Backyard Wilderness (45 min.) PreK-12

Presented by award-winning SK Films, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Arise Media and Archipelago Films, BACKYARD WILDERNESS takes viewers on a surprising and spectacular journey to discover the unexpected natural wonders that lie right outside our doors. The film follows young Katie and her family, living in a house at the edge of the woods. Absorbed by digital screens, electronics, and their busy modern lives, they’re blind to the real-life spectacle unfolding all around them. Until, that is, a school project sends Katie outdoors, and sparks her gradual discovery of a whole new world that had previously gone unnoticed. We experience her joy and wonder as her backyard comes alive—wood duck chicks diving out of trees, a mouse dodging deer, salamanders dodging traffic, and coyote pups learning how to hunt.  BACKYARD WILDERNESS reveals Katie’s neighbors in rare and breathtaking intimacy, with stunning 3D imagery captured by high speed and time-lapse cameras mounted inside dens and nests, and sliding along the forest floor and pond bottom. The film highlights how unexpectedly exotic our own backyards can be—providing vivid proof that Wi-Fi is not the only connection that matters.

(Cosmology, Space, Climate and Environment, Earth Science, History and Ancient Cultures, Life Science and Nature, Mathematics, Mythology, Seasonal, Solar System, Space Science and Astronomy, Weather, Younger Audiences)

Capcom Go! (26 min.) Grades 1-12

On July 20th 1969, 600 million people around the world gathered to witness a historic moment of human achievement broadcast live from the Moon.  But few people were aware of just how huge an effort it had taken to get them there.  These Apollo 11 astronauts were just 2 of nearly 400,000 people who had worked over ten years towards this goal.  But how did they do it?  What did it take to put humans on the moon?

(Cosmology, History and Ancient Cultures, Solar System, Space Science and Astronomy)

Dark Universe (24 min.) Grades 6-12

The award-winning space show Dark Universe celebrates the pivotal discoveries that have led to greater knowledge of the universe and our place in it.

Narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, highlights of Dark Universe include the Milky Way galaxy spangled with exploding supernovas, novel renderings of phenomena like dark matter, and spectacular scenes of spacecraft such as the Galileo probe’s breathtaking plunge into Jupiter’s atmosphere.

“A trip that makes Hollywood’s most vaunted special effects…look like a cartoon”
– The New York Times
“Will blow your mind”
– The Washington Post
“An exhilarating perspective of the universe as we know it, and, as we don’t know it”
– The International Science Times

(Cosmology, Solar System, Space Science and Astronomy)

Dinosaurs:  A Story of Survival (28 min.) Grades 1-5

Like almost all children, Celeste is fascinated with dinosaurs. She is preparing a talk for her class about how they went extinct when Moon, a very wise and magical character, poses a tantalizing question: what if I told you that there are still dinosaurs among us?  Celeste will join Moon in a journey through time. An exciting adventure that will show them the Earth as it was in the very, very distant past.  They will see the fascinating transformations that these animals underwent over millions of years, creating giant creatures, armored beasts and super predators, until the day that a cataclysmic impact event caused a mass extinction on Earth.   But all is not lost. Celeste will discover the key to their survival.

(Earth Science, Space Science and Astronomy, Younger Audiences)

Expedition Reef (26 min.) Grades 4-12

Learn the secrets of the “rain forest of the sea” as you embark on an ocean safari of the world’s most vibrant and endangered marine ecosystems.  Along the way, discover how corals grow, feed, reproduce, and support of 25% of all marine life on Earth – while facing unprecedented threats from climate change, habitat destruction, and overfishing.

(Climate and Environment, Earth Science, Life Science and Nature)