Media Menu for April 2, 2011

Here are home viewing suggestions for the week, selected from online advanced TV program listings and aligned with the state and national K-12 academic standards available online. Please consult local listings also, since actual broadcast times may vary. The Websites cited in the “Log on“ box below the TV listing provide further details about the show’s topic and may contain links to video clips from the show or a complete streaming video version of the show.

Saturday, April 2, 2011,
3:30-4:15 p.m. E/P
HBO
U.S. History and Economics
Middle and High School

“Triangle: Remembering the Fire” (events that stimulated labor union organizing)

This documentary tells an historic story that is still relevant today. On March 25, 1911, a catastrophic fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City. Trapped inside the upper floors of a ten-story building, 146 workers – mostly young immigrant women and teenage girls – were burned alive or forced to jump to their deaths to escape an inferno that consumed the factory in just 18 minutes. It was the worst disaster at a workplace in New York State until 9/11. The tragedy changed the course of history, paving the way for government to represent working people, not just business, for the first time, and helped an emerging American middle class to live the American Dream.
Log on http://www.hbo.com/#/documentaries/triangle-remembering-the-fire

Saturday, April 2, 2011,
10-11 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science
Middle and High School

“Underwater Universe “ (earth science)

Throughout history, tidal waves have drowned us, storm surges have sunk cities, and hurricanes and cyclones--fueled by the ocean--have blown away all in their path. Today, science forecasts that the oceans are getting fiercer, rising up to reshape our coastlines and create untold devastation, social unrest and economic crisis. This documentary tracks the history and evolution of the ocean's seven deadliest zones--locations that throughout history have been the direct causes of human devastation by floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, whirlpools, ice, underwater volcanoes, and shipping graveyards. Using expedition footage, 3D animation, and commentary from leading oceanographers, we'll depict the awesome cosmic and geological fluctuations that make the oceans deadly over time. TV-PG
Log on http://www.history.com/shows/underwater-universe

Sunday, April 3, 2011,
8-10 p.m. E/P
PBS
U.S. History
Middle and High School

“The Civil War “ (America’s defining conflict)

On the 150th anniversary of the beginning of America’s Civil War, PBS is re-broadcasting Ken Burns’s entire landmark 1990 documentary series, beginning with Episode 1, “The Cause – 1861”. Burns’s epic series brings to life America’s most destructive — and defining — conflict. This is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one. Voices for the series include Sam Waterston, Jason Robards, Julie Harris, Jeremy Irons, Morgan Freeman, Paul Roebling, Garrison Keillor, Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur Miller and Studs Terkel. Historian David McCullough narrates. This initial episode begins with an examination of slavery, looks at the causes of the war and the burning questions of union and states’ rights. John Brown leads a rebellion at Harper’s Ferry, Abraham Lincoln is elected president, Fort Sumter is fired upon and both sides rush to arms. Introducing the series’ major figures — Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant — the episode concludes with the disastrous Union defeat at Manassas, where both sides realize it is to be a very long war. Rated TV-PG (Series continues nightly in this time-slot until Thursday, April 7.)
Log on http://www.pbs.org/civilwar

Sunday, April 3, 2011,
10-11p.m. E/P
CNBC
Science and Economics
Middle and High School

“The Nuclear Option" (pros and cons of nuclear power plants)

Power consumption in the United States has never been greater. Currently the country gets 20% of its electricity from nuclear energy. But with the price of oil soaring and increased opposition to coal fired plants, many wonder if America should be more like France, where 80% of the power is nuclear. Americans haven’t built a new nuclear plant in thirty years. Now the country sits on the verge of a nuclear revolution. This documentary explores the issue, which according to a recent poll has the nation divided. Viewers take a rare tour inside of a nuclear power plant, to France where nuclear energy is working, and to what may be the future home of the first new nuclear power plant in the United States in over 30 years.
Log on http://www.cnbc.com/id/26868716

Monday, April 4, 2011,
4-5 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Economics
Middle and High School

“Modern Marvels: The Supermarket " (secrets of the store)

Our basic need and desire for food has made the supermarket one of the great success stories of modern retailing. Making customers' visits to the market as efficient as possible has led to many technological advancements such as bar coding and a scale that recognizes the type of produce placed on it. This documentary explores the psychology of the supermarket including store layout, lighting, music and aromas that trigger the appetite. With a growing percentage of the public interested in eating healthier foods, organic grocers are carving out an increasingly large niche. These are just a few of the items worth checking out in this appetizing hour. TV-PG
Log on http://www.cnbc.com/id/40887785

Tuesday, April 5, 2011,
10-11 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
World History
Middle and High School

“Egypt's Lost Rival " (superpowers rise and fall)

