Be Smart
The Dark Origins of the Scientific Method
500 years before the Scientific Revolution, the mathematician Al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham spent hours in a dark room studying the light that filtered in. Not only did he revolutionize how we literally see the world, he pioneered the...
Professor Dave Explains
Why You Should Never Say "It's Just A Theory"
A portion of our culture distrusts the scientific method, assuming that there are transcendent truths unknowable by science. But nothing is truly out of bounds for science. If it's real, it can be studied, and tested. Perhaps the...
Curated Video
The Methods of Biology (Section 1.2)
In this section, I talk about the scientific method, controlled experiments, scientific tools, Theories and laws.
TED-Ed
Is There a Reproducibility Crisis in Science?
Less than 25 percent of published research proves reproducible. The video discusses the importance of duplicating results, introduces the challenge related to this task, and examines the issue from multiple points of view, allowing for...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree
Different islands in the Caribbean have very similar species of anole lizards, which each have their own place in the ecosystem. Researchers did several studies to determine whether the anoles evolved into the different species then...
Steve Spangler Science
Helmet Safety - Cool Science Fair Project
Here is a very important demonstration on why it's so important to wear helmets when doing any kind of high speed activity. A third grader's science fair project tested four different types of helmet: football, ski, skateboard, and...
Curated OER
How to Blow Up a Balloon With Baking Soda & Vinegar
A simple combination of baking soda and vinegar creates enough carbon dioxide to blow up a balloon! It's an awesome illustration of chemical reactions for upper elementary learners, or use it with slightly older scientists to introduce...
Curated OER
Table Top Trebuchet
How cool would it be to build a trebuchet 1/40th the size of one that would have been used to knock down a castle wall? Build this project with middle or high schoolers at any level (varying the information provided for each), and have a...
Curated OER
Miss Selle's Science Songs - You Know All Your Variables (One Direction Parody)
Introduce middle school scientists to scientific variables and the scientific method with a musical video. The song is a delightful parody of One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful." It belts out the definitions of controlled,...
Smithsonian Institution
Science: A Work in Progress
Science is best taught by connecting concepts rather than isolating topics. Using classroom examples, a video lesson highlights the importance of showing the interconnection of science concepts. The instruction includes strategies to...
Crash Course
The Scientific Methods: Crash Course History of Science #14
How do we know what we know? Examine the asker of this, and many other questions, during the 14th installment in a 15-part History of Science video series. The narrator explains the important contributions made by Galileo, Bacon, and...
Crash Course
The Presocratics: Crash Course History of Science #2
How did early scientists arrive at the notion that everything was made of atoms? Meet the Presocratics during the second installment in an engaging History of Science series. Viewers discover how these pioneers developed a model for...
Be Smart
97% of Climate Scientists Really Do Agree
Why do some people still question climate change? Discover the components of consensus with a video from a well-written science playlist. The narrator guides viewers through the process of reviewing climate publications, how exclusive...
Crash Course
The Evolutionary Epic: Crash Course Big History #5
In the timeline of history, Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex lived further apart from each other than Tyrannosaurus rex and humans. The fifth Crash Course-Big History video in a series of 16 introduces the concept of evolution. It...
Teacher's Pet
The Scientific Method
Examples of the scientific method in everyday life include: trial and error problem solving, making a budget, cooking, and designing an advertisement. The video explains the steps of the scientific method and two examples of it in real...
Veritasium
Are You Lightest In The Morning?
Does the time of day affect your body weight? If so, how? The narrator conducts an experiment to determine when the human body is its lightest. Viewers see interesting, and often amusing, theories from on-the-spot interviews and watch as...
SciShow
Higgs Boson Discovery! We Think?
More than 50 years after the Higgs Boson was predicted, scientists discovered it. The video shares the excitement of this monumental discovery, often compared to the discovery of the electron. It explains the hesitation with the initial...
Bozeman Science
Scientific Method
In the late 1700s, Edward Jenner applied the scientific method and discovered that injecting people with cowpox prevented them from acquiring smallpox—leading to the first vaccine. In the fourth video of the series, individuals listen to...
Crash Course Kids
Look Who's Talking
How do we know so much about how plants grow? By conducting experiments and investigations, of course! This is the focus of a video that describes the processes scientists use in order to unveil new information.
TED-Ed
What’s the Difference Between a Scientific Law and Theory?
Why does science need both laws and theories? What is the difference between scientific laws and scientific theories? One explains and one predicts. Discover which is which in this short video.
TED-Ed
Not all Scientific Studies are Created Equal
Sample size and controls are features of the scientific inquiry process that are discussed in this quick-paced quip. A comparison is made between randomized clinical trials and epidemiological studies. Terms such as placebo,...
TED-Ed
Our Buggy Moral Code
Why do humans cheat? Under what conditions are we more or less likely to cheat? Listen as Dan Ariely reveals intriguing results of several of his studies on the cost-benefit analysis of cheating, and how these findings relate to such...
Curated OER
Guide to a Successful Science Fair
Find the right science fair project. Steve Spangler shows how to use a demonstration and turn it into an experiment. Additionally, he talks about the importance of coming up with a hypothesis.
Curated OER
Denver's Brown Cloud
Why does a brown cloud occur in Denver at a certain time of the year? When warm air is higher in the atmosphere, it traps cooler, denser air below and smog just sits in between them. Using bottles of colored hot and cold water, this...