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TITLE Scientific American Frontiers Teaching Guides for Shows 701-705, October 1996-April 1997. INSTITUTION Connecticut Public Television, Hartford.; Public Broadcasting Service, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1996-00-00 NOTE 81p.; Hosted by Alan Alda. Underwritten by GTE Corporation. Series produced by The Chedd-Anglier Production Company with "Scientific American" magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. AVAILABLE FROM Scientific American Frontiers Program, 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown, PA 18940. Tel: 800-315-5010 (Toll Free); Fax: 215-579-8589; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.pbs.org. PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom - Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Animal Behavior; *Artificial Intelligence; Biomechanics; *Brain Hemisphere Functions; Cognitive Processes; *Educational Television; Elementary Secondary Education; *Robotics; *Science and Society; Science Instruction; Technological Advancement IDENTIFIERS Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Scientific American Frontiers; *South Africa

ABSTRACT These teaching guides are meant to supplement the seventh season (1996-97) of the PBS Series "Scientific American Frontiers". Episode 701 is entitled "Inventing the Future: A Tour of the MIT Media Lab" and the teaching guide contains information and activities on a virtual pet dog, computers of the future, a smart car designed to prevent accidents, wearable computers, and an interactive opera using hyperinstruments. The teaching guide for Episode 702, entitled "Science Safari: A Scientific Expedition through South Africa", includes information and activities on controlling malaria, hominid fossils found in South Africa, a 16th-century royal burial site, wildlife management in South African nature parks, and attempts to save wild plants from extinction. Episode 703 is entitled "Pieces of Mind: Inside the Human Brain" and features information and activities on 'split-brain patients, the emotional aspects of memory, false memory, REM sleep, and language learning. Episode 704 is entitled "Going to Extremes: Testing Nature's Limits" and contains information and activities on funnel web spiders, the physiology of mountain sickness, the biomechanics and physiology of the cheetah and the pronghorn antelope, frogs and fish that survive extremely cold temperatures, and new ocean species discovered by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Episode 705 is entitled "Robots Alive! Robots with Minds of Their Own" and presents information and activities on robots that navigate mazes and clean tennis courts, a van that drives itself, teaching a robot to walk on two legs, the attempt to create artificial intelligence, and the Aerial Robotics Competition.(WRM)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Scientific American Frontiers Teaching Guides for Shows 701-705 October 1996-April 1997

Inventing the Future

Science Safari

Pieces of Mind

Going to Extremes

Robots Alive!

Hosted By Alan Alda

GTE PBS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND Office of Educational Research and improvement DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) O This document has been reproduced as 2 received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document do not necessarily represent 1 official OERI position or policy. 'BEST COPY AVAILABLE Inuoitin thc fu_ur

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WELCOME TO THEFUTURE! I 1 Imagine a computer that would recognize faces of Dear Science I Educator, people and prompt you to remember their names /We aredelighted corresponds to present or a smart car that could sense when you're falling to Inventing you with that kicks this teaching off the the Future, guide, asleep at the wheel. Scientists at the MIT Media I Airing 1996-97 an exciting which on PBS, season television Lab believe all this and more is possible. Host I tionally the season of SCIENTIFIC special on Wednesday, premiere AMERICAN I is scheduled FRONTIERS. Alan Alda and the crew ofSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN research October and wizardry 23, and to broadcast I at MIT's will feature na- FRONTIERStake you there to meet scientists who Over the famous Media technological I have past six Lab. are literally inventing the future. come to years, thousands ideas count of educators Be sure to visit our Web site (http://www.pbs.org/saf/) and try and interactiveon the FRONTIERS across students' classmom teaching America our online activities (see pp.14-15 in this guide).You can also interest activities, guides forinvaluable who are in science. all designed visit us on America Online (keyword: frontiers). You and your enrolled Thisseason, to stimulate teaching in theFRONTIERS guide for School as in the students can enter the Viewer Challenge(p.4) and have a chance I about each of Program past, educators two tothree the fivespecials. willreceive to win one of our terrificFRONTIERST-shirts! As always, the activities weeks before Look for a free The five-part your guide FRONTIERS each show (and all other pages) in this guide may be photocopied for use in old Wewers series airs. alike,showing entertains different courses and grade levels; please feel free to adapt them whileprofiling us interesting and educates the men young for your students. 1Alda,a long-time and women and life-changing and science who make science FRONTIERSis always interested in hearing about your success- series host buff, is it all happen. and will returning Alan including takeus on location for his ful science-related online projects. Send your creative ideas to SouthAfrica fourthseason in November. to excitMg as the address in the box below and we'll include your ideas in GTEand Scientific destinations, FRONTIERS American future teaching guides. for two are involved the home key reasons: and, just it provides with SCIENTIFIC the classroom. as important, intelligent AMERICAN FRONTIERS television FRONTIERS ON VIDEOTAPE FRONTIERS Let us brings for in your take thisopportunity science America's classroom to life Videotapes of past shows are available through the School young and for to thank in students. helping you forusing Program. If you missed a show or want to complete your If you shape have been the livesof you back. with FRONTIERS FRONTIERStape library, call 800-315-5010. Tapes are If you many uses are new over the $19.97 each, including shipping and handling. (Orders for this to theseries, years, it's resource welcome. nice tohave accepted with purchase order, credit card or check.) incerely, in yourclassroom We hope this you'll find 0,44.(je- r and beyond. NEXT TIME ON FRONTIERS 4e-e. Ch Stay tuned November 20, 1996, when arles R.Lee Chairman SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS travels to and CEO John J. GTECorporation Hanley South Africa on a science safari for President and CEO this season's International Special. !Cieli)t/fiC Americ - a

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and is narrated by Descriptive Video Service (DVS) for visually impaired audiences. The series and School Program are endorsed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the National Education Association (NEA).

'T)Ar M5 I E F1E YE 0 Always check TV listings to confirm air date and time. We appreciate and welcome 0 As a teacher, you have off-air taping rights in perpetuity for classroom use. your questions, comments, 0 If you can't find the show in your TV listings, call your local PBS station. compliments and constructive

0 Do you need help? Call the FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. criticism. Please contact us.. . 0 Videotapes of past shows can be purchased ($19.97 each). Call 800-315-5010. BY MAIL: TILE 1911EETAFIln M-1111Ery11115 REIJ TE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, makes available complete off-air taping rights 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120 in perpetuity for classroom use of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS.Educatorsmay record Newtown, PA 18940-3425 I each show when it airs on PBS and keep the tapes to use in the classroom year after BY PHONE: 800-315-5010 year. Educators may also photocopy all materials in this guide for classroom use. BY FAX:215-579-8589 If you know of other educators interested in receiving these guides, they may sign up by Calling the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. BY E-MAIL: [email protected] z 2 WM 0 1ll!Jll Mg 0 [in 1I GM

iraullo THE FUTURE

VIRTUALLY REAL

Meet Silas, the MIT Media Lab's virtual pet dog ... Software agents that could help you navigate cyberspace and the real world Activities: An overview of the show and this guide ... Exercise your brain with thoughtful activities and questions BODY TALK In the future, computers may take the form of animated

characters like Gandolf or even a smart desk ...Alan Alda hosts a cooking show using a smart camera Activities: A design challenge invites students to create their own

intelligent devices ...Graphing pixels

SMART CAR DEPARTIVITS A smart car that could wake up the driver and prevent

accidents is already in the making ...Find out more VIEWER CHALLENGE about the human brain Activity: THE BIGPICTURE Experimenting with artificial intelligence SAFONLINE

PRIVATE EYES COVER PHOTO: @LUCIANO GAGLIARDI/THE STOCK MARKET Computers may turn up in your shoes, your glasses or your jewelry ., Activity: w

Debating the role of computers and technology in society , Intiurr Inb THE FUTURE C.),--- , LAJ today and tomorrow Z z --' -') SHOW 7011o/ao/965la w 0 P11* 011 PIM ix co (I) C.5 BRAIN MUSIC 1------NOTE: More detailed curriculum 4 links are included on the activity 0I re f 1 °0 High-tech hyperinstruments meet opera in a new kind of sheets to individual stories. _Q- i u az .1:: v, >- () interactive performance medium RUNNING 0 ILI Z1 =S kJ STORY TIME C.) Ci 2a O. I- Activities: . Learn about the physics of music by making low-tech ---,.VIRTUARY REAL 13:04 instruments ----z_.-00DY TALK 9:15 .

-.2."---IrlART [AR 11:03 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS iS made possible by an underwriting ,...} grant from GTE Corporation. The series is produced by The Chedd- CEE4 PRIVATE EYES 11:44 Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine and presented to PBS by Connecticut Public Television. BRAM MUSIC 7:04 Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. PBS *CHECK LOCALTIME 5 a ,

SHOW 701 FRONTIERS a4iiENCk DIV fttff Octobcrza.1996 at B pm on PBS Student's Name Teacher's Name & Course

Watch SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERSShow 701, "Onvent5ng the Future,"for answers to questions on this page. Answer the ten questions correctly and you'll be eligible towin aFRONTIERS7-sh5rti

VErtuany Real 6. The part of the brain that Roz Picard says "functions like the 1. What game does Alan Alda play in the smart room? fire alarm in your house" is called the: 0 a. MystEl b. SimCity Li c. Doom 0 d. Qin 0 a. amygdala 0 b. cortex CI c. hippocampus Li d. neocortex 2. How are virtual animals like Silas different from robots, in terms of the computer world? Private Eyes 7. MIT students are experimenting with computers built into all of the following except:

CI a. eyeglasses 111 b. clothing Body Talk Li c. shoes CI d. watches 3. In the future, the character called Gandolf will be able to recognize the content of: 8. What happens when you walk on a shoe computer? 0 a. emotions 0 b. gestures 0 c. faces 0 d. books

4. How does a smart camera system know how to find the right shots? ra5rt Music 9. What is the sensor chair designed to measure?

