TED-Ed
Can 100% Renewable Energy Power the World?
If renewable energy sources are the best option, why aren't they used on a global scale? Junior environmentalists explore the benefits and problems associated with energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass with a short video and...
Bill Nye
Bill Nye The Science Guy on Wind
Heating and spinning of our planet are what generate wind. A very large tank is used to model the phenomenon of convection, which is explained by Bill, but never specifically mentioned. If you show this mini movie to your meteorology...
PBS
Wind Power
Wind power blows non-renewable sources away! Why are there not more wind power plants? Science sleuths track down the reasons behind our limited use of wind energy with a video from NOVA's energy unit. The resource covers the storage and...
Crash Course
Humans and Energy: Crash Course World History 207
Is flipping a switch and lighting up a room normal or miraculous? It depends where—and when—you live. Crash Course World History covers historical uses of energy, current uses of energy, and the possible future uses of energy with an...
California Academy of Science
Renewable Energy: Clean Tech Solutions
Renewable energy originally found application more than 790,000 years ago. A relevant and engaging lesson explains some of the current options for renewable energy. Technology changes quickly and many different options provide hope for...
Curated OER
STEMbite: Energy Transfer
Terrific toys turn into a demonstration of the transfer of energy. Potential energy becomes kinetic energy as the wind-up toy walks, a popper flies into the air, and a balloon whizzes when the air inside is expelled. The concept of...
TED-Ed
Cambridge Ideas - How Many Lightbulbs?
Humans have become addicted to fossil fuels. From pumping oil into our cars, to burning natural gas to heat our water, or using coal to create electricity that lights our homes, we are constantly relying on these nonrenewable resources....
Crash Course
The Engineering Challenges of Renewable Energy: Crash Course Engineering #30
How hard is it to incorporate renewable energy resources? An informative video first describes renewable energy, such as hydropower, wind energy, geothermal energy, and solar power. It then explains the benefits and the challenges of...
Be Smart
The Essentials of Energy
Energy is the latest buzz word. Help your class understand the truth behind the hype as they view the video segment and learn the difference between nuclear and solar energy, LED and fluorescent bulbs, and kilowatt hours. They learn the...
Curated OER
Alternative Energy Sources
With a variety of video clips and diagrams, the narrator acquaints the audience with three sources of alternative energy: the sun, the wind, and water. This is a homemade video created as a homework assignment, but it is well-done and...
Real Engineering
The Future of Wind Power?—Kite Power Systems
Can flying kites really save the world? A Real Engineering video describes an effort by the Kite Power Systems company to harness wind energy using kites. It shows how the kites overcome the disadvantages of wind turbines.
PBS
Global Winds
Blow budding scientists away with a lesson that'll put wind in their sails! Scholars study the pattern of global winds using an interactive from PBS' Weather and Climate series. Detailed simulations help viewers study upper-level winds...
TED-Ed
What is an Aurora?
An impressive animation explains the earth's awe-inspiring auroras. The contributions of high-energy particles from the sun collide with our neutral atmospheric atoms. Explained are the roles of solar wind, plasma, the magnetosphere,...
Physics Girl
Are Perpetual Motion Machines Possible?
As part of a larger series, an informative video introduces the concept of perpetual motion machines and the science proving they don't work. The narrator then shares machines that appear to work and highlights the hidden sources of energy.
DoodleScience
Renewable Energy Resources: Part 1
Non-renewable resources will not last forever, so what are the next steps when it comes to energy? Luckily, renewable energy resources exist to create our electricity. The video explains how wind and water energy can be transferred to...
Bonneville
How to Build a Turbine
Here is a six-minute video of a pair of electrical engineers that illustrate how to build a wind turbine. A list of materials is provided, along with general guidelines for your class. Use this to introduce turbine design to your...
Curated OER
Natural Gas
Did you know that natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel? The cost of processing natural gas is significantly less than processing even nuclear and wind energy. In this fast-moving, upbeat video, viewers learn about the benefits...
Curated OER
Electricity From All Kinds of Renewable Sources
On a bold, computer-generated animation of a landscape appears a city, power plants, wind turbines, and smaller, decentralized combined heat and power (CHP) plants. The intent is to show how CHP plants can be incorporated into the energy...
MinuteEarth
America's Energy Future: MinuteEarth at the Demdebate
Science scholars watch as the recent Democratic presidential nominees respond to an animated video. The video highlights recent natural disasters and long-term changes to our weather patterns, then shows how the candidates planned to...
Steve Spangler Science
Do It Yourself Weather Vane - Sick Science! #074
Introduce the idea of wind power. Have your class make a simple weather vane with a plastic straw, tape, a pencil, and other items found in your class. This film could be used to explore wind power and alternative energy sources.
Curated OER
Do It Yourself Weather Vane
Introduce the idea of wind power. Have your class make a simple weather vane with a plastic straw, tape, a pencil, and other items found in your class. This film could be used to explore wind power and alternative energy sources.
MinutePhysics
Should You Walk or Run When It's Cold?
Should you stay or should you go? A video lesson examines the heat gain and loss in a cold environment. The narrator compares standing still and running and their effects on heat energy.
PBS
Solving the Storage Problem
Clean, renewable energy is there for the taking ... how do we save it until we need it? A short video, part of an energy unit from NOVA, discusses the challenges of creating and storing electrical energy efficiently. The narrator...
NASA
The Water Cycle: Steaming the Air
How does water vapor move from point A to point B? The second installment in a series of four on the water cycle allows scholars to analyze satellite images to answer this question. The satellite animations show how evaporation and wind...