Showing results by narrator "David Armstrong" in All Categories

Have you ever wondered about all the shapes it takes to design and build structures like buildings or bridges? Different shapes like squares, triangle and rectangles are used in construction, but which shape forms the strongest? Follow the activity using straws and string to find out which shape is the strongest, sturdiest construction?

Doctors, nurses, and people who work in hospitals use stethoscopes to listen to their patients’ hearts and bodies. It makes sounds loud so the doctor can hear better. Yo’s mother has an old stethoscope that Yo uses to listen to her own heart and stomach. Yo places it on her head. What sounds will she hear? Find out what else Yo can hear with the stethoscope!

Animals get their energy from the food they eat. Animals depend on other living things for food. Some animals, called herbivores, eat plants; while others are carnivores that eat other animals. Scavengers, like vultures and hyenas, eat dead animals. Learn how different animals eat and how this determines how they look and where they live. Can you name other animals that are scavengers?

Help tell the story of Benjamin Franklin's discovery of electricity! Together with your friend, act out this play to learn how Benjamin Franklin used a wire, attached to the top of a kite, to attract lightning from the sky. Lightning is a form of electricity! It travelled down the kite string to the key that created electric sparks! How did Franklin come up with the idea for his famous experiment?

Have you ever wanted to live in Antarctica? What kind of house would you live in? A snow house, of course! Follow the instructions to learn how to build a snow house. What is a snow house made from and what tools do you need to build it? Guess what the first step is to build a snow house?

Do you know how the lightbulb was invented? In the 1800s, the first incandescent lightbulb was invented by Thomas Edison. Learn how Edison experimented with different materials, direct current, and by trial and error to design the first lightbulb. Which power company was created that funded the first electric lighting system to distribute light? The company still operates today, lighting and powering our world!

Have you ever wondered how a penny or dime is made? Coins are made from metal in factories called mints. First, an artist draws a picture of the coin, next clay is used to make a mold made from plastic. Then a machine engraves and designs a piece of metal–these metal pieces will be used to make stamps called dies. In the United States, there are only four factories–can you guess where?

Of all the historic spacecraft vehicles displayed at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in New York–one remains special! On the Moon, it gave shelter to the astronauts. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lunar Module–also used as a communications center–the LM-13 was built to transport people from earth to outer space! Learn what else makes this aeronautical spacecraft special!

Yo and his grandmother see a rabbit in the yard and watch it quietly. They sit very still. Yo notices the rabbit doesn’t move the same way his dog, Lips, does. Yo learns that the rabbit has powerful short front legs and long, powerful back legs. Lips decides to dash for the rabbit! Will Lips catch the rabbit? What other ways are Lips and the rabbit different? How are they alike?

Jennifer needs to get her special toy out of the room where her baby sister, Kaitlin, is sleeping. Jennifer and Yo try not to wake Jennifer from her nap while getting her stuffed snake toy–Kaitlin was fast asleep but awakens and begins to cry!

Dogs have many abilities, along with being super cute–they have great noses that can sniff out smells that humans can’t!

Hector wants to be a superhero just like Universe Man–fighting crime! Hector needs glasses to see and superheroes don’t wear glasses, especially not Universe Man. Hector’s mom takes him to his eye exam and he doesn’t understand why he needs glasses. Will Hector allow his feelings to get the best of him and continue to fight crime squinting? Or will he be a brave boy like a superhero?

Did you know why foods taste different? Food flavors are not just about taste–your sense of smell helps you taste too! Your nose sends messages to your brain about the taste and smell of different foods. Sour and sweet tastes mix to form flavors like orange juice and lemonade. Discover the five tastes your tongue’s taste buds sense. Can you guess what scientists identified as the fifth taste?

There’s a chili tasting contest! Nestor Dock and his friends cooked their chili for everyone to taste. Will Nestor have a chance to win with so many different taste buds? Someone wants a pinch of salt, another person doesn’t eat meat, and another person says it’s just too spicey! Find out if Nestor’s ingredients chase everyone off. What would you put in your chili?

What happens when the trash you throw out is picked up by the garbage truck? Where does it go? Once the garbage truck picks up the trash in your neighborhood, it goes on a journey to be broken down. A recycling truck might pick it up and make new things or it may be used for a compost heap, or maybe it goes to a landfill where it’s covered with dirt. Find out what happens when a landfill is full!

Yo’s favorite thing about rays is the way their bodies feel soft and smooth. Yo and her grandmother visit an aquarium full of sharks and rays where Yo learns about rays, like how they flap their wings to swim in the water. Yo thinks the way their back and belly change color to camouflage from predators is a good trick! Learn all about rays with Yo!

If you pay close attention and use your senses–nature will tell you many things! Yo observes a pinecone with closed scales, which means it will rain. Yo is right; it rains, and he tells Lips, his dog, that pine cones only open when there is sunshine! Yo waits patiently for the pine cone to open. What happens when the pine cone opens? Will Yo see the seeds once it stops raining?

Martin, Liz, and their friend take a hike through the forest and learn about animals and plant life. This forest ecosystem is a healthy environment for animals and plant life to grow. A woodpecker checks for bugs to eat in a nearby tree, with bark that is ancient. Martin notices moss on the old tree bark and poisonous mushrooms! What else will they find on their forest hike?

Yo visits the beach with his mother who reminds Yo they need to use sunscreen to protect their skin from the sun. Yo wonders why his mother tells him to drink water–then Yo gets very thirsty! Yo sweats in the summer weather and learns sweating is good for the body. Yo jumps in the water to cool off! He wants Lips, his dog, to jump in, too. Find out if Lips takes a swim in the ocean!

Did you know food scraps you throw away help plants and vegetables grow? Scavengers, animals who eat our food scraps, and decomposers: bacteria, fungi, and insects break the food down into soil. They eat some and put the rest into the soil we use for planting and gardening. Can you guess which animals and bugs make the best decomposers? What are scientists learning about decomposers?