Smart Car 5.List one thing a smart car might do if it senses the driver 10.The rhythm tree, digital baton and sensor chair are is getting sleepy. examples of: 0 a. notation systems 0 b. new bands CI c. hyperinstruments Li d. musical scores

PorTeachersOnl\ti When completed, this page can become an entry to the Important!! Please include a separate cover sheet and tell us: FRONFIERST-shirt contest; 20 winners (10 students, 10 number of challenges submitted teachers) will be drawn at random for each show. To teacher's name enter the T-shirt drawing, send all completed challenges in grade and course one envelope with a cover sheet to: Viewer Challenge, school name, address and phone number SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS,105 Terry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown, where your students watched the show at home, at school or both PA 18940-3425. Mail completed entries by November 22, 1996. the name of your students' favorite story in this show

TIP: You can also download these questions on theFRONTIERSonline sites on the (conduct a quick poll to find out) Web and AOL (see pp. 14-15). Thank you!

ANSWERS TO VIEWER CHALLENGE 701:1. c2. animals juggle multiple goals, whilerobots focus on one thing at a time3. b 4. follows descriptions of actions in the script 5. turn on air-conditioner, sound warning, spray peppermint6. a7.d8.as you walk, yougenerate power; power builds up with each step9. body's electric current or electric field10. c

6 SHOW 701 FRONTIERS VIEUlahlyrRE MEE The Evolution of Thinking Machines

hat we think of as the computer started out as a bank of wired your eyeglasses or clothes. They may also be quite different in brain machines that filled a 30-by-50-foot room and weighed 30 power and applications from what we use today. You will probably talk tons. Today, a handheld calculator has more computing power to your future computer and it may even remind you of appointments than the first true electronic brain of the 1940s. As you see on and assignments or the names and faces of people you meet. this episode of FRONTIERS, the trend toward miniaturization continues. Computers in the future may be carried in your shoe or worn as part of Angat UfigMag The earliest computing device in the world (after fingers andJoeti:s-14elie.vAd:to-r.,have,been- 17th CentuRy a primitive abaculTinventia'aboutr5;600 ygr-8.0-6. LPw1w In 1642, the French philosopher Blaise Pascal invented a mechanical adding machine at the o age of 19 to help his father, a tax collector. c;) Pascal's calculator is considered a forerunner 1 -1

of the digital computer. ,r3 rz, J:;"., cr., [

Tri In the 1830s, British mathematician 0 Ia-11---1- TA Charles Babbage designed mechanical calculating EDy fiR40E machines (Difference Engine and Analytical Engine) British mathematician Alan Turing put his theories about that used punched cards to solve math problems. computers into practice during World War II, when he helped American statistician Herman Hollerith invented a build the Colossus to crack enemy codes. In 1944, U.S. machine that used perforated cards to tabulate data scientists built the Mark I, an automatic digital computer. for the 1890 U.S. Census. By today's standards, these two machines would seem slow,

1:1'3kiievq,131.k. but they could do math calculations faster than a person. .1- -7!

1.71 116 'NAL 1940s and 1950s Wartime research launched the Information Age in 1946, with the first electronic computer built to compute artillery The third generation of computers put thousands trajectories. The 30-ton Electronic Numerical Integrator and of transistors on a board, called the integrated Computer or ENIAC, powered by 18,000 vacuum tubes, circuit. In the 1960s, the Cold War generated could do in a day what it took one person a year to calculate. research into a communications network that The invention of the transistor in 1947 made smaller and could operate in the event of nuclear attack more reliable computers possible. In 1952, UNIVAC became the foundations for today's Internet. Putting all the first computer to accurately predict the results of a U.S. the components on chips of silicon in the fourth presidential election. generation enabled computers and electronic devices to become smaller, faster, cheaper and more efficient. 6 98s end993 f>Continued miniaturization made the microprocessor and personal computer possible; computers continued to shrink in size but grow in brain power. In 1982, the word "Internet" appeared for the first time. Internet usage has grown exponentially in the 1990s as millions of people rush onto the Information Superhighway. Office and home computing networks link people around the globe, while scientists tinker with the next generation of computers. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS TIRE SHOW 701 o behind the scenes at the MIT Media Lab and preview tomorrow as you meet some of the country's visionary computer pioneers. MIT professors Alex oiri (Sandy) Pentland and Pattie Maes and graduate student Bruce Blumberg demonstrate 11E vnE their projects, which range from smart rooms to software agents that help users navigate cyberspace. You'll also meet the lab's virtual pet dog and find out how computers of the future might look and behave.

VIRTUALLY REAL C:11 VE FAIEII

[111.1NRIORIG The MIT Media Lab is a unique facility where be used to explore various technologies and dis- TOME: scientists and students play with technology. The cuss and debate the role computers play in our 13:24 lab explores such concepts as virtual reality, lives. CURROCULIUM artificial intelligence, communications and other LINKS: computer applications, from education to enter- Activities on these two pages re- COMPUTER tainment. Computer wizard Nicholas Negroponte is SCIENCE the founder and director of the lab, which com- quire very few materials just artificial the creativity of the most power- intelligence, memorated its tenth anniversary in October 1995. programming Research is supported by federal contracts and ful thinking machine on Earth, your brain. LITERATURE many corporations. science fiction Scientists and engineers at the lab are among You may wish to use these activities as part of an integrated PSYCHOLOGY the visionary leaders of the digital revolution. Their learning projects are the subject of this special show, from approach to technology. We hope an intelligent agent posing as a virtual dog to smart you will share the materials and TECHNOLOGY inventions cars, smart rooms and a smart desk that acts like tell others on your team or in a good office assistant. your school about FRONTIERS. "In- This guide features a variety of activities to venting the Future" provides ter- accompany this futuristic show. Some activities rific opportunities for discussion. apply to computer technology, but many can also

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How close are we now to being continually reach- Emartcr able? What devices allow us to stay in touch or to do cslA our work anywhere we happen to be? How do com- panies gather information about us? (E-mail, cel- Work with a lular phones, pay-per-view, grocery store scanning partner or cards and credit cards are just some of the ways.) group to de- ASK Now, imagine a world completely connected by sign a "smart" electronics for instant information exchange, a school desk. SOUITISTS world where you are always reachable. Imagine How would it that the accessibility is accomplished by even recognize you? smaller computer chips than we have available What would it today and that a chip becomes your identification. be able to do? How could your classroomor Doctors implant the chip in your wrist when you school building also become smart? What parts Sandy Pentland and are born and it carries all your personal data. of traditional school would become obsolete? Pattie Maes, seen Describe a day in this world. How would the How would the desk change your study and learn- in this segment, answer your chip change our money system, our identification ing habits? Include an agent or helper like Silas questions online. system, our health care system, our buying power, (the virtual dog seen on FRONTIERS). What would See pp. 14-15 our reachability? What would the advantages and the agent do? for information. disadvantages be? See page 8 for more design challenges.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production COmpany in association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. 1996, GTE Corporation. Tccmifiag EME A R buspacc SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN List ten devices developed since 1900 Observe and keep track of all the ways FRONTIERS that have changed how we communi- you use computers or computer technolo- MOW 701 cate and transmit information. gy in a single day. Don't forget the microwave Select a focus: information, oven that pops your popcorn, OVIE music, images, mixed or the card you use at [If TT Rf media, print materials, school for ID, message delivery, etc. or the bank Make a timeline of your devices card you and highlight how each inno- or your vation improved on the last. parents use at You may include the per- the cash machine, sonal computer, the or the greeting card videophone, satellites, that plays music! Make a list and compare it with VIRTUARY REM television, CDs, etc. lists made by your classmates. Who can create the Use the timeline on page longest list? Identify how many items on your list 5 as a starting point. use semiconductors.

MUD a HuraDEtwoirk RESOUHES

Your loan has been denied not by a person or r>.- Scientific American: a business, but by a computer. How is that possible? "SmartCards," August 1996; One of the more successful applications for artificial intelligence (AI) determines what sort of a "The Culture Machine: Science and Art on the credit risk you are by using a series of if/then/else Web," August 1996; rules based on specific reasoning provided by a "Smart Rooms," April 1996; business expert or by a neural network. In a neu- "Intelligent Agents" and other articles in the ral network, a computer has access to many case special issue Key Technologies for the 21st T11 TiLr1ul studies and, using reasoning similar to statistical Century, September 1995. ol analysis, "learns" to make decisions. Your brain uses rules to make decisions and is itself a neu- c=-- Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte (Vintage Books, 1995). ral network, with many more connections than a Why would you want computer. r=- Silicon Snake Oil by Clifford Stoll (Anchor a computer to perform As part of a group, make a list of eight popu- Books, 1995). a quick and simple lar CDs, then write a set of rules to determine task like making coffee whether a particular CD should have a prime I>- The Turing Option by Harry Harrison and Marvin or reading the news- position in a national retail music store. When Minsky (Warner Books, 1992). paper out loud to you? you have finished, exchange your rules and Who would benefit from these technologi- CD list with another group. Compare rules cal developments? to make a decision about which three Why would you want CDs should be on the featured display. a smart room or a See page 10 for another Would you trade wearable computer? activity that uses rules a Hoe pet t> Is the technology in artificial intelligence. age leading to the no- fOr a virhlalE one? privacy age? c- Agents might help you remember people's names or help you get around town. Can you think of other useful applications? r=-- Besides security or a warning system that could alert parents to what their children are doing, can you think of other ways a smart room might be used?

