TED-Ed
Penguins: Popularity, Peril and Poop
Penguins, one of the most beloved bird species in the world, are not only adorable, they are also in grave danger. Five-sixths of the world's penguin species are endangered or nearly endangered, mostly due to human activities such as...
TED-Ed
How to Find the True Face of Leonardo
Illustrator Siegfried Woldhek describes how he analyzed over 700 of Leonardo's works in order to determine an image of the face of the famed Renaissance man. Try flipping the lesson and adding your own assessment and discussion...
TED-Ed
The Art of Choosing
Is having more choices always a good thing? Sheena Iyengar offers a thought-provoking presentation on the American predisposition toward more choices. A presentation with engaging anecdotes and real-world examples: from a simple study on...
TED-Ed
The Power of Introverts
One-third to one-half of the population are introverts, yet they are increasingly subjected to a culture where being social and outgoing are prized. And as author Susan Cain argues in this video, "When it comes to creativity and...
TED-Ed
Why Do Americans Vote on Tuesdays?
Why do Americans vote on Tuesdays? As your class will learn from this video, this specific voting day in United States presidential elections stems from no substantial historical origin. Instead, speaker Jacob Soboroff brings attention...
TED-Ed
Science Can Answer Moral Questions
Can questions of morality, good and evil, right and wrong, and/or what is worth living and dying for...be answered by science? Author Sam Harris presents a strong case for the need for a universal conception of human values. He argues...
TED-Ed
Tales of Passion
What is feminism? Listen as renowned author and activist Isabel Allende champions the cause of passionate individuals, and in particular, women who have gone against the grain and challenged the status quo in order to make the world...
TED-Ed
How Art Gives Shape to Cultural Change
"Can a museum be a catalyst in a community? Can a museum house artists and allow them to be change agents as communities re-think themselves?" Watch as curator Thelma Golden re-imagines the museum as a think tank and explores the...
TED-Ed
On Positive Psychology
What is positive psychology? Martin Seligman briefly reviews the history of psychology as a discipline, from its initial achievements measuring, discovering causes of, and inventing treatment for psychological disease, to a more modern...
TED-Ed
A Rare, Spectacular Total Eclipse of the Sun
According to some ancient Mesopotamians, "The sun was put to shame" during a 14th century total solar eclipse. How can the moon, which is 400 times smaller than the sun, completely cover it? This video demonstrates the answer...
TED-Ed
Your Brain is More Than a Bag of Chemicals
In a 15-minute lecture, a neurobiologist expounds upon the function of the human brain. So many of the pharmaceuticals prescribed for psychiatric disorders have unacceptable side effects. He shares current research that holds hope for...
TED-Ed
Why Can't we See Evidence of Alien Life?
With so indescribably many stars and planets in existence, certainly we aren't alone in the universe! Or are we? Strangely, we haven't discovered any hints of life beyond Earth. The contradiction, known as the Fermi paradox, is...
TED-Ed
How Curiosity Got Us to Mars
Curiosity is the desire to learn or know, and it is also the name of the rover that landed on Mars in 2012. Mohawk-sporting Bobak Ferdowsi, a NASA engineer also discusses how and why we study Mars. He provides facts about the rover and...
TED-Ed
Printing a Human Kidney
Biotechnology has allowed us to engineer transplantable bladders and other organs successfully. The hope is to someday be able to engineer kidneys, and so save many lives. Dr. Anthony Atala, who specializes in regenerative medicine,...
TED-Ed
Social Animal
Similar to the rebirth of knowledge of the Enlightenment and Renaissance periods, David Brooks claims that today, we are developing a revolution in consciousness, exploring the depths of our nature and coming away with a new humanism....
TED-Ed
Self-Assembly: The Power of Organizing the Unorganized
What if buildings could grow, adapt, and repair themselves like a living organism? Using the process of self-assembly, this crazy idea may one day become a reality. The video looks at how unordered parts interact with one another and...
TED-Ed
8 Traits of Successful People
This is the introductory video to motivational speaker Richard St. John's 8 Traits of Successful People lecture series. The presenter offers basic background knowledge as to how he developed his list of traits, including interviewing a...
TED-Ed
The Surprising Science of Happiness
Take a close look at the ways humans work to achieve and increase happiness. Cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff offers a wide range of statistics and findings on the science behind happiness, including cultural dispositions, biological...
TED-Ed
The Lost Art of Democratic Debate
Debates afford our learners the opportunity to become better researchers, critical thinkers, eloquent speakers, and informed participants in our society. If you are planning to host debates in your classroom, try beginning by...
TED-Ed
The Search for Other Earth-like Planets
Olivier Guyon, professor of optical science and astronomy, explains how scientists are searching for other planets that can support life. Viewers learn the odds of finding a habitable planet, how long it would take, and some techniques...
TED-Ed
Sending a Sundial to Mars
You know him from his famous science education videos, but now hear him get personal as he tells the story of how his father, while being a prisoner of war, became fascinated with sundials. Today, he has inherited the fascination, and in...
TED-Ed
A Light Switch for Neurons
Hear Ed Boyden, an MIT neuroscientist, divulge how the brain processes light and how he has succeeded in curing blindness in mice. There is a brighter future for many humans suffering blindness as prosthetic eyes are developed! Inspire...
TED-Ed
Biofuels and Bioprospecting for Beginners
The use of fossil fuels is contributing to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If we can produce fuels using cellulose-based ethanol, we may be able to remove carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Scientists are searching for a...
TED-Ed
Calculating the Odds of Intelligent Alien Life
What are the odds of finding intelligent life somewhere else in the universe? The Drake equation can help us estimate the answer. Advanced astronomers find that perhaps the biggest determining factor is longevity of civilizations. There...