PBS
Telescopes on the Moon
Find out about China's current telescope on the moon and what the future plans are for mounting larger telescopes on the lunar surface.
TED Talks
TED: The next generation of African architects and designers | Christian Benimana
Christian Benimana wants to build a network of architects who can help Africa's booming cities flourish in sustainable, equitable ways -- balancing growth with values that are uniquely African. From Nigeria to Burkina Faso and beyond, he...
TED Talks
Bjarke Ingels: Floating cities, the LEGO House and other architectural forms of the future
Design gives form to the future, says architect Bjarke Ingels. In this worldwide tour of his team's projects, journey to a waste-to-energy power plant (that doubles as an alpine ski slope) and the LEGO Home of the Brick in Denmark -- and...
SciShow
Pneumatic Tubes: Transportation of the Past... And Future?
Wouldn't it be nice if our transportation was as sleek as in The Jetsons or Futurama? Flying cars are cool, but what about a giant network of human-sized tubes that run through buildings and across entire cities? Well guess what? The...
TED Talks
Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture
How can architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature. Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing...
SciShow
Why Is the Perfect Shower Temperature So Hard To Find?
Somewhere between "boiling lava" and "the surface of Pluto" is the perfect shower temperature, but why is it so elusive?
TED Talks
Ray Kurzweil: A university for the coming singularity
Ray Kurzweil's latest graphs show that technology's breakneck advances will only accelerate -- recession or not. He unveils his new project, Singularity University, to study oncoming tech and guide it to benefit humanity.
TED Talks
How carbon capture networks could help curb climate change | Bas Sudmeijer
What if we could build a global waste disposal service for carbon? In this forward-thinking talk, carbon capture advisor Bas Sudmeijer proposes building CO2 networks: partnerships between cities around the world that would share the cost...
Crash Course
The Rise of Russia and Prussia: Crash Course European History
In eastern Europe, in the 17th century a couple of "great powers" were coming into their own. The vast empire of Russia was modernizing under Peter the Great, and the relatively tiny state of Prussia was evolving as well. Russia (and...
TED Talks
Romain Lacombe: A personal air-quality tracker that lets you know what you're breathing
How often do you think about the air you're breathing? Probably not enough, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Romain Lacombe. He introduces Flow: a personal air-quality tracker that fits in your hand and monitors pollution levels in real...
Crash Course
Building a Desalination Plant from Scratch: Crash Course Engineering #44
An essential part of engineering is engineering design. Today we’ll see how design synthesis helps you put together the components of a process and decide what techniques are needed to solve your problem. We’ll explain the need test...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Yes, scientists are actually building an elevator to space | Fabio Pacucci
Sending rockets into space requires sacrificing expensive equipment, burning massive amounts of fuel, and risking potential catastrophe. So in the space race of the 21st century, some engineers are abandoning rockets for something more...
SciShow
How Tall Can Skyscrapers Get?
Get an engineeer's-eye-view of the tallest buildings in the world, to learn what challenges they face as they reach for the sky and wonder, how tall can we build?
TED Talks
Emily Pilloton: Teaching design for change
Designer Emily Pilloton moved to rural Bertie County, in North Carolina, to engage in a bold experiment of design-led community transformation. She's teaching a design-build class called Studio H that engages high schoolers' minds and...
TED Talks
Natalie Jeremijenko: The art of the eco-mindshift
Natalie Jeremijenko's unusual lab puts art to work, and addresses environmental woes by combining engineering know-how with public art and a team of volunteers. These real-life experiments include: Walking tadpoles, texting "fish,"...
TED Talks
Jessica Green: We're covered in germs. Let's design for that.
Our bodies and homes are covered in microbes -- some good for us, some bad for us. As we learn more about the germs and microbes who share our living spaces, TED Fellow Jessica Green asks: Can we design buildings that encourage happy,...
TED Talks
Jake Barton: The museum of you
A third of the world watched live as the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001; a third more heard about it within 24 hours. (Do you remember where you were?) So exhibits at the soon-to-open 9/11 Memorial Museum will reflect...
TED Talks
Jessica Green: Are we filtering the wrong microbes?
Should we keep the outdoors out of hospitals? Ecologist and TED Fellow Jessica Green has found that mechanical ventilation does get rid of many types of microbes, but the wrong kinds: the ones left in the hospital are much more likely to...
TED Talks
TED: Adventures of an asteroid hunter | Carrie Nugent
TeD Fellow Carrie Nugent is an asteroid hunter -- part of a group of scientists working to discover and catalog our oldest and most numerous cosmic neighbors. Why keep an eye out for asteroids? In this short, fact-filled talk, Nugent...
SciShow
The Fate of Boaty McBoatface & UAE Wants to Build a Mountain!
Welcome back to SciShow News! The internet has spoken and it shall be "considered'. . .Boaty McBoatface will be bestowed upon a drone ship aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough. That and the UAE are planning on building a mountain!
TED Talks
John Hardy: My green school dream
Join John Hardy on a tour of the Green School, his off-the-grid school in Bali that teaches kids how to build, garden, create (and get into college). The centerpiece of campus is the spiraling Heart of School, perhaps the world's largest...
TED Talks
TED: Bridges should be beautiful | Ian Firth
Bridges need to be functional, safe and durable, but they should also be elegant and beautiful, says structural engineer Ian Firth. In this mesmerizing tour of bridges old and new, Firth explores the potential for innovation and variety...
TED Talks
Sydney Jensen: How can we support the emotional well-being of teachers?
Teachers emotionally support our kids -- but who's supporting our teachers? In this eye-opening talk, educator Sydney Jensen explores how teachers are at risk of "secondary trauma" -- the idea that they absorb the emotional weight of...
TED Talks
Thomas Heatherwick: Building the Seed Cathedral
A future more beautiful? Architect Thomas Heatherwick shows five recent projects featuring ingenious bio-inspired designs. Some are remakes of the ordinary: a bus, a bridge, a power station ... And one is an extraordinary pavilion, the...