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CRILDRINURIG J ECTI \la TOME: Build Your Apply principles and concepts from the research pro- 9:15 jects at the MIT Media Lab to alternative designs. Drum rlathint

© (LEPER [ICU LLD Rfil In this episode of FRONTIERS, you see a preview of LOINIVAS: Use any of the concepts how scientists at the MIT Media Lab are invent- COMPUTER seen on FRONTIERS, SCIENCE ing the future. Projects like smart rooms, wear- from wearable artificial able computers, intelligent agents and the Brain intelligence computers to Opera may contain the seeds of future innovations autonomous MATH that will force us to make a paradigm shift in the agents, to graphing, vectors way we think about computers today. create your Using some of the concepts explored in "Invent- own personal assistant in TECHNOLOGY design, ing the Future," here's a chance to design your own the form of a machine or inventions vision of tomorrow. Brainstorm a computer appli- appliance or.. ..(use cation or an invention that will make life safer, your imagination!). easier, healthier or simply more fun. Include a drawing of your invention and a brief description. lnutnt a You may want to work with a partner or in small groups. You can use some of the suggested appli- Smart Car cations below, or come up with your own ideas. Think about the car you'd like to be driving in Here are some questions to focus your creative the next century. If you could select or invent any thinking on: features for this vehicle, what would they be? L=.- What is the purpose of your invention? Describe the interior and exterior.

c>.- In what ways would it help people?

>- How would you market it? Early in the next milknnium DB* a Smart bust your right and kft cuff links or Earrings may communicate A smart house might be made up of many smart with Each other by low-orbiting sat- ASK Tilt rooms. The smart rooms at MIT use cameras, SOffITISTS microphones and other sensors; the rooms in ellites and haue MOH computer power your house need not be limited to this hardware. than your present PC. Your telephone won't ring indiscriminately: it will Mak( a Thing That Thinks rEffillf, sort and perhaps respond to

Justine Cassell, In this project, scientists want to move away from your incoming calls like a well-trained seen in this designing the computer as a passive box on your segment, English butler. desk by adding intelligence to objects or appli- answers your from Being Digital questions online. ances. Choose an everyday object and make it by Nicholas Negroponte See pp. 14-15 "smarter." How will it interact with the user? How for information. will it be helpful?

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the to School Program. call 800-315.5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use.* 1996, GTE Corporation. CEO SCIENTIFIC MTIVITY E:VShatusIn a11 s.S iiUZE maOng Oa ES AMERICAN FRONTIERS Usea magnifying glass 1A1.1.1 31-10W 701 to examine images on V magnifying glass 30 Ar- a television or compu- chalkboard WYE ter screen. You'll no- o/ chalk / -lh] tice that these graph- pencil 25 // ics are composed of V graph paper individual dots or pix- _ els. (You can get a similar effect by looking at 20 images in a magazine.) In order to render these images, microprocessors must approximate them as collections of dots or lines positioned on a 15 grid. It's not as smooth as a photograph, but it's o\ BODY TALK clear enough to tell a visual story. \ Images on a computer screen are produced by one of two modes a vector (lines) or raster-type 10 display (dots). In a vector display, an electron / / beam creates a straight line between two points, / / making a line drawing. In the raster, or television- 5 type display, the electron beam aims for pixels near lines traced by a horizontal scanner to form the 41/ picture. Raster graphics have become the accepted mode of operation. 5 10 15 4.0Et_IECTIVE 4. Give just your table of coordinates to your part- Studentswill play drawing games to learn about ner. Have him/her plot the points on a fresh piece how computers generate images that are recogniz- of graph paper and try to identify the object. able to humans. What you have just done modeled the traditional ras- DV'IROCEIDU E ter, or television-type, display used by computer monitors. The dots represent computer pixels. A typi- A. DRAWING WITH DOTS GAME cal 15-inch color computer monitor renders images Divide into teams. One in red, green and blue signals over a resolution of 640 student from team A . x 480 pixels; each dot is only a quarter of a millime- goes to the board with ter in size. That means a single image can have more an image in mind. She ...* than a quarter-million dots! Imagine all the ones and draws the image with zeros representing these dots in the binary language ... V1313°11IMitl dots, using one dot at a ; ...... of the processor. o 7HT- time. She makes a dot . every five or ten seconds. UES-riENJ s t=-- See f you can find The first person on team B : 1. How does this suggest to you that computers: to guess what she is drawing out more about raster- a. view and interpret images? type and vector-type wins. Try adding new rules to see images. Based on how they affect the game. Limit b. produce graphics on paper and on screen? what you know, which 2. How does the Drawing with Dots game change the category to a narrow topic, .. system would work such as animals, letters, when you limit it to specific categories? better for a computer playing card suits, etc. 3. How does using fixed coordinate points (as used that has to resize in the Graphing Game) affect your ability to rec- graphics by scaling B. GRAPHING GAME .:.. ognize an image? them up or down by a 1. Divide into pairs. On a piece of graph paper certain percentage? 4. Considering your answers, what kinds of chal- with a fine grid, label coordinate axes and draw lenges and limitations do computer engineers and D.- Find examples of an object near the origin. Don't reveal it to your recent movies or TV programmers face in designing their products? partner. commercials that use 5. Why do you think it might be harder for a computer 2. Plot points on the coordinate intersections that morphing or other to recognize faces than to read text? special effects. If you fall closest to the object. No points can be behave morphing soft- tween lines; you are "forcing" the dots to spe- ACTIVITIES ON PAGES 9 AND 11 WERE DEVELOPED BY MARC ware, try some experi- cific coordinate points. ROSNER, SCIENCE TEACHER AT PORT CHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL, PORT CHESTER, N.Y. ROSNER IS ALSO A SCIENCE ments. 3. Make a table of X,Y coordinates. EDUCATION CONSULTANT AND WRITER.

SUE CAR ACTIVITY: kiREMssagEs

FILIRINIONG One of the intriguing areas being explored in the %soEiJ N/E 11-114t#11(E: field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Artificial Life. 11:23 This field grapples with such questions as: How Students will model cellular automata using simple does a computer learn? Do machines evolve? And rules and make connections to biological and math- CURROCULUM ematical systems. LOINIKS: even, why do birds flock? Scientists working with Artificial Life have BIOLOGY F2 0 L.1 E cellular devised a model they call "cellular automata" to differentiation understand living systems. This model states that Select eight students tostand in a circle with their COMPUTER behavior is based on a set of rules. Simply put, backs to the outside. Students represent "cells" of SCIENCE each cell determines its behavior based on what information and will have two positions, standing or artificial intelligence neighboring cells do. sitting. Each student will look at his/her neighbor on MATH Cellular automata is derived from automata the right to determine what to do next based on these computers, theory, conceptualized in the 1950s as an abstract two rules: logic branch of mathematics to deal with automatic If the person to your right is up, sit down. TECHNOLOGY machines. Linguists computer simulations and computer scien- If the person to your right is down, stand up. tists became inter- Sound simple? Give it a try. For a library of ested in the theory resources about Artificial Life, to explore the idea visit the FRONTIERS of thinking comput- Start the circle in this configuration: Web site at: http://www. ers. Mathematician DDDDDUDD pbs.org/saf/ John von Neumann described cellular automata as mathematical "cells" like squares on a Each student looks to the right and makes a decision chessboard that change their state according about what to do when the leader yells "go." All eight to simple rules. cells (students) make the change at the same time. Experiments in this field help us synchronize The second configuration should be: traffic patterns and understand behavioral patterns UUUUDUUU in humans and animals. Cellular automata re- Does every cell change? (No) search has simulated biological processes and The third configuration should look like this: behaviors, including swarming and flocking behaviors and cellular differentiation. DDDUDDDD ASK Ilif The following activity uses a series of simple Continue the process until the patternbeginsto mathematical rules to demonstrate the concept of repeat. STOTISTS cellular automata. It uses eight students or cells because eight bits usually make up a byte in computer programs; a single character is usually made TEACHER'S NOTE: The pattern will up of one byte. begin to repeat after the eighth configuration. Try In the following activity, read over the rules be- UUUUUUUU, UUDDUUDD or other combina- Sandy Pentland and fore starting. At the beginning, go slowly. While it tions. The resulting oscillating pattern is called a Rosalind Picard, may seem complicated at first, it will become "blinker." seen in this segment, answer your easier as students learn the rules. Designate a questions online. leader to shout "go" before each change. You may See pp. 14-15 want to rehearse the game with a group of eight THESE ACTIVITIES AND SEVERAL OTHERS IN THIS GUIDE WERE for information. DEVELOPED BY KELLY WEDDING, BIOLOGY TEACHER AT ROUND students and present it as a class demonstration. ROCK HIGH SCHOOL NEAR AUSTIN, TEXAS.

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RIUNIMONG As technology evolves, machines are becoming machines similar to the human brain/body? How TOME: more "intelligent" and the boundaries between are they different? What is intelligence? When is 11:44 humans and machines are becoming less distinct. something alive? You may wish to do some addi-

CLIRRoctua.0WI On this episode of FRONTIERS, you see examples of tional research to support your position. LINKS: very smart computers and It is not necessary for you COMPUTER some intelligent applica- to personally believe the opin- SCIENCE tions, like smart rooms and ion you are defending. As an artificial WE cannot think kalis- intelligence autonomous agents. exercise in debate, the point The development of in- tinily any more of the here is to take a position and CURRENT creasingly advanced tech- articulate it as logically as ISSUES human sp«ks without ma- TECHNOLOGY nology in computers and you can. Afterwards, you can inventions robotics has sparked seri- Chincs. Human nature is now discuss your real feelings on ous debate among scientists absolutely and indissolubly the matter and analyze the RELATED regarding the possible ex- strengths of the argument FRONTIERS connected to the machines we ACTIIVOTY: istence of artificial intelli- posed by each team. SHOW #403 gence. Scientists divide into create. TEACHING GUIDE two basic factions. One Bruce Mazlish, For more ideas, "The Electronic MIT history professor, see the Brain" (p. 10) group believes such development is possible in the as quoted in Fortune resources listed relatively near future; the on page 7. other disagrees, arguing that computers and machines will never achieve Computers have been programmed to the equivalent of human intelligence. succeed at human games like chess, How smartaresmart rooms? Can a computer checkers and Scrabble. In 1996, the IBM really be "smart" at all? Consider the possible an- computer Deep Blue beat world chess swers to this question and debate the positions champ Garry Kasparov in several games, scientists held about artificial intelligence. but Kasparov prevailed to win, despite the computer's advantage of 32 microproces- EiJ ECTI \/E sors that could calculate 200 million Investigateissues about computer technology by chess positions per second. Although debating or role-playing various approaches. Kasparov concedes it is inevitable ASK Tlit that a machine will beat a human IR CDC E LJ E in chess, for now the human SOUITISH Divide into two groups, each with the task of defend- brain proved it could outwit ing one of the following positions: the machine strategically. A rematch has [>- Humans can, or will at some point, build machines been scheduled that are intelligent, thinking and conscious. for 1997. Thad Starner, r=-- Machines can never truly have intelligence, seen in this thought and consciousness. segment, answers your questions online. See pp. 14-15 Before jumping into your roles, spend some time for information. reasoning out your argument. How are computers/