It rivaled ancient Egypt but was lost to history. Recently, a team of archeologists has made a major discovery in the Syrian desert: artifacts from a burial chamber deep within an ancient palace that paint a never-before-seen picture of a powerful metropolis known as Qatna. This documentary asks: What became of its vast riches? And what brought about the final fate of this ancient superpower?
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/expedition-week/4991/Overview#tab-article

Wednesday, April 6, 2011,
7-8 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science
Middle and High School

“Modern Marvels: Mad Electricity " (electricity’s most interesting pioneer)

Nikola Tesla's bizarre vision of the future brought him woes, but his genius electrified the world. This documentary takes viewers to Niagara Falls, where in 1893, Tesla installed his new system of Alternating Electrical Current known as AC--the same power we use today. Uncover the forgotten ruins of Tesla's dream experiment---a huge tower on Long Island Sound he hoped would wirelessly power the world. Radar, death rays, invisibility devices and earthquake machines: Tesla claimed to have created them all. More than 100 years ago Tesla foresaw the need for alternative energies like geothermal and solar. TV-PG
Log on http://www.history.com/topics/nikola-tesla

Thursday, April 7, 2011,
7-8:30 p.m. E/P
Sundance Channel
Arts
Middle and High School

“The Hip Hop Project " (healing thought hip-hop)

In this film documentarian Matt Ruskin tells the story of Chris "Kazi" Rolle and his Brooklyn-based organization that encourages disadvantaged kids to express themselves in verse rather than violence. A formerly homeless teenager abandoned by his mother in the Bahamas, Rolle now acts as a charismatic catalyst on urban teens with a mission to "heal through hip-hop." In one of the film's most powerful moments, Rolle returns to the Bahamas, where he attempts to meet with his birth mother. He recounts, “ As a teenager, I was once on the verge of dropping out of school, when a innovative teaching artist connected with me through a Hip Hop album we mutually liked. If it wasn’t for that teacher, I would have never received my high school diploma and go on to college. Kids all over the country are dropping out of school or they are losing interest in the institutions of learning. There is a disconnect. We living in a whole new world and different time which calls for different measures. Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. So, I did just that. In 1999, I created Hip Hop Project because I want to motivate and inspire young people through a medium that they would easily connect with, Hip Hop. Young people from all backgrounds gravitate to Hip Hop Culture. They live it, breathe it. It is a part of who they are. Through a hands-on-project-based approach, we empower them with the skills, knowledge, tools and opportunity to create their own projects. Through the process participants learn vital life skills such as problem solving, resourcefulness, teamwork, critical thinking and conflict resolution.” Rated TV-14
Log on http://www.thehiphopproject.org/

Friday, April 8, 2011,
7-8 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science
Middle and High School

“The Universe: Mars: The Red Planet " (what we know about Mars, so far)

It has been fifty years since man first ventured into space, but the greatest secrets are yet to be revealed. Mars is the planet in our solar system most similar to Earth despite otherworldly features such as the largest volcano in the Solar System. Rumors of life on Mars may be substantiated as NASA orbiters and rovers discover new evidence of frozen water just beneath the rusty soil. Did alien life exist there? As Earth reels with the effects of global warming, Mars becomes the most likely candidate for eventual human habitation. In this documentary cutting-edge computer graphics are used to show what life would be like on Mars, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres. TV-PG
Log on http://www.history.com/topics/planet-mars

Friday, April 8, 2011,
9:30-10:30 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science
Middle and High School

“PLANET FORWARD: Energy Innovation” (alternative energy innovations)

Hosted by Emmy Award-winning reporter Frank Sesno, this documentary harnesses the power of the online community to uncover innovative, real-world solutions to global energy and climate challenges. Featuring ideas submitted to its public affairs website, this season of PLANET FORWARD focuses on ground-breaking concepts for how energy can be generated or used more efficiently. Taped before an audience at the George Washington University, energy experts with backgrounds in business, science and policy evaluate the top ideas; then, audience members vote for their favorite concept, which is named the Earth Day 2011 Planet Forward Innovation.
Log on http://planetforward.org/

Saturday, April 9, 2011,
8-10 p.m. E/P
History Channel
U.S. History
Middle and High School

“The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth "

This is a documentary about the largest manhunt in history--ten thousand federal troops, detectives and police hunted those responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The conspiracy was vast--an effort to decapitate the United States government at the end of the Civil War. The manhunt was intense--ending 12 days later in a fiery showdown with the man who pulled the trigger--John Wilkes Booth. TV-PG (The website below describes a forthcoming movie dramatization of the hunt for Lincoln’s killers)
Log http://www.conspiratorthemovie.com/index.php