This program includes ten 3- to 4-minute videos on one tape and an online teacher's guide.

1. Was There Life on Mars?
Explore the meaning of sedimentation and how the twin rovers Opportunity and Spirit are equipped to explore the surface of Mars.

2. One Long Road Trip!
The spacecraft that carried the Mars rovers had to travel over 300 million miles, required a three-stage rocket to travel all that way, and some pretty cool science.

3. Where’s My Coral Reef?
Rising global temperatures may spell disaster for coral reefs. Learn about coral bleaching, what causes it, and what it might mean to the world’s coral reefs.

4. 100 Years of Flight
The Wright Brothers’ hard work and technical expertise identified important scientific theories upon which all aerospace science is based.

5. Welcome to Tornado Alley
Spring is tornado season in an area of the United States known as Tornado Alley. Discover exactly how tornadoes develop and why they are nearly impossible to predict.

6. Where Have You Been the Last 17 Years?
The cicada is prompted by environmental cues and genetic programming to trigger a great hatch once every seventeen years.

7. Did That Dinosaur Really Have Feathers?
The discovery of an ancient bird has some paleontologists believing there is a close evolutionary tie between reptiles and birds.

8. What About My Bananas?
An evolutionary dilemma could lead to banana extinction, and scientists are working to produce a better banana resistant to the Black Sigatoka.

9. The Original Mr. Peanut
George Washington Carver helped farmers improve soils and grow more and better crops. But he is most famous for his groundbreaking research with the peanut, including using the legume to make laundry soap, medicines, dyes, and even coffee.

10. Is That a Planet Way Out There?
Scientists think they may have found a new planet beyond Pluto, called Sedna — and while it’s not quite big enough to be called a planet, it is planet-like, orbiting the Sun once every 10,000 years.

Science Desk was produced by WXXI, Rochester, NY ©2004.Teacher's guide created by AIT ©2005.