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ERLIININSONG As you see on FRON- 1_1ES-1-IONS TORRE: TIERS, the Brain Opera 7 5 identical glass 7:04 1. How does the pitch of the bottle relate to the level uses high-tech hyper- beverage bottles of water when the bottle is struck by a spoon? CUIRROCLIJ LLD Nil instruments to create V water 2.How does the pitch relate to the level of water musical compositions. ,metal spoon COMPUTER But low-tech instru- when air is blown across the top of the bottle? SCIENCE artificial ments like the glass 3.Compare and contrast the two sound-making tech- intelligence harmonica can also be used to make music. The niques. What material vibrates to produce the note MATH sounds produced with these homemade instru- when the bottle is struck? What material vibrates ratios ments can be used to find out more about sound when air is blown across the top? MUSIC and pitch. The Bottled Sounds extension is a sim- 4. Would changing the size of the spoon affect the composition plified version of Ben Franklin's glass harmonica, pitch? How? and theory an instrument using a series of graduated glasses 5. Does the height of the strike affect the pitch? PHYSICAL or glass bowls that produce different tones when SCIENCE/PHYSICS the edges are rubbed with a wet finger. Explain. acoustics, pitch, sound waves AIN SW ERS: 1. more water, lower pitch 2. more wa- PSYCHOLOGY I3J N/ ter, higher pitch 3. the water within the bottle; the air within brain the bottle 4. No. It would change the amount of energy added In these activities (pp. 12-13), students will opera- to the system. Although the pitch would remain the same, TECHNOLOGY tionally define the relationship between the length the loudness would vary with the size of the striking mallet. inventions of a vibrating air column and the pitch of the sound 5. No. It doesn't matter where the strike occurs. The energy of impact is transferred through the glass to the liquid. produced.

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1. Work with a partner. Fill one bottle to the top with Fill a glass halfway with water. Wet your finger by dip- water. Fill the second bottle 3/4 full, the third ping it into the water. Slowly circle the moist finger bottle 1/2 full and the fourth 1/4 full. Leave the around the rim of the glass. Keep moving your finger fifth bottle empty. at a steady rate. Make sure your finger remains moist. When the friction between the moving finger and the 2.Gently strike the side of each bottle with a metal glass rim is correct, theglass ASK Tiff spoon. Observe the pitch of each note. will begin to "sing." SOMISTS 3.Adjust the amount of water in each bottle to make notes in a recognizable musical phrase.

3 Try building a complete KIM Tod Machover, Vi'WEriNIWW1- octave by assembling seen in this a set of glasses with segment, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU answers your different amounts of questions online. water. Try doing the See pp. 14-15 4. Now blow across the top of each bottle. Observe experiment with differ- for information. the pitch of each bottle's note. ent kinds ofglasses.

7-7 c=-- Work with the entire class to produce a "musical E I V I ) IR 0 0 E LJ IRa story" or opera of pipes with your instruments. The story should include unison notes, harmo- 1. Work with a partner. Each of you will construct four nious note combinations and discordant note of the eight straw instruments. combinations. 2. Measure the length of one straw. Record the length as the low "C" note in the chart below (the top box represents the low "C"). Use the ratios shown above to determine W411 TMEgTME:H1133 the length of straw needed STRAW PITCHLENGTH Jo to produce each of the eight The curved shape within the tube represents the small- notes. Record values in the cm est standing wave that can form in a straw pipe. table at the right. Do you remember _CM the last time you filled 3. Mark the lengths on the a jug or bottle with eight straws so that you and water? If so, did the your partner will have a com- sound produced by the plete set of eight notes. Trim This longer straw segment has a longer standing wave. water rising in the jar each straw with scissors to The longer waveform produces a sound that is detected get lower or higher in as lower in pitch. the exact length. You may A cm pitch? Think about it. want to write the name of Then, from what you've learned, explain the note on each straw that ACTIVITIES ON THESE PAGES CONTRIBUTED BY MASSACHU- SETTS SCIENCE WRITER MICHAEL DISPEZIO, AUTHOR OF CRITI- your observation. you cut. CAL THINKING PUZZLES (STERLING, 1996).

SCIENTIRC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the ml School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. © 1996, GTE Corporation. 15 TIE widenBUUL9- a Madra-,Eb 'MUT FRomuumms OnnneV After you watch "Inventing the Future" you can learn more about the intriguing research atM ITfrom the scientists you see on the show. We invite you to send your questions to the six scientists featured on this page. They will be available to answer viewers' questions from October 23 to November 8, 1996, via FRONTIERS on the World Wide Web athttp://www.ptos.org/saff/. O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RT'LLIZ:\ ILLV R L PROW:TIE EVES Professor Alex (Sandy) Pentland If you can imagine a computer that acts (left), academic head of the Media Lab- almost like an auxiliary brain and can oratory, combines reality with virtual be worn as easily as a pair of eyeglasses, reality. One example is Silas, an intelli- you'll be intrigued by the work of Thad gent virtual dog that responds to its Starner and his Wearable Computing environment. Project. This self-styled cyborg is ready 11111=e--1.----Also in this Imilmank--to answer your questions about "wear- segment, ProfessorPattieMats ing" a computer and the capabilities of these amazing devices. (right) explains how software agents, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 like the Firefly project she developed, can help match people with their interests BRAORI MUSOC and with others who share those inter- The Brain Opera allows an audience ests. Send in your questions to find out to generate hypermusic on hyperin- more about these fascinating projects. .1 struments, and then incorporates the O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 sounds into a live performance. The creator of the Brain Opera, Tod C3019V 'TALK Machover, will tell you more about r Are computers as we know them disap- this collaborative event. Machover is pearing? This segment shows how com- scheduled to be in France and Germany during this question- puters are "coming out of the box" to and-answer session, so he'll also field questions about his see and hear more like people and to latest projects in Europe. respond to our gestures. The next generation of computers may look completely different and take on a more [IONGIE° X0M active role in our world. If you'd like to discover more, Profes- 8gng3D3 UNN sor Justine Cassell will answer your questions about Gandolf c>.- Watch "Inventing the Future" and review this classroom guide and the computers of the future. to prepare your question(s) and decide which scientists(s) you'd like O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 to contact. E=.- Visit SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS on the World Wide Web at SMIZ:\RU CAR http://www.pbs.org/saf/. Click on the "Ask the Scientists" icon on Could "smart" cars interpret drivers' actions and warn them of the welcome screen to find the e-mail form for sending your impending danger? You'll find out when Sandy Pentland (pic- question(s). Scientists will answer as many questions as possible, tured above in Virtually Real) invites Alan Alda to take his driving and their answers will be posted for all FRONTIERS viewers to read. simulator for a test ride. Also in this seg Note that the Media Laboratory offers several Web sites where ment, Associate Professor of Media you can learn more about the projects featured on "Inventing the Technology Rosalind Picard (right) Future." You may want to visit the sites listed on the next page be- shows how she's trying to give comput- fore preparing your questions. ers the human-like ability to recognize Remember to e-mail your questions by November 8, 1996. emotional cues and use them in interac- "Onventing the Future"airs on PE* on tions. Find out more about the amazing Wednesday, October 23, 19% at 8 pm*. new capabilities of computers by send- * Check your TV listings to confirm local air time and date. ing your questions to these scientists. (Th 91min-RW

This season FRONTIERS continues to bring you and 7 your students an array of exciting online activities II li:DuNtm and resources, both on .;1 America Online and the Check out these sites provid- World Wide Web. Below is ktywoul: http://www. ed by the MIT Media Labora- a sampling of FRONTIERS frontim pbs.Org/saf/ tory and visit the FRONTIERS cyberspace features Web site for additional re- c ) ( ) sources related to "Inventing planned for this season. AmerOca 0::DmS On0One On0One the Future." LOParary off CDMOne http://www.media.mitedu Res0113 MOS and Visit MIT's Media Lab and explore its Re Dated Sates advanced research into a broad range Explore these online sites of technologies including digital TV, for further learning. computer music and vision, electronic publishing, artificial intelligence IE-Ma00FORONMERS ([email protected]) and education-related technologies.

