It is a tantalizing idea: a shriveled mummy that has lain neglected on a dusty museum shelf at Niagara Falls could be the remnants of a long-lost Egyptian pharaoh. While a trail of clues hints at how the looted mummy made its way to North America a century and a half ago, archaeologists go to Emory University to employ the latest imaging and DNA techniques in hopes of confirming the body’s hidden identity. Their results provide compelling evidence that the mummy may indeed be that of Ramesses I, founder of ancient Egypt’s most illustrious dynasty. This amazing story of historical intrigue and forensic science concludes as the mummy takes its rightful place alongside royal relatives in an Egyptian museum, a fitting solution to a 3,000 year-old puzzle.
Grade levels: Senior High (10-12)
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America’s Stone Age Explorers
Who were the first Americans and where did they come from? The conventional view is that they arrived here around 13,500 years ago, but startling new archaeological discoveries suggest it may have been long before that. And experts are testing contentious theories regarding how they got here, including the idea of a dangerous canoe-born voyage from Asia down the west coat of the Americas, or even across the Atlantic from Europe.
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Tsunami – The Wave that Shook the World (DVD)
On December 26, 2004, a series of tidal waves killed hundreds of thousands and devastated communities around the Indian Ocean. With around 100 tsunamis striking the world’s coastlines each decade, NOVA investigates what made the recent event so powerful and catastrophic. In a special report shot within days of this shocking disaster, NOVA’s Tsunami: The Wave That Shook The World presents a clear explanation and analysis of the tragedy, revealing exactly how these deadly waves were triggered by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded this century.
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The Unknown World
They’re hiding in your closet. They’re lurking in your bed. They’re all over you–snacking on your skin, burrowing through your scalp, munching on your mascara. They’re the creepy crawlers of the unknown world, and now–thanks to micro-photographer Lennart Nilsson, who brought us The Miracle of Life–you can (shudder) catch these critters in the act, magnified to monster size.
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The World in the Balance (DVD)
It took all of human history until 1800 for the world’s population to reach its first billion. Now we add a new billion nearly every dozen years. Over the next half century, 98 percent of that growth will take place in our planet’s poorest regions. And as the global total swells to nearly 9 billion by 2050, the social and environmental strains will be enormous. Through vivid personal stories, The Population Paradox reveals many startling trends. In this groundbreaking, worldwide investigation of humanity’s future, NOVA shows how decisions made now will change the fate of everyone over the next fifty years.
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Secrets of Lost Empires Set – 1
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to five archaeological sites where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Stonehenge watches a band of experts move, raise and cap a structure like the mysterious Stonehenge– armed with Stone Age tools. Inca explores magnificent mountainside citadels– and marvels as villagers create a 150-foot suspension bridge using nothing but grass. Obelisk faces the challenge of quarrying, chiseling, hauling and mounting an obelisk— using stones, ropes, logs and dirt. Colosseum tries out two possible designs for the canopy that once covered the Colosseum– one of them borrowed from ancient ships. Pyramid joins the race to erect an 18-foot stone pyramid in three weeks– while testing out some clever construction theories.
Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions. 300 min on 3 DVDs -
Secrets of Lost Empires – Colosseum and Stonehenge
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to an archaeological site where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Watch a band of experts move, raise, and cap a structure like the mysterious Stonehenge– armed with Stone Age tools.
Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions. 120 min on 1 disc -
Secrets of Lost Empires – Inca
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to an archaeological site where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Explore the magnificent mountainside citadels– and marvel as villagers create a 150-foot suspension bridge using nothing but grass. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions.
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Secrets of Lost Empires – Pyramid and Obelisk
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to an archaeological site where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Face the challenge of quarrying, chiseling, hauling, and mounting an obelisk– using stones, ropes, logs, and dirt.
Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions. -
Physics – The Elegant Universe and Beyond
The Elegant Universe
Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
Join host Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University and the best-selling author of The Elegant Universe, for an in-depth exploration of the groundbreaking new string theory that will excite scientists and non-scientists alike. If string theory proves correct, the universe we see obscures a reality that is far richer and more complex than anyone ever imagined–a universe with numerous hidden dimensions, a universe in which the fabric of space can rip and tear, a universe that may be but one of many parallel universes
Einstein’s Big Idea
Everyone’s heard of it, but what does E=mc2 really mean? With brilliant period recreations, discover how an obscure patent clerk, Albert Einstein, came up with his shattering 1905 discovery that the realms of matter and energy are inescapably linked. Starring Aidan McArdle (Ella Enchanted) as Einstein, and Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones’s Diary) as Einstein’s first wife, Mileva Maric.
Einstein Revealed
Journey into the mind of a genius in this penetrating profile of the world’s most renowned physicist, who contributed more than any other to our modern vision of physical reality. Andrew Sachs (Fawlty Towers) stars as Albert Einstein. 412 min on 4 DVD