Media Menu for August 6, 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, August 6, 2011,
3-4 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
Science and World History
Middle and High School

The Truth Behind The Dead Sea Scrolls

In this documentary archaeologists and historians unravel the mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and explore theories about their creation, including the Church's 50-year embargo on their publication. TV-PG
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/the-truth-behind-the-dead-sea-scrolls-3087/Overview

Sunday, August 7, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
National Geographic
Channel
Science and Geography
Elementary,
Middle and High School

How To Build A Volcano

In this documentary scientists partner with Hollywood special effects to build the world's largest model volcano. The plan: Create a four-story-tall, 150-foot-wide volcano that can erupt and spew simulated magma and ash. Scientists test cutting-edge scientific theories on the model to learn more about one of the most volatile natural forces on the planet. (Don’t try this at home.) The program also follows the team as they brave the dangers of real volcanoes including getting hazardously close to an active lava flow to gather data that could be crucial to other scientist as well as to the success of the model-building project.
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/how-to-build-a-volcano-5146/Overview

Monday, August 8, 2011,
8-9 p.m. E/P
National Geographic
Channel
Science and Geography
Elementary,
Middle and High School

Drain The Ocean

Depicted in this documentary is a world you have never seen before - a world normally hidden under miles of water, the ocean floor. We'll remove the water using CGI animation, revealing a landscape of unimaginable scale with features more dramatic than anything on dry land.
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/drain-the-ocean-3639/Overview

Tuesday, August 9, 2011,
7-8 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science and U.S. History
Elementary,
Middle and High School

Modern Marvels: Edison Tech

From Edison’s famous successes to false starts and failures, this documentary examines the inventing career of the "father of the future." Rare footage and photos from his lab show Edison at work. Learn the fascinating stories behind his incredible inventions - and frequent failures. See how today's engineers are still building on his legacy. He was the father of the future...electric lights, power systems, motion pictures, recorded sound--even the tattoo pen. Life as we know it would be inconceivable without the prodigious output of Thomas Alva Edison. His intense focus on his work came with a hefty personal price, but his reward was a world forever changed by his genius. Years after his death, Edison's effect is seen, heard, and felt everywhere. The program follows the technological descendants of his motion-picture camera to the tops of Earth's highest mountains, to the bottoms of its deepest oceans, and even into outer space. We track his innovations in recorded sound to CDs, iPods, sophisticated movie sound, and satellite radio. And we illuminate his world of electric light, powering the world and turning night into day.
Log on http://www.thomasedison.com

Wednesday, August 10, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
Science Channel
Science
Elementary,
Middle and High School

Wonders of the Universe :The Known and the Unknown

Gravity, the great orchestrator of the cosmos, is relatively weak. As shown in this documentary, its attractive force dictates our orbit around the sun, our relationship with the other planets in the Solar System, and even the shape of our universe. TV-G
Log on http://science.discovery.com/videos/wonders-of-the-universe-known-and-unknown

Thursday, August 11, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
Science and Technology
Elementary,
Middle and High School

Naked Science: Make Me Superhuman

Superhuman capabilities like running faster than a speeding bullet or being more powerful than a locomotive could be available at the push of a button. This documentary explores the latest in wearable mechanical getups, designed to duplicate human movement with enhanced strength and locomotion. See how these futuristic suits are being used for medical, military, industrial and recreational uses. Watch a variety of remarkable demonstrations, including a person carrying 150 pounds up the stairs of a football stadium, another who throws a car off a cliff and a man who runs faster than a world-class runner. We'll also see a paraplegic walk for the first time in 18 years.
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/naked-science/5338/Overview

Friday, August 12, 2011,
8-9 p.m. E/P
CNBC Channel
Science and U.S. History
Middle and High School

60 Minutes on CNBC

This news-feature program takes viewers a step further into several investigative reports, interviews, profiles, and features stories that have made "60 Minutes" required viewing for millions. CNBC presents the latest on these classic stories with updates and never before seen footage of these award winning business news stories. The program is produced for CNBC by CBS News Productions.

Saturday, August 13, 2011,
9-11 p.m. E/P
Planet Green Channel
World History and Geography
Middle and High School

Mekong: Soul of a River : Mothers of Waters/Laos & Thailand/ Source of Life/Burma & China

Here are two episode in a documentary miniseries about the Mekong River in Asia. In the first episode, scientists in Laos have discovered rich habitat for tigers, clouded leopards, fishing cats, civets, and Asiatic black bears. Thailand is taking steps to recover its forests. Together, they are truly wildlife gems. In the second hour a Tibetan monk takes us to the very source of the Mekong, the sacred spring he calls, "water of stone." This is a sacred pilgrimage to the source of life. TV-PG
Log on http://www.mrcmekong.org/about_mekong/about_mekong.htm