Send us feedback...ask http://www-white.media.mit. for help. We're listening! edu/vismod/demos/smartroom/ Sendd a Message to Investigate how smart rooms act like Again A0da invisible butlers. Their cameras, microphones and other sensors receive Write a note to the host and use information to interpret what of FRONTIERS. people are doing and try to help them. Ask the ScOentösts http://www.sciam.com/WEl:/ Send questions to scientists 0496issue/0496pentland.html featured on "Inventing the Learn more about smart rooms from Future." this Scientific American magazine ScOence Scavenger G-fl ax rot article. Sandy Pentland explains how Answer correctly for a chance computer systems that identify people to win a FRONTIERS T-shirt! and interpret their actions are bringing researchers closer to building help- Onstant 0:Do00 ful homes and work environments. Share your opinion about http://www-white.medfia.mit. topics on FRONTIERS. edu/vismod/demos/smartdesk/ Vote ffor 'Your FavorOte Discover how a cyberdesk can create Segment a personal work environment that re- Tell us what story you like sponds to you to increase your com- best on each show. fort and productivity. TeachOng Gmides c- http://wearables.www.media. mitedu/projects/wearabges/ Download resources for using FRONTIERS in your classroom. Learn how the Wearable Computing Project hopes to shatter myths about 1-ranscolpts how a computer should be used. Access the complete text fol- http://brainop.media.mit.edu each FRONTIERS ShOW. Find out more about the Brain Opera, V0ewer Chanenge an interactive musical journey into QuestOons your mind created by Tod Machover.

Use this quiz to test At press time, the online features and sites listed here students' viewing skills. were current. Due to the rapidly changing online world, some may have changed or may no longer be available.

17 15 4Mil ,ONTIERS SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS airs monthly on PBS October and November 1996 and January, February and April 1997 Each hour-long special includes a variety of fascinating science stories based on a single theme.

PIES Of MR I11 VE11TI116 THE fUTURE [Show 7031 [Show 7011 Wednesday, January 22, 1997 8 pm Wednesday, October 23, 1996 8 pm Spend the night in a sleep laboratory Leap forward into the future when and find out more about how your FRONTIERSvisits the MIT Media Lab to brain works to create memories, test out smart cars, smart rooms and dreams and language. wearable computers. Scientists here are redefining the computer as we know it, from a box that sits on your 601116 TO EXTREHES desk to an intelligent personal infor- [Show 7041 mation appliance that might be with Wednesday, February 19, 1997 8 pm you at all times. Join scientists as they track the fastest animal on earth and investigate survival SEEM SAfARI mechanisms of animals in desert and arctic environments. [Show 10] SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS takes viewers on International Special ROBOTS AIIVE! a futuristic tour of the MIT Media Lab in its Wednesday, November 20, 1996 8 pm AMA Dhow 7001 1996-97 season premiere. Host Alan Alda Travel on a science safari to South Wednesday, April 9, 1997 8 pm Africa and meet some of the world's sings, composes melodies on hyperinstruments in the Brain Meet some autonomous robots with largest animals; then trek to sites Opera, plays with a virtual dog, tries out a shoe computer and minds of their own. Host Alan Alda once inhabited by early humans. catches up with Flaky, the most capa- test drives a smart car. Remember, teachers may videotape Find out how technology is helping ble robot that exists today. combat malaria. the show to use year after year. GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, grants educators free off-air taping rights in perpetuity for classroom use. AN fit SOIRITISTS! Pattie Maes and other scientists seen on Inventing the Future answer your questions online. See pp. 14-15. PBS Underwritten by GTE Corporation ellE4

SCIENTIFIC Connecticut Public Television NON PROFIT ( U.S. POSTAGE M1ERICAN P.O. Box 260240 FRONTIERS PAID Hartford, CT 06126-0240 Permit No. 51 - Bristol, PA

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SCIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA Scientific American FOR EDUCATORS JoinFRONTIERSfor a special science safari to You'll find fascinating articles in each G211112.11116MOnOZUMCCIACM12.33=1.1,23 TIUMKNS South Africa, the location for this season's month's issue of Scientific American SCI ENTI FIC E.RICAN International Special. As South Africa emerges magazine, with multiple tie-ins to from the shadows of apartheid, find out what your curriculum and to episodes of scientists are doing to solve some ancient FRONTIERS.For example, "The Global problems (malaria) and modern dilemmas Positioning System" and "The Loves of (balancing life in a wildlife park). the Plants" in the February 1996 issue Be sure to visit our Web site (http://www.pbs.org/saf/) and link to stories in South Africa, as does try our online activities (see pp. 14- 15 in this guide). You can also "Rock Art in Southern Africa" in the visit us on America Online (keyword: frontiers). You and your November 1996 issue. students can enter the Viewer Challenge(p.4) and have a Educators and students can take chance to win one of our terrificFRONTIERST-shirts! advantage of special educational rates $24.97 for 12 monthly issues. To order, write to: Scientific GTE GIFT GRANTS American, Dept. SAF, 415 Madison Ave., New York, NY 1001.7. You There's still time to apply for a GTE can also access the magazine directly on the World Wide Web Growth Initiatives for Teachers (GIFT) (http://www.sciam.com/) and on America Online (keyword: grant. Each year, GTE Corporation Sciam). awards grants of $12,000 to 60 teams of one math and one science teacher AERIAL ROBOTICS FOR HIGH SCHOOL from the same school. Teachers of In1997, the Associationfor Unmanned Vehicle Systems International grades 6-12 from selected states may (AUVSI) will sponsor a high school version of the collegiate Interna- apply for these grants, which are desig- tional Aerial Robotics Competition seen last season onFRONTIERS nated for school-enrichment projects (Flying High, Show #603, "RoboFlyers"). If your school is interested and professional development. Partici- in learning more or participating in this event, please visit the aerial pating states include: AL, AR, AZ, CA, robotics competition Web page for the contest rules and an applica- 41 CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, tion (http://avdil.gtri.gatech.edu/AUVS/IARCLaunchPoint.html). MO, NC, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI and Applications are due on December 1, 1996. WV. Winning educators have used their grants to fund exciting projects, from weather stations to aquafarms, robotics labs and NEXT TIME ONFRONTIERS much more. It's a great way to develop original projects that con- Tune in January 22, 1997, when SCIENTIFIC nect math, science and technology. AMERICAN FRONTIERS explores the workings of For an application, call 800-315-5010. Applications must be the human brain on Pieces of Mind. (See postmarked by January 17, 1997. back cover for season schedule.)

/ .iir0 TIE 6 11119 DE 6 I-EAR IFRO YOU 0 Always check TV listings to confirm air date and time. We appreciate and welcome your questions, comments, 0 As a teacher, you have off-air taping rights in perpetuity for classroom use. compliments and constructive

0 If you can't find the show in your TV listings, call your local PBS station. criticism. Please contact us . .. -0 Do you need help? Call the FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. BY MAIL: 0 Videotapes of past shows can be purchased ($19.97 each). Call 800-315-5010. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120 MUD IOICEPY0 DUOTO Newtown, PA 18940-3425 -GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, makes available complete off-air taping rights BY PHONE:800-315-5010 in perpetuity for classroom use Of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS. Educators may record BY FAX:215-579-8589 each show when it airs on PBS and keep the tapes to use in the classroom year after BY E-MAIL: [email protected] year. Educators may also photocopy all materials in this guide for classroom use. If you know of other educators interested in receiving these guides, they may sign up by VDEITIE OMDItE: calling the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS SCh001 Program at 800-315-5010. http://www.pbs.org/saf/ z "71, C-7

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FIGHTING MALARIA -rT-7-7.- = --z- - Find out what South Africa is doing to control malaria and how the insects are fighting back. Activities: Ykr Learn more about the life cycle of mosquitoes . .. Explore Ij surface tension and ways of combating malaria

THE FIRST PEOPLE +)o Archaeologists discover hominid fossils at a site in South Africa and locate rock art painted thousands of years ago. Activities: NI)

Making inferences about fossil finds... Interpreting ancient art CITY OF GOLD The burial site of a 16th-century king and queen is found DEPARTIUM at a site called Thulamela, which means "place of giving birth"... Meet oneof the present-day kings of the Venda. 4VIEWER CHALLENGE Activities: To dig or not to dig: current issues in the field ... Some THE BIG PICTURE background and perspective SAF ONLINE WAYS OF THE WILD Scientists at parks within KwaZulu-Natal deal with Note: This Table of Contents does not reflect the actual order of the complex issues of balancing life in an enclosed ecosystem. show's stories. The At-A-Glance box below reflects the actual order.

Activity: IJ Li ' r u, Role-playing issues involved in wildlife management SCIERE SAFARI w . c.) _ W Z Z SHOW 70E11/ao/9s ow w 1 MR. CELE'S GARDEN I--r------j o Fn. on PBS

I NOTE: More detailed curriculum 5 LTJ Many of the plants traditional African healers depend on f ------7--3 links are included on the activity . for their medicines have been brought to the edge of fisheetsto individual stories. El ii (p. extinction the solution could be very non-traditional. 1::3--TrTh RUNNING = ct ILI Ll I LU Activity: STORY TIME W W 0I Q. 1 --- EITYOf 0010 9:00 Challenges of germinating mustard seeds ,---.) I ---'-WAYS OF THE WIln 14:00 r 9:00 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting --,r.r311R.(ElE'S ,, OARDfn grant from GTE Corporation. The series is produced by The Chedd- fIGHTInO MAIARIA 10:00 Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine and presented to PBS by Connecticut Public Television. ---'--= TOE FIRST PEOPIE 11:00 L-7--- , Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. ) PBS iS *CHECK LOCAL TIME VIJEEE LalillEEEE BE1:1771Be FloucrnbcrU. 1996 atpm on PBS Student's Name e Teacher's Name & Course

WatchSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS ''SCienceSafari- (Show 702) for answers to questions on this page. Answer the ten questions correctly and you'll lbe eligible to win aFRONTIERST-shirtl

City of Gold 6. Which one of the following plants ahnost became extinct in 1. Archaeologists found all of the following at Thulamela South Africa? except: El a. wild ginger El b. pepperbark tree CI a. iron CI b. diamondsEl c. copperEl d. gold CI c. peppermint El d. ginseng

2. In what way do the Venda people tell a story or express a part Fighting Malaria of their history? 7. Malaria is primarily being brought to South Africa by people coming from what country?

