Instructional Video3:07
MinuteEarth

Poop Transplants!

9th - 12th Standards
Do people really take pills filled with poop? The video answers this question with a surprising "yes." It explains the illnesses fecal transplants treat, the effectiveness, and why the research is limited. It compares the procedure to...
Instructional Video2:41
MinuteEarth

How Your Dog Can Protect You Before You're Born

6th - 12th Standards
Are there things mothers can do to prevent their unborn children from having asthma? It turns out the answer is related to the household pets. The video explains how dogs and cats seem to protect the health of babies and children. It...
Instructional Video2:30
MinuteEarth

Why We Sucked at Counting Fish (Until Now)

6th - 12th Standards
Are there more fish in the ocean or stars in the galaxy? The video begins with explaining the old method for estimating the number of fish in the ocean. Then it details the new method using SONAR. The differences in estimates lead...
Instructional Video4:04
MinuteEarth

Can Math Explain How Animals Get Their Patterns?

6th - 12th Standards
Most people think of a mathematical pattern as a series of numbers. A video discusses how math might explain the patterns of spots, stripes, and other shapes found on animals. It begins with the observation of various patterns, then...
Instructional Video3:20
MinuteEarth

How to Date A Planet

6th - 12th Standards
The earth is literally older than dirt, but how can we prove it? The video explains the methods used to find the age of the moon and the earth. It offers a quick overview of the rock cycle, geologic processes, and the impact of...
Instructional Video3:08
MinuteEarth

The Mystery of Asparagus Pee

6th - 12th Standards
Why does asparagus change the smell of urine? The video discusses this from multiple perspectives. It considers the olfactory senses, the sulfur compounds digested, the perception, and other factors that contribute to this concept. It...
Instructional Video2:11
MinuteEarth

Why Most Rain Never Reaches The Ground

6th - 12th Standards
More than half of the rain that falls on Earth never reaches the ground. The video discusses the location of rain, the amount that evaporates in the process, and the amount that lands on top of trees all as factors in this...
Instructional Video2:50
MinuteEarth

How These Sea Shells Know the Weather in Greenland

6th - 12th Standards
Does a single-celled organism know more about the history of our planet than we do? A video explains how single-celled organisms manage to build a house and hold the secrets to the weather. They contain the information about the changes...
Instructional Video2:01
MinuteEarth

Our Atmosphere is Escaping!

6th - 12th Standards
Our atmosphere keeps us from the extreme temperatures experienced on the moon. The video explains that our atmosphere actually leaks. It describes exactly which molecules escape and the multiple factors that contribute.
Instructional Video2:27
MinuteEarth

How to Survive a Lightning Strike

6th - 12th Standards
What should you do if you are in the middle of a field when a lightning storm approaches? The video considers the best options for clothing, body position, and more. It highlights how cars and homes protect you from lightning and what...
Instructional Video2:47
MinuteEarth

This Is Your Brain on Extreme Weather

6th - 12th Standards
We track weather and measure it objectively, yet our own beliefs often conflict with the facts. The video discusses how our source of weather reporting and our personal experiences shape our beliefs. It also covers the concepts of...
Instructional Video3:09
MinuteEarth

How Do Greenhouse Gases Actually Work?

6th - 12th Standards
Why does the temperature on the moon get so much hotter and colder than the temperature on the earth? The video answers this question and many more. It incorporates a discussion of the importance of atmosphere and how greenhouse gases...
Instructional Video1:14
MinuteEarth

How Mushrooms Make It Rain

6th - 12th Standards
More than 14,000 species of mushrooms exist on our planet. The short video explains the relationship between the reproductive cycle of fungi and rain. Without the mushrooms, the amount of rain in many parts of the world would decrease...
Instructional Video2:56
MinuteEarth

The Faint Young Sun Paradox!

6th - 12th Standards
Does the sun have a life cycle? The video explains the confusion of what scientists expect and what the history of the earth proves. Then it offers multiple theories about the discrepancy and details the most accepted theory.
Instructional Video3:14
MinuteEarth

Why Are There Clouds?

6th - 12th Standards
Why do cumulus clouds have a flat line on the bottom and a big and fluffy part on top? The video explains how the earth forms clouds. It describes what is needed for a cloud, how the ingredients get high into the air, and what determines...
Instructional Video1:55
MinuteEarth

Bedbugs. Seriously!?

6th - 12th Standards
Want to drastically reduce the number of naps attempted in class? Show a video about bedbugs! Learners discover a pest so persistent that entomologists are confounded by their resilience and adaptability. The narrator discusses our...
Instructional Video2:41
MinuteEarth

How Humans Made Malaria So Deadly

6th - 12th Standards
Combine agriculture and an increase in population density in sub-Saharan Africa and what do you get? Malaria! Young immunologists explore malaria's deadly rise to fame in a video. The narrator discusses its beginnings as a hitchhiking...
Instructional Video2:48
MinuteEarth

Why Are There Dangerous Ingredients In Vaccines?

6th - 12th Standards
How does a cocktail of aluminum, formaldehyde, and an infectious disease keep you healthy? Science scholars explore the composition and role of vaccines in a short video that explains how vaccines interact with our immune systems, why...
Instructional Video2:39
MinuteEarth

Why Do Rivers Curve?

6th - 12th Standards
Rivers flow downhill, but why are there so many curves? The video explains how a straight river with only a tiny change begins to curve. It introduces the patterns all curving rivers follow all over the planet and other planets. 
Instructional Video2:18
MinuteEarth

Why Is All Sand the Same?

6th - 12th Standards
We find sand on beaches, sand dunes, timers, and in hydraulic fracturing, but what exactly is it? The video discusses the mineral that composes the majority of sand on the planet. It also explains how it forms and why it ends up near...
Instructional Video3:22
MinuteEarth

We're Oversalting Our Food, and It's Not What You Think

6th - 12th Standards
Would you believe we are salting our food as it grows? Water tables rise in areas cleared for crops causing the salty water to reach the roots of those crops. The video narrator explains the negative effects on plants as well as...
Instructional Video2:21
MinuteEarth

Why Are Leaves Green? Part 1

6th - 12th Standards
Consider a question that baffles even scientists. Why are leaves green? The video lesson offers a theory that begins with the first aquatic plants. Learners consider alternative explanations as well.
Instructional Video2:34
MinuteEarth

How Do Trees Survive Winter?

6th - 12th Standards
Explore trees' strategies for surviving winters in cold climates. The first trees were built for tropical climates. As they migrated to colder climates, they adapted the capability to survive the harsher weather. The video lesson...
Instructional Video2:01
MinuteEarth

This Is Not A Bee

6th - 12th Standards
Is it a bee or not a bee? That seems to be the question of a video lesson that explains how insects such as flies and moths mimic the coloring of bees. The narrator discusses the purpose of the coloring in association to predators.