Science 5 - Space Videos

This video does touch on some interesting trivia about the moon (eg. the true colour of the surface of the moon and the eytmology of the word "month") but what makes this video worth watching is the detailed (and well-diagramed) way that the host goes through the phases of the moon. Starting with a new moon, he literally works through the different phases giving explanation to all of their names.

In the Bill Nye episode about the moon, Bill Nye the Science Guy delves into the fascinating world of Earth's only natural satellite. He explains the moon's phases, its orbit around the Earth, and the science behind phenomena such as eclipses and tides. Through engaging demonstrations and experiments, Bill Nye makes complex concepts easy to understand and fun for young viewers. The episode also highlights the moon's surface features and the history of lunar exploration, providing a comprehensive overview of the moon's significance in our solar system.

This video focuses on the idea that at times when one hemisphere is experiencing one season (eg. winter) locations in the other hemisphere are experiencing an opposite season (eg. summer). Using a story of two children who live in Britain and Australia, this video walks through why the tilt of the earth results in two people living at different locations experiencing two completely different seasons. 

One of the most misunderstood ideas in astronomy (still to this day) is that our distance from the sun has a notable influence upon the surface temperatures of the earth, and as a result, the seasons. While this video does talk about the truth behind how seasons are a result of the earth's tilt combined with the earth's orbit, the first part of this video does a great job proving why our distance from the sun (though it does change a small amount on an astronomical scale) has basically no effect upon the seasons of the earth.

In the Bill Nye episode about seasons, Bill Nye the Science Guy explores the reasons behind the changing seasons on Earth. He explains how the tilt of the Earth's axis and its orbit around the sun cause the variations in temperature and daylight throughout the year. Using engaging demonstrations and experiments, Bill Nye illustrates how different parts of the Earth experience seasons at different times. The episode provides a clear and entertaining explanation of the science of seasons, making it easy for students to understand and remember the concepts.

Bringing the key words "rotation" and "revolution" in their relationship to a day and a year, this video manages to show these key ideas without needing to put the term "axis" to use. Throughout this video, Jessi manages to explain seasons by repeatedly referring to the "tilting" of the earth without your students needing to undertand and apply the word "axis."

This video is essentially a scientific chronology telling the progressive advancements made throughout the history of science in understanding not only eclipses, but other pieces of science through use of eclipses. Famous names in science history such as Newton, Halley, and Einstein are all made mention of, and how eclipses were used to further support hypothetical theories that each of them proposed. Even if some of these idea may well be beyond the Science 5 curriculum, having students see that there is much history to science might be one of the most valuable ideas that can be taken from this video. 

This video starts out be giving an animatied explanation as to why we do not have an eclipse every month when the moon reaches its Full Moon phase. This video then goes on to explain why a lunar eclipse can be viewed by many more people across a far broader geographical area when compared to the viewing of a solar eclipse.

In this video, a good amount of focus is placed upon the magnetosphere; both why we have a magentosphere, and the role that the magnetosphere plays in creating the aurora. Also discussed is the idea that if we didn't have a magnetosphere, that we would face the issues of coronal mass ejections arriving at the earth, and us having no protection. 

This video starts out be giving an animatied explanation as to why we do not have an eclipse every month when the moon reaches its New Moon phase. This video then goes through the four different classifications of all lunar eclipses, showing the animation behind what each would look like from space (looking at the earth, moon, and sun) and then how the sun appears to an observer of each type of solar eclipse.

If there is one reason to look at this video along with all of the other videos on the aurora, it is that while many of the other videos have animations, this video has a collection of videos taken from the International Space Station. These videos taken from the ISS really show how close to the surface of the earth that the aurora take place.

Though some of the terminology used in this claymation-style video may seem a little high for students of this age (photons, magnetosphere, and corona, to name a few), much of the content of this video really does a great job of explaining why the aurora exist, and why they are non-cyclical. In addition to this, the video gives a good explanation as to the colours most commonly seen, and their association with oxygen and nitrogen.

"Why People Get So Excited About A Total Solar Eclipse" is an engaging video that explores the awe and excitement surrounding both total solar eclipses and other types of eclipses. The video explains the rare alignment of the sun, moon, and Earth that creates these phenomena and delves into the differences between the different types of eclipses. It also looks to link together words used for both solar and lunar eclipses (eg. umbra, penumbra) and also explains the benefits and drawback to each type of eclipse. 

What is really great about this video that looks at cultures from around the world and their beliefs regarding the Northern Lights is that there are maps used throughout the video to really show where each of these locations are found. (The map does have a few small inaccuracies, getting locations such as Washington and North Dakota mixed up, but as a whole, it will help students understand where each of these cultures are based.) This video truly goes around the world, from China to Norway; from Australia to the Cree. The video concludes with some scientific explanation behind the aurora, but most of the video focuses on the legends and mythology.

In this video, Elder Wilfred Buck brings the constellation that is named "Cepheus" in Greek mythology and explains that to the Cree, instead of it being a king, it is a turtle. What is really interesting (and integrates so well with this unit) is that he then discusses that the turtle's back would have 28 sections around the perimeter of the shell (representing the days of a moon phase) and 13 sections in the center (representing the lunar cycles of a year). 

Mayan culture is well-known for having an immaculate calendar that had an incredible level of detail. As a result, the cycles of the sun and the moon were of high importance to them, and this video goes through the tale of how to goddess of the moon acquired such a position in their culture.

This video looks at a collection of different European and North American cultural stories that are associated with the Northern Lights. This includes Icelandic, Swedish, Finnish, French, Italian, and Inuit stories behind what beliefs were created in their cultures, and many of the unique names that they game to the Northern Lights.

In this video Elder Wilfred Buck looks at constellations that students might be familiar with in the context of their Greek mythologies (Orion and Pleiades) and he tells the mythology of what the Cree nations traditionally told of these same grouping of stars.