CI a. Ghana CI b. Tanzania CI c. Mozambique 111 d. Kenya Ways orT the Wild 3. The process of natural selection in Mkuze Park is influenced 8. What are two methods South Africa is using to control malaria? by all of the following except:

CI a. droughtEl b. fire El c. geneticsLI d. poachers

4. What species of African wildlife was saved from extinction by good wildlife management? The First People 9.Fossils found at the Saldanha site are representative of what kind of hominids? Mr. Cale's Garden 0 a. modern humans El b. Cro-Magnons 5. Why have some medicinal plants been driven to near- CI c. archaic humans El d. Neanderthals extinction in South Africa? 10. Much of the rock art in South Africa was painted with what pigment?

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When completed, this page can become an entry to the Important!! Please include a separate cover sheet and tell us: FRONTIERS T-shirt contest; 20 winners (10 students, 10 number of challenges submitted teachers) will be drawn at random for each show. To teacher's name enter the T-shirt drawing, send all completed challenges in grade and course one envelope with a cover sheet to: Viewer Challenge, school name, address and phone number SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS, 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown, where your students watched the show at home, at school or both PA 18940-3425. Mail completed entries by December 20, 1996. the name of your students' favorite story in this show TIP: You can also download these questions on the FRONTIERS online sites on the (conduct a quick poll to find out) Web and AOL (see pp. 14-15). Thank you!

ANSWERS TO VIEWER CHALLENGE 702:1. b2. songs, dance3. d4. white rhino5. growing population increased the demand 6. b7. c8. spraying walls inside houses, visits by health workers, mass screenings9. c10. ochre E5 METRE SOUTH AFM[ICA AU A 8:=AR1©IE

South Africa is a vast and diverse land that has made significant contributions to history and science, from the origin of humans, to gold and diamond exploration, to the first human heart transplant and more, as you'll see on this episode of FRONTIERS.

V POPULATION: 45,095,459 people, or V ETHNIC GROUPS: Blacks: 74%, whites: V GOVERNMENT: Federal republic (since about 1/5 the population of the U.S. 14%, mixed race: 9%, Asian: 3%. the repeal of apartheid in 1994, the na- V AREA: 472,281 sq. mi. (slightly larger V LAND: Less than 12% is arable; most tion has undergone historic change). than Texas, New Mexico and Oklaho- is semi-desert. Topography varies and V PRIMARY INDUSTRIES: Gold (South ma put together). includes mountains, deserts, farm- Africa is the world's largest producer), V CURRENCY: Rand (exchange rate lands, savannah and coastal areas. diamonds, other minerals; tourism. 1.00 = $ .28 U.S.). V CLIMATE: Average summer tempera- V TRAVEL TO: A journey of 8,000 miles V LANGUAGES: There are 11 official ture: low 68°, high 89°; average win- from New York to Johannesburg takes languages: English, Afrikaans, Nde- ter temperature: low 34°, high 62°. 14.25 hours by air. bele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Average annual rainfall: 18 inches. Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa V TIME ZONE: 7 hours ahead of East- and Zulu. ern Standard Time.

ZIMBABWE / c;IVS,s, azzihculamela...T THIS MAP HOGOILIGHTS THE LOCATIONS OF THE VARIOUS Vendazfoorjunrilm4, SITES WE VISIT ON FRONTIERS. / .,..:- S ) BiOUE

BOTSWANA

KA ARI ESRT )Pretoria NAMIBIA ,Johannesburg

UZE RK HLU LUWE- OLOZI PARK o Township of Umlalazi AF urban

Saidanha STELLENBOSCH RIVER----

Saldanha Bay - KLASIES RIVER "NI University of Cape Town Stellenbosch

ATLANTIC INDIAN OCEAN Cape of Good Hope OCEAN SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN AR FRONTIERS StIOW 70B ach year, more than 400 million people in the world become infected with malaria transmitted from Anopheles mosquitoes. Over two million people, mostly Una L_tin Africa, die. Although South Africa has been vigilant about malaria control, this disease BAlfARII continues to kill. FRONTIERS takes viewers through the laborious task of trying to control malaria, made even more challenging by mosquitoes that have developed a resistance to insecticides. One new technique involves the high-tech Global Positioning System (GPS).

fI6DTI[10 IlAlARIA IlEnatling Husk]WtoEs

RUNNING Mosquitoes are an amazingly prolific relative to a feeding consistency, the mosquito TOME: of flies and gnats that need nothing plunges in a straw-like digestive tube 10:00 more than a sip of blood and a bit and begins to feed on the blood. Most of brackish (stagnant) water to people are allergic to the mosquito's CURRICULUM LINKS: set up a nursery teeming with saliva, which causes the familiar squirming larvae (wrigglers). itching and swelling. BIOLOGY insects, migration Discarded tires, bird baths, Male mosquitoes feed off plant clogged gutters and even sap, as do females, but only adult COMPUTER SCIENCE cupped leaves serve as a females are blood-suckers; a databases haven for baby mosqui- meal of blood is essential to GENERAL SCIENCE toes after a spring or producing a healthy brood of PALP eggs. Depending on the spe- invertebrates summer rain. SKIN LEVEL cies, eggs are laid singly or in HEALTH Roughly 2,700 species of mosquitoes are classified STYLETS VICE MEAD "rafts" on standing or stag- disease, micro- OF A FEMALE organisms, parasites into 35 groups; each group is ARIOPMELF2 nant water containing organic MATH called a genus. Mosquitoes in three MOSQUITO material on which the larvae graphing main genera attack people. IN ME ACT OF FEEDING will feed. Air trapped under SOCIAL STUDIES A minor player in the food chain, the eggs keeps them afloat. mosquitoes serve no useful purpose except as food for bats and birds. They range in length from 6.4 mm to 12.7 mm almost half an inch ACTIVITY 1:flloatling. IfSElft long. No wonder bumper stickers from Minnesota to Louisiana proclaim the insect their "state bird." Surface tension allows the surface of water to be- As you see in this episode ofFRONTIERS,malaria have like "skin." Insects like mosquitoes are able is often fatal. The female Anopheles mosquito to walk on it. In some species, the larva's breath- transmits the parasites that cause malaria into the ing tube has water-repellent hairs that break bloodstream. The parasite infects and destroys through the surface tension. red blood cells. Only 76 new cases of locally You can investigate surface tension to better http://tutuw.pbs.orysaff acquired malaria in the U.S. were reported to understand how the egg rafts stay afloat and how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mosquitoes are able to stand on the water's sur- ASK ffit (CDC) from 1957 through 1994; but outside the face. Carefully float a sewing needle on the surface U.S. malaria is still a killer especially in Af- of a clean container of water and look at it with a SOUITISTS rica, where 90% of cases occur. magnifying glass. What do you see? Try floating The mouth of a mosquito contains a full comple- other objects on the surface. How does shape ment of serious tools. The proboscis, or lower lip, affect the object's ability to successfully rest on the is a thin sheath hiding half a dozen razor-sharp surface? Using aluminum foil, create a "raft" with implements. The mosquito does not really "bite" air trapped under a convex floor. Use paper clips, Slpho Ngxongo, its victim, but stabs it with needle-like stylets at the staples or pennies to see how much weight the raft seen in center of its proboscis. this segment, can hold before it sinks. answers your After the mosquito pierces the skin of its victim, questions online. it injects a mixture of saliva and anticoagulant into See pp. 14-15 the opening. (The malaria parasite is transmitted for information. at this stage.) When the victim's blood has thinned

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the 3 2 2 School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. C 1.996, GTE Corporation. SCIENTIFIC AUIVITI E:REM-WCA `bzaccUons AMERICAN FRONTIERS As more landfills refuse to accept scrap tires, ille- 8110W 703 gal tire dumps have proliferated across the U.S. and HatConnection resulted in major sites of mosquito breeding. In Mosquitoes develop into adults and leave the wa- EOM 1992, authorities located a pile of tires only seven ter about seven days after the female lays her eggs. miles from Walt Disney World in Florida, where Depending on the species, a female can lay be- g\f/A billions of mosquitoes had taken up residence. tween 100 and 400 eggs in one brood and produce Many were infected with the deadly Eastern equine a new brood every two to three days (or about encephalitis. 3,000 eggs in a lifetime). Most eggs are lost to In late summer of 1996, residents of the North- predators who find them an easy snack. east became concerned when mosquitoes infected Assuming that one adult female produces a new with Eastern equine encephalitis were captured and brood every three days, but only 10% of the eggs identified. Officials ordered the spraying of pesti- survive to become adults, how many offspring 1I6 HTI[10 MALARIA cides to prevent a possible epidemic. might one female mosquito produce in one week (providing the female remains alive that long)? Mut a Mk (MtljCampaign Now assume that half of the offspring are female; As the head of public relations for your city, you are how many mosquitoes could be born in the next asked to design a campaign to persuade residents generation? Why are controls in the early spring the most important? to dispose of tires properly and to identify mosquito breeding grounds. You realize the urgency of the job because a neighboring state has identified a Runge Connection potentially fatal virus transmitted by mosquitoes. In his poem The Mosquito, D.H. Lawrence Work in teams to plan your strategies. Some describes the sound of the mosquito as "a small, questions to consider: high, hateful bugle in my ear." He calls the - How can you make people awareof the potential creature a "ghoul on a wing." Look up the dangers of mosquitoes without causing panic? poem and the West African folk tale, "Why Do D.- Pesticides, vaccines and biological controls (spray- Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears?" (it can be ing spores of a bacterium to kill the larvae) have found in the children's book of the same title by TM been used effectively. What methods would you Verna Aardema). Then write your own poem or recommend to control the mosquitoes? story about this unpopular insect. Don't forget IL1,1,1UL D.- What are you going to do with the tires and how illustrations! will you get citizens to cooperate? c=-- What other diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes? Map the areas in the world u=uII ©VOLE where malaria, dengue and other mosquito- OF 'ME CUILIEK borne diseases are still a problem. Identify HOZQUITO which species carries the disease. Find out what mosquito control methods are used in your community. What is the cost to maintain this ADULT program? If mosquitoes are a "minor player in the WATER LEVEL food chain," why not just eradicate them as a species? Explain your answer. Explain and demonstrate why running water in a stream or pond would be a poor choice for where to lay mosquito eggs.

