GOD at TPT

Leonardo works as a military engineer, designs fanciful flying machines, studies light and shadow, investigates gravity, dissects cadavers, and pens treatises on a vast array of subjects, all while seeking the perfect patron. In Florence, Milan, Rome and finally France, he pours the sum of his scientific and artistic knowledge into a portrait that would become the most famous painting on earth.