Be Smart
How Baby Sea Turtles Find Their Way Home
Sea turtles return to the beach they were born on more than a decade later to lay eggs. An interesting video explains this phenomenon as part of an extensive playlist covering biology. It describes what scientists know and don't know...
MinutePhysics
Where is the True North Pole?
Do you believe in Santa Clause? Or a more practical question might be to ask if you believe in the location of the North Pole. Because of the convection currents in Earth's out core, the magnetic north pole drifts about 55 km per year....
SciShow
3 Unsolved Moon Mysteries
What do people really know about the moon? Learn about three unsolved moon mysteries: the moon's past magnetic field, lunar sunrises, and what's really inside the moon's craters. An engaging video from the SciShow Space series connects...
Veritasium
Can Humans Sense Magnetic Fields?
It is true that Earth has a magnetic field, but do human bodies detect it? Part of a larger series, an interesting video lesson describes an experiment that attempts to answer the question. Using brain scans while exposed to a simulation...
Veritasium
Spinning Sphere of Molten Sodium
Earth's magnetic field protects people from solar wind, radiation, and many other potentially catastrophic events. For reasons not yet understood, the magnetic field appears measurably weaker over the course of less than 200 years, a...
PBS
The Threat to Earth
Is Earth prepared for a massive solar storm? Examine the possibilities with an interesting activity, part of NOVA's Sun Lab interactive unit. Viewers learn about historical solar storms, the tools we have for protecting ourselves and...
PBS
Earth's Magnetic Shield
Our atmosphere is pretty amazing! How does it minimize the effects of solar weather? Scholars discover Earth's first line of defense against the sun—the magnetosphere. The activity, one of several in a sun unit from NOVA, explains how...
Physics Girl
The Unusual Formation of the Hawaiian Islands
How are the Hawaiian Islands different from other island chains? Discover the surprising geologic history of Hawaii with a video from a cool physics playlist. The narrator takes a hike with some geologists and discusses mantle plume...
Physics Girl
Slow Motion Science! Ferrofluid Dropping on Magnet
Put the fun in physics with ferrofluid! Aside from making cool shapes when it interacts with a magnet, what else can we learn from ferrofluid? A video from an extensive physics playlist examines the similarities between the...
Veritasium
What Causes The Northern Lights? (Aurora Borealis)
In the arctic circle, some hotels offer aurora borealis wake-up calls so visitors don't miss the northern lights. A Veritasium video explains what causes the northern lights. It also presents many misconceptions people still believe...
Veritasium
An Astronaut's View of Earth
Ever wonder what climate change looks like from above? See Earth's struggle through the eyes of Commander Chris Hadfield with a video from the Veritasium playlist. Commander Hadfield describes his amazing journey through the Southern...
Crash Course
The Earth
Your fingernails grow at approximately the same rate Earth's continents move. The video discusses Earth as a planet, its layers, our magnetic field, the atmosphere, and the human impact on Earth. It provides interesting facts that...
MinutePhysics
What If the Earth Were Hollow?
Man has dreamed of outer space travel for hundreds of years...but, what about inner-Earth travel? Could it work? Young scientists explore the notion of jumping into a hole through Earth and the factors that affect the journey, such as...
Steve Spangler Science
Make Your Own Compass - Sick Science! #072
Have your class create their own compass. Using a needle, a container of water and a magnet, have learners explore magnetism. They will love making this useful tool and it will reinforce the fact that Earth has a magnetic field.