THE FIRST PEOPLE ACTIVITY 1::alliaflatMJUIES TEMDims !'!r4 FIUNNONG Much of our knowledge L]L\LL. 2. Work with a partner. Identify the radius. It is one TOME: about early humans is V meter stick of the two bones found in the forearm and extends 11:00 based on inferences. from the base of the wrist to just beneath the Inferences are "best elbow hinge. Use a meter stick to measure the CUROROCULUM LONKS: guesses" that connect an observation with an es- length of your partner's radius. Record this length tablished fact or association. in the table below. AFRICAN HISTORY Behavioral and anatomical features of early hu- & CULTURE 3. Use the formulas to calculate height based on mans are often inferred from partial skeletons or ARCHAEOLOGY/ radius length. Record your calculated height in the PALEONTOLOGY scattered bone fragments. Rarely is an entire skel- table below. ART eton ever discovered by a paleontologist. Some- BIOLOGY times a single bone can be used to uncover a 4. Now identify the humerus in the upper arm. This evolution, natural selection, person's or animal's complex biological and social bone extends from the shoulder socket to just population genetics characteristics. above the elbow hinge. Use a meter stick to mea- GENERAL SCIENCE In the following activity, you'll infer a person's sure the length of your partner's humerus. Record fossils, height from the length of one bone. By applying a this length in the table below. geological simple calculation to the observed length, you'll time scale, 5. Use the formulas to calculate height based on prehistoric man develop a "best guess" for body height. humerus length. Record your calculated height in MATH the table below. ratios IB_J ECFIVE SOCIAL STUDIES Evaluate mathematical relationships. 6. Use the meter stick to measure your partner's actual height. Record the measured height. 11V0F2 CD a CP F2 a 1. The formulas below illustrate the relationships between bone lengths and a person's height.

MALES (HEIGHT IN INCHES)

Height = (length of radius x 3.3) + 34 RADIUS http://www.pbs.org/saf/ Height = (length of humerus x 2.9) + 27.8

AN Mt FEMALES (HEIGHT IN INCHES) Height = (length of radius x 3.3) + 32 SOffITISTS Height = (length of humerus x 2.8) + 28.1 HUMERUS

Hilary Deacon, BONE LENGTH CALCULATED HEIGHTMEASURED HEIGHT seen in this segment, answers your RADIUS questions online. 41 See pp. 14-15 for information. HUMERUS

ACTIVITY 0: JKJEitualls THE FIRST PEOPLE

What are the rituals in , IR C) C I.J IR E your daily life? Do your V non-toxic finger 1. Identify three ritual activities you share with mem- evening rituals depend paints bers of your family. Identify three different rituals on the lineup of sky ob- V paper you share with friends. jectsor the lineup of 2. Obtain a set of non-toxic finger paints from your nightly television shows? What can someone learn instructor. Fingerpaint each of the rituals identi- about you and your society by studying rituals? fied above. Use straight lines and the fewest

INV strokes possible to simulate schematic images or %NOI3J aCTIVE the "stick figures" typical of some ancient art. Identify andcommunicate present-day rituals through 3.Display your illustrations. Have other students in- ancient art techniques. terpret your rituals.

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In Activity 1, why do the formulas contain different calculations for determining male and female heights? (Skeletons of males and females have different proportions.) Do you think archae- This rock painting, found in the Drakensberg Mountains, shows a rain ceremony painted in red ochre. An animal ologists of the future is being captured by rainmakers or shamans. For more about the South African rock art, see "Rock Art in South- might interpret the graf- ern Africa" in the November 1996 issue of Scientific American magazine. fiti of today similarly to the way we interpret ancient rock paintings or petroglyphs? ACTIVITY 3: EltElfIfEtiMg an AncilEntFading r:=-- Much rock art in Paleolithic times in Suppose you are the sci- various areas of the entist who discovered the world was painted in cave painting to the right. red or yellow ochre. Critically analyze the im- What is this pigment age. Then write a short and why was it used by so many different caption that describes the cultures? complete event.

,G7 (ITT Of 601D MTIVITY: 0F Hot to haUng thlz ES

010.11NNONG In centuries past, a victorious conquering army fre- IBJ aCTIN/ TOME: quently claimed antiquities and artifacts as prizes Applycritical thinking to current issues. Present ar- 9:00 of war and hauled them back to their own coun- guments in an organized, coherent fashion. try. Sometimes the artifacts were restored to their CLIRROCLIBAJM LINKS: native land many years later. Similarly, fossil finds ROC a 11J IR a were often taken from the site where they were AFRICAN HISTORY & CULTURE found and no records were kept of the finds, thus Below are several scenarios that raise pertinent is- ARCHAEOLOGY depriving future scientists of important historical sues for discussion. Discuss, debate or role-play the situation. Or, write a position paper defending your BIOLOGY information. Artifacts and fossilized bones might evolution, even be sold on the black market. Such activities perspective. Some roles to play might include: musculoskeletal system are now considered highly unprofessional and are the archaeologist or paleontologist who made the usually illegal. discovery, GENERAL SCIENCE geological time scale In recent times, archaeologists, paleontologists r>.- a representative from a scientific association, and other scientists on digs or at excavations have SOCIAL STUDIES been much more sensitive to both science and the D.- a person with commercial interests, such as a TECHNOLOGY rights of native peoples. As you see on FRONTIERS, developer or antique dealer, tools a committee of local people is overseeing the ex- r- a museum official, cavation of a site that may tell them more about RELATIED r>.- a descendant of the native people who lived on FRONTIERS their own culture and ancestors at Thulamela. the site in earlier times, ACTOVOTY: Not everyone is convinced of the need to respect 1==.- a person who owns the property on which the ar- the rights of property. In fact, these issues raise CREATURES tifacts are found. OF THE DEEP questions for discussion among scientists and oth- (SHOW 604) TEACHING GUIDE ers concerned. Just who owns an artifact or a fos- "Investigate a sil found buried in the earth? And what is the best AllMacts _ndcr a OUSE Midden" (p. 11) way to remain sensitive to the past yet mindful of the need to share information? In the process of razing a house and surrounding Sometimes historic preservation takes an ex- buildings for a new development, builders find treme point of view, and old buildings are main- some artifacts buried beneath the hearth of what http://ulimpbs.org/saf/ tained simply because they are old. Other times was once a kitchen. Local archaeologists deter- there is a rush to develop and build on land where mine that the artifacts pieces of bone, coins, artifacts are found. buttons may have belonged to former slaves. ASK Tiff In such situations, who decides what is right? Developers are impatient and want to proceed And under the circumstances, what is the right with the new development, but a local museum SOUITISTS course of action? What wouldyou do, for example, wants to continue to look for other items. What if artifacts were found on your property? should happen?

Sidney Miller, seen in this segment, answers your questions online. 'See pp. 14-15 for information.

reicrg_t Backk aro]

V-7 A woman digging in woods near her house finds E S I 0 NJ pottery shards and other bits and pieces prob- A controversy is raging right now over who owns some ably from what was once a kitchen midden where bones found in Washington State. Samples indicate (ITT Of OM people dumped their trash. She takes all the finds that the skeleton might be more than 9,000 years old. into her house to clean them, then sells them at flea Leaders of the Umatilla Indian tribe claim the remains markets. When members of a local archaeology as- belong to them because they are those of an ances- sociation find out, they are horrified and demand tor. They plan to rebury the bones without allowing she stop digging in public woods. They claim the further analysis. Anthropologists say the bones might artifacts should be retrieved for study or placement be Caucasian and want more opportunity to study in a museum. Who owns the artifacts? Should they them. Who owns the remains and what should hap- be given to a museum? pen to them? ITMNIVIM -I. 0-11 Ulimegiine (mg FossNO IFErrude End PaElsolllithric Eft GZ.. CD. r=z- Local residents who may be descendants Dutch found Cape Town of Thulamela's people are participating in the c. V00 Great Zimbabwe is major trading center excavation of the Thulamela site. They Walled city of Thulamela flourishes have requested that 1g50 to 1700 the site be recon- structed as it was in Bantu people move into southern Africa; the 16th century, c. 600 Africa's Iron Age begins when the walled city thrived. Not all archae- c. 5000 Farming introduced into northern Africa ologists favor this approach. Why do you think there might be c. 10,000 Last Ice Age ends disagreement? Cave paintings created at Lescaux (France), r=- Do you think rock (.17,000 Altamira (Spain) and other sites in Europe art indicates that Earliest surviving examples of rock art created "modern humans" g6,000 by Bushmen (San people) occupied a site? How Last European Ice Age begins; Earliest much credence should c. 75,000 Australian rock art created be given to the sym- Evidence of early humans at Klasies River in bolism and modern (.100,000 to 1g0,000 interpretations of work South Africa created thousands of years ago? c. 1g0,000 Modern Horno sapiens emerge What would your Archaic Homo sapiens live at Saldanha artifacts say about c. 300,000 your culture? For more on the subject, read c. g00,000 to 500,000 Archaic Homo sapiens emerge Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay. A leading theory today holds that modern Homo sapiens emerged in what is now Africa 150,000 to 100,000 This book imagines what future archaeolo- years ago and then spread to the rest of the world. Paleontologists and archaeologists continue to find pieces gists might interpret of the puzzle of human origins. New technologies and dating procedures push back the years and revise theo- about our civilization. ries. Dating of fossil finds and artifacts is not precise and can provide only estimates.

