PBS
The Rise and Fall of the Bone-Crushing Dogs
Fun fact: giant, bear-sized dogs with teeth that crush bones existed in North America. Learn about the three species of dogs and their ultimate fates as cats moved into the area. An informative video describes the rise of all three...
PBS
How a Supervolcano Made the Cenozoic’s Coolest Fossils
Volcanoes cause mass extinctions, climate change, and physical alterations of our planet. They also create great fossil records, time markers in layers of Earth, and an interesting way to study geology. A video describes how one...
PBS
When Birds Had Teeth
Scientists believe confuciusornis developed a beak and lost teeth as a key step in the evolutionary process. Learn more about confuciusornis and other birds, dinosaurs, and animals that evolved into the birds of today. PBS Eons walks...
PBS
When Insects First Flew
Insects developed wings and the ability to fly earlier than any other animal—when exactly did that happen? Scientists know this fact but struggle to explain when insect wings developed and how this entirely new structure appeared. PBS...
PBS
FAQs From Our First Year
After a year of PBS Eons videos, viewers raised some excellent points and questions. The hosts highlight the most common including classification of animals, when a new eon starts, how to pronounce scientific terms, and many other...
PBS
How the T-Rex Lost Its Arms
The Tyrannosaurs Rex grew up to 20 feet tall, yet their front arms were roughly the size of human arms—hardly proportional! Viewers see how the front limbs became smaller over the course of millions of years. PBS Eons goes on to explain...
California Academy of Science
Buses and Biofuels: Sustainable Transportation
One-third of all carbon emissions comes from transportation in the United States. The third lesson in a 13-part series on Exploring Energy offers ideas on how to reduce emissions from cars, airplanes, large trucks, and more.
PBS
Treasures of the Earth | When Did Plate Tectonics Begin?
Scientists know Earth's plates are constantly moving. One big question scientists have is, "When did they start moving?" PBS 6-8 Story of Earth series presents the research of one scientist trying to answer this question. Viewers learn...
PBS
How Horses Took Over North America (Twice)
Should horses be considered native to North America? PBS Eons presents the fossil record to answer this question. the video starts with the evolution of animals that eventually led to the family scientists now know includes horses. Then,...
PBS
The Mystery of the Eocene’s Lethal Lake
One lake in Germany killed everything that swam in it, drank from it, or flew over it providing scientists with an incredible fossil record and a huge mystery. PBS Eons explains the rarity of the fossil finds including turtles in the...
PBS
When Fish First Breathed Air
Many species find breathing a convenient way to survive. The PBS Eons series explains how fish learned to breathe air. It details what scientists know about evolutionary history as well as many species that developed this skill...
PBS
Arthropod Animation: Scorpion Book Gills
Gills extract oxygen from water and send it to the blood stream while removing carbon dioxide and sending it back to the water through these feather-like features. View an animation of scorpion gills, called book gills, by first peeling...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lactose Digestion in Infants
Milk meets every single nutritional need for a baby in the first six months of life. Observe how an infant's small intestine breaks milk lactose down into a usable form of nutrition. With the help of an animation, viewers see the process...
PBS
Sponge Animation: Wild Ride Through a Sponge
Sponges filter many times their body volumes in water every hour with no breaks. Viewers find themselves being swept inside a sponge to observe the filtering process from the inside. They view the canals, the feeding cells, the spicules,...
PBS
Sponge Animation: Spicules
Many people think of sponges as being soft, but that's not the case in the ocean. Viewers learn about the sponge skeleton made of hard crystal material. They observe the many unique shapes and understand how scientists use these shapes...
PBS
Molluscs: Blue-Ringed Octopus Warning Coloration
What animal is only eight inches long and can easily kill an adult human? The blue-ringed octopus changes body color before neutralizing any threat, human or not. Observe the drastic changes to body color in a short video.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Natural Selection of Lactose Tolerance
Different regions of the world have greatly varying rates of lactose tolerance. Learn why this mutation spreads in some populations and not others with an educational video. Viewers consider the relationship with natural selection in...
PBS
Ultimate Animal
How do we define the ultimate animal? Is it brain power, athleticism, population size, longest surviving, or something entirely different? Observe many animals at the top of the evolutionary ladder, or more accurately, ladders with a...
PBS
Bilateral Body Plan
Most animals follow a bilateral body plan. The Shape of Life series presents a short video on why this body plan survived across so many different species. The narrator explains the benefits of symmetry, stereo senses, and more....
PBS
Cristina Diaz, Taxonomist: Sponge Biology
Scientists know of almost 10,000 different species of sponges. Listen to a passionate female scientists describe her work as a taxonomist for sponges. She demonstrates an experiment in the ocean off Indonesia and shares her passion for...
PBS
Mollusc Animation: Shell Repair
It often feels like homes need constant work and repairs. Mollusks might feel the same way since they continually repair their shells. A video presents an explanation of how mollusks can survive even a deep crack. Viewers observe the...
PBS
Mollusc Animation: Abalone
Three simple yet functional body parts define mollusks. The Shape of Life series presents an animation of the body plan of a specific mollusk, the abalone. Viewers see the inner workings of the foot, radula, and mantle. They understand...
PBS
Arthropod Animation: Millipede Breathing Tubes
Millipedes breathe through a series of tubes underneath their bodies. A short animation demonstrates the placement and function of these breathing tubes. Scholars build off this knowledge as they learn more about evolution, adaptation,...
PBS
Annelid Animation: Body Plan
Annelids evolved with powerful muscles to dig deep into the ground. Scholars observe the body segments, muscle pattern, unique gut, and the whole body circulatory and nervous systems. Highly detailed animation provides a view of the...