EXPLO.TV - Webcasts, Video Clips, and Podcasts from the Exploratorium

Reflections: Testing the Giant Mirror's Sphericity (clip)

Running Time:
00:04:49

Senior Staff Scientist Thomas Humphrey invents a simple experiment to see if the Giant Mirror is spherical or parabolic, and then to see if it's perfectly spherical. By placing a Styrofoam ball at the center of curvature, he's able to prove that the mirror is out of pure sphericity by about one-quarter of one degree.

Project: Reflections | Browse All

Date: September 7, 2009
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): General Science, Physics

Reflections: Reflections of Infrared Radiation (clip)

Running Time:
00:04:37

Staff Neuroscientist Richard Brown demonstrates that the Giant Mirror reflects infrared radiation as well as visible light.

Project: Reflections | Browse All

Date: September 5, 2009
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): General Science, Physics

AfterSchool Activities: Ice Balloons Activity: Introduction (clip)

Running Time:
00:00:25

An introduction to the Ice Balloons activity, in which learners explore globes of frozen water and learn how to ask and then answer 'investigable' questions.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: September 2, 2009
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): General Science

AfterSchool Activities: Ice Balloons Activity: Step-by-Step Demonstration (clip)

Running Time:
00:07:39

A detailed demonstration of how to do the Ice Balloons activity, including a discussion of materials needed and strategies for getting learners to ask and then investigate questions about what they are seeing.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: September 2, 2009
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): General Science

AfterSchool Activities: Ice Balloons Activity: What's Going On (clip)

Running Time:
00:01:03

The science and pedagogy behind this activity, including a discussion of concepts such as density, temperature, thermal conductivity, center of mass, freezing point depression, heat capacity, and the characteristics of the states of water, water vapor, and ice. Also describes strategies for observing, asking questions, and then choosing a question to investigate further.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: September 2, 2009
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): General Science

AfterSchool Activities: Bottle Blast Off Activity: Introduction (clip)

Running Time:
00:00:50

An introduction to making a simple rocket and a rocket launcher, including a demonstration of how the finished model will fly.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: January 14, 2008
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): Astronomy/Space Science

AfterSchool Activities: Bottle Blast Off Activity: Making the Rocket (clip)

Running Time:
00:09:09

A step-by-step demonstration of how to make a simple rocket, including a discussion of materials needed and where to get them.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: January 14, 2008
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): Astronomy/Space Science

AfterSchool Activities: Bottle Blast Off Activity: Making the Launcher (clip)

Running Time:
00:07:13

A step-by-step demonstration of how to make a launcher to send your rocket sky-high, including a discussion of materials needed and where to get them.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: January 14, 2008
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): Astronomy/Space Science

AfterSchool Activities: Bottle Blast Off Activity: What's Going On (clip)

Running Time:
00:02:16

The science behind the rocket and rocket launcher in the Bottle Blast Off activity, with troubleshooting tips for how to fine-tune the nose and fins of the rocket for better flight. Also includes tips on how to take the activity further by making a simple inclinometer to measure how far your rocket flies.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: January 14, 2008
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): Astronomy/Space Science

AfterSchool Activities: Cuica Activity: Introduction (clip)

Running Time:
00:00:39

An introduction to the cuica (pronounced KWEE-kah), a small friction drum used in Brazil's Carnival parade.

Project: AfterSchool Activities | Browse All

Date: January 14, 2008
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): General Science