Browse Exhibits (21 total)
Virus
8 episodes, 1960, KQED (San Francisco)
From WNET:
"From KQED in San Francisco and the Virus Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley, comes a distinguished series of eight half-hour programs on the nature of the virus. Prepared using a National Science Foundation grant, the series is designed to explain to the viewer some of the basic facts about viruses, those structures so essential to life and health, facts which for the most part have only been discovered in the past twenty-five years. Drawing on advanced scientific techniques such as microcinematography, electron microscopy and freeze drying, as well as on animation, large-scale models and drawings, the programs combine lectures with demonstrations to give the viewer an extremely vivid picture of this complicated topic. Particularly emphasized are facts about the virus' relation to bacterial disease, to polio, and to cancer, and new information about viruses which may not yet be generally known to students of biology or to the non-scientific public."
The nature of life
12 episodes, 1956, KUHT (University of Houston)
From WNET:
"This series was designed to teach a highly technical scientific subject via television. Dr. H. Burr Roney, associate professor of biology at the University of Houston, gives the first portion of his basic biology course, changed only slightly for the television audience. An excellent television performer, Dr. Roney has made an effort to clarify the material through the use of carefully prepared visual aids."
Astronomy for you
13 episodes, 1959, META
From WNET:
"This series of programs is designed for the adult layman who has a curiosity about the skies and the makeup of the universe in which we live. The terms used during the series are fully explained and materials from a number of great observatories and institutions of learning are used for visual illustration. The series begins with the solar system and works outward, stimulating interest in this area and awakening a desire for further study and investigation."
Doctors in space
13 episodes, 1958, KUHT (Houston)
From WNET:
"This timely series explores what is now known about flight into space and resultant medical problems and includes the latest scientific developments in space medicine. Much stock footage from US Air Force films is included, and experts in missile development and space medicine appear on the programs. (Biographical information of the special guests is included in the description of each individual programs.) The basic aim of the series is to inform the public about the advances made in space flight, the problems encountered there, and the medical research going on to enable man to fly in space. In this age of dog-bearing satellites, National Educational Television viewers will be interested to learn of the possibilities of trips by human beings into outer space. Produced by KUHT, Houston in co-operation with the US Armed Forces, “Doctors in Space” has been cleared by the Department of Defense."
Last continent: Antarctica
12 episodes, 1959, KTCA (St. Paul)
From WNET:
"Dr. Laurence M. Gould, president of Carleton College and director of the United States Antarctica Program, explains the purpose of the Antarctica Program and its importance in connection with the International Geophysical year. Dr. Gould cites the basic concept for this series as “The ultimate supremacy of man’s sprit in conquering his environment.” The series is oriented around the various scientific disciplines being examined in Antarctica and the conditions under which these examinations take place. A large amount of film footage shot in Antarctica by IGY photographers and the US Navy and Coast Guard is incorporated in this new series. The series was produced by KTCA-TV, St. Paul."
Challenge
22 episodes, 1962-1964, Ross-McElroy Productions
From WNET:
"Produced in the various laboratories of the Argonne National Laboratories in Chicago, CHALLENGE is designed to convey the excitement of scientific research. It deals in part with the motivations that lead a person toward a career in scientific research. A number of projects, including the possibilities and development of peaceful uses for the atom, are examined. Guests who appear during the series are staff members at the Argonne National Laboratories. CHALLENGE was produced for N.E.T. by Ross-McElroy Productions of Chicago. Producer: David McElroy. Director: Clifford Braun. Writers: David McElroy and John Suchy, CHALLENGE was produced under a grant from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratories."
Dr. Posin's giants
13 episodes, 1961, WTTW (Chicago)
From WNET:
"'If I have seen further than others, it is only because I have stood on the shoulders of giants who have come before me.' This quote from Sir Isaac Newton illustrates Dr Dan Q. Posin’s view of science and its cumulative nature. With the aid of sketches, photographs, blackboard chalk-talks, and a cat named Minerva, Dr. Posin (POZE-in) discusses thirteen masters of science from Archimedes to James Clark Maxwell (who predicted the existence of electric magnetic waves). The informal lecture demonstrations are designed to create a greater awareness and appreciation of some of the great achievements in mathematics, astronomy, and physics. Although Dr. Posin’s approach is frequently humorous, his aim is serious: to contribute to a better understanding of the nature and worth of science with particular emphasis on the modern applications of ancient theories and discoveries."
Nuclear energy: key to tomorrow
12 episodes, 1958-1959, WQED (Pittsburgh)
From WNET:
"The fundamental principles of atomic energy and its potential peacetime applications are discussed during the 12-program series, produced by station WQED, Pittsburgh. Dr. Warren F. Witzig guides discussions with outstanding guests from the area of atom research as they trace the history of nuclear energy from its discovery through today’s applications and speculations about its future uses."
Frontier to space
26 episodes, 1957, New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts
From WNET:
"This series of 26 fifteen minute programs deals with the fundamentals of rocketry and associated problems, attempting to present for the average intelligent layman some of the basic problems of jet propulsion and capabilities and limitations of rockets in the present status of rocket development. Considerable use is made of films of actual rocket tests and preparations, much of this material coming from official files at White Sands Proving Ground. The series was developed for the Center by the Physical Science Laboratory of the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. White Sands Proving Ground (Fort Blass, Texas), the Applied Air Research Center at Sunspot, New Mexico, and Holloman Air Force Base also cooperated in the production. Narrator for the series is Dr. Russell K. Sherburne of New Mexico A&MA. It was produced by Paul Rader and Fred Lawrence."
Heredity
9 programs, 1960, KUHT (Houston)
From WNET:
"The nine half-hour programs which make up this series are designed to teach the layman about the biological facts of inherited characteristics – heredity. The programs, which include chemical demonstrations, diagrams, and film clips, as well as living plants, animals and men and women illustrating various topics, consist of lectures by Dr. H. Burr Roney, who explains such questions as reproduction and heredity, sexuality and variation, the roles of genes and chromosomes, heredity and environment, and some fallacies about heredity."