WAYS Of THE WILD AUIVITY:NifidifiZ :11EHERgE

0:1111NRIONG Read the following hypothetical scenario and pre- Your job is to write a speech she can deliver to TOME: pare your response. various audiences. 14:00 The mayoral candidate first wants you to evalu- %TOEiJECTINIE ate the different audiences she will face in her CURROCULUM upcoming campaign. To each group, she must Apply critical thinking skills to a decision-making present as much of the above scenario as possible. BIOLOGY scenario and strategically communicate information. biomes, vertebrates Your first assignment is to critically analyze the list THE SCENARIO: of audiences and prepare three to four points the GENERAL SCIENCE candidate can make in support of the new conser- ecology People in your town have voted to replace an old vation park, with the particular audiences in mind. the free Municipal Zoo with a new con- LANGUAGE ARTS zoo Another part of your job is to assist with rais- servation park that is considered by educators and current issues, ing funds for the new park; you have been prom- debate, speech animal rights activists to be more "humane to ised a bonus if your candidate gets into office and LIFE SCIENCE animals." Not everyone agrees with the decision, another bonus if you are successful in raising mammals and many people have argued in favor of keeping money. How will you make your pitch to these the old zoo, if only to preserve fond memories. SCIENCE, audiences? TECHNOLOGY Nevertheless, the citizens passed legislation to / & SOCIETY SOCIAL STUDIES build new structures and replace old ones. The POTENTIAL AUDIENCES: \ conservation park will be built on a tract of land TECHNOLOGY a.unemployed factory workers monitors, tagging that is currently the site of closed but re-toolable devices factories. The entire project will cost taxpayers b.local tourism committee about $25 million and take five years to complete. c.conservationists Upon completion, the park will offer a pro- d.animal rights activists \ tected and natural habitat for animals currently housed in the Municipal Zoo. The park will also e.low-income families maintain breeding populations of several endan- f.science teachers gered species. g.investors in local manufacturing \ Owners of the new park would like to save money by reducing the staff, if that is possible. h.workers currently employed at the' Municip'al Zoo) http://tututu.pbs.org/saf/ Funds needed for this project will be "trimmed" from a variety of ongoing social projects in the a NJ S I 0 NI S / ASK Ilif town and raised from a bond issue in the upcoming election. Additional money will be obtained by Design an advertisement that could be published SOUITISTS introducing an admission price of $5 per person. in the local newspaper that would encourage sup- The developers of the new park hope to raise much port for this project. Alternatively, design a home of the money to keep the costs down, and also page for the park's new Web site. provide educational classes and other opportuni- Suppose you were allowed to redesign this zoo ties for local students. project. Describe the five most important parts of Pete Goodman, yournew zoo's philosophy. Which things about the seen in YOUR ASSIGNMENT: current proposal would you keep? Which things this segment, answers your Imagine that you are employed as a speech writer would you get rid of? How? Present your design questions online. for a mayoral candidate. The candidate informs and policy statements and any pertinent research See pp. 14-15 you that she wishes to gain support for establish- and interviews in a display (use a presentation for information. ing the new park as part of her platform. board if you wish).

I1R. CUE'S GAHM ACTIVITY: 11 thE 11616s

RUHRIONG As botanists and gar- 81 TOME: deners know, many fac- mustard seeds 9:00 (located in the tors play a role in plant 2. .. .in a closed box about two inches from a 60- spice section of CURROCULUM growth. A supply of watt bulb that is left on during the day (or in a water and appropriate grocery stores) LIMAS: paper towels warm spot in the room). Measure and record the BIOLOGY temperatures trigger an V 4 petri dishes air temperature in the box after the bulb has been botany, taxonomy internalmechanism 4 small zipper-type on for 15 minutes. plastic bags that causes a plant to 3.... in an ice chest that contains a small amount of EARTH SCIENCE V small magnifying ecosystems begin to put down roots. glass ice. Measure and record the air temperature inside The roots seek nutrients the chest after it has been closed for 15 minutes. GENERAL SCIENCE and the plant pushes 60-watt bulb classification, power source 4. ... in a box to be placed in a refrigerator. Measure plants toward the light with a V thermometer and record the air temperature inside the re- stem and tiny energy- V boxes HEALTH frigerator. alternative grabbing seed leaves. V ice chest medicines, herbs V ice III. OBSERVATIONS AND MEASUREMENTS (40) LIFE SCIENCE I3J ECMIN/E V source of refriger- ation On a daily basis for the next three to four days: disease, medicine, Investigate factors affect- plants V water 1. CAREFULLY open the packages and record the num- ing seed germination and ber of seeds that have germinated (split the seed graph the results. RELATED coat) and sketch what you observe. Use the mag- FRONTIERS UNM nifying glass to provide details. Graph the results. ACTOVOTY: ' C) cELDLJ IR a 2. Measure and record the temperatures of the dif- DRAGON SCIENCE I. GERMINATION RATE (SHOW #602) ferent environments so you can compute an aver- TEACHING GUIDE Work with a partner or in small groups. age daily temperature for each environment. "How Much Do You Know About 1. Cut four layers of paper towel to fit in each petri 3.At the end of the experiment record your observa- Medicine?" (p. 11) dish. tions for theentire experiment and address the 2.Select 200 mustardseeds and divide them into following questions: groups of exactly 50 each. Use an index card to t=-- What percentage of seeds germinated in each col- WOW Ulapbs.org/saf/ help separate and count seeds. lection? 3.Foreach dish, place two circles of paper towel in Based on your results, what is the optimum envi- the bottom and spread 50 seeds evenly on top. ASK Tiff ronment for germination? Place two more paper towel circles on top of the SOMISTS seeds. E NJrI 0 NJ S 4. Label the plastic bags 1, 2, 3, 4 and add your How are botanists seen on FRoNTIERs bringing back 01011111 group name. nearly extinct plant species? -mar 5. Carefully saturate, but don't drench, the paper c=-- Mustard plants belong to the family of crucifers. towels with water. Place each dish in a labeled Find out what other plants belong to this family. Richard Symmonds, plasticbagand seal. c=.- Some crucifers are being used in cancer research. seen in Can you find examples of other herbs and plants this segment, II. PLACE EACH OF THE FOUR PACKAGES answers your IN A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT. . being used as medicine? questions online. 1. . ..in a closed box on the counter or desktop in - Look up http://fastplants.cals.wisc.edu/ on the See pp. 14-15 for information. the classroom. Measure and record the air tem- Web and locate where species of Brassicas grow perature inside the box. in the world. Plot the sites on a map.

LifEk® SCranCO SEgael FMON7111ERSOn9NneV, After you watch Science Safari you can learn more about science in South Africa from the scientists you see on the show. We invite you to send your questions to the scientists Urs' idk ICECZ featured on this page. They will be available to answer your questions from,November 20 to December 6, 1996, via FRONTIERS on the WorldWide Web at httlp://www. O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ODUV 801.19 FOGHVIIM8 MALnROA An extraordinaiy find at an excavation near Although South African health authorities the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe once considered malaria intensively con- helps piece together South Africa's pre-co- trolled, it has emerged again as the biggest lonial history. Archaeologist Sidney Miller threat to human health in the developing has discovered the burial site of a 16th-cen- world. Sipho Ngxongo, a regional direc- tury king and queen of the Venda, former tor for the Department of Health, directs rulers of an ancient people whose culture h. efforts to combat malaria in the province of we glimpse through the evocative dances performed by modern- KwaZulu-Natal. Find out more about the strategies to combat ma- day Venda in this story. If you'd like to know more, send your laria by sending your questions to Mr. Ngxongo. questions about this discovery to Sidney Miller. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 'THE FORSU PEOPLE WAY'S OF ME WILD Extraordinary archaeological discoveries The animals of South Africa evolved to mi- are helping piece together the evolution of grate over large areas in search of food and human life in sub-Saharan Africa. Explore water. Today, the expanding human popula- the past asFRONTIERS viSitsHilary Deacon, tion means that wide open spaces no longer professor of archaeology at the University exist. The management of South Africa's of Stellenbosch. Deacon, an expert on Af- wildlife is a challenge for ecologists like rican archaeology and the emergence of Pete Goodman of the Natal Parks Board. modern humans,will answer your questions about these intrigu- What is the future for rhinoceros, elephants and other animals ing topics. in South Africa? Pete Goodman will provide the latest information about this crucial question. MEMff9,&t3 DOCDW 1TO O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 83LIJIJ3LLFM 3,g0EGilifO'Lfg3mE

MR. ©ELIE'S GARIDEM Watch Science Safari and review this classroom Indigenous plants provide important mate- guide to prepare your question(s) and decide which rials for South Africa's traditional healers, scientist(s) you'd like to contact. who have routinely gathered plants in the Visit SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERSonthe World wild. Now that many plant species, like the Wide Web at http://www.pbs.org/saff Click on the pepperbark tree, are becoming scarce, "Ask the Scientists" icon on the welcome screen to Richard Symmonds, a horticulturalist send your question(s). Scientists will answer as many with the Silver Glen Nursery, works with questions as possible, and their answers will be traditional healers to encourage the cultivation and preservation posted for all FRONTIERS viewers to read. of wild species. Learn more about these conservation measures [>- Remember to e-mail your questions by December by sending your questions to Richard Symmonds. 6, 1996.

Please note that Khotso Mokhele, Ph.D., president of South "Science Safari" airs on PBS on Wednesday, Africa's Foundation for Research Development (FRD), is also November 20, 1996, at 8 pm*. available to answer your questions. You can read more about * Check your TV listings to confirm local air time and date. Mokhele on the opposite page.

30 keyword: http://www. frontkrs GEHIT pbs.org/saf/ (America Online PBS Online

111 IMIsca'Cc TCY2SCD IcheLle 1W8 F hilth ARE Lookingfor more about sci- While on "Science Safari" in South Africa, Alan Alda ence in South Africa? Put on took time out from a busy filming schedule to in- your digital pith helmet and terview Khotso Mokhele, Ph.D., President of the check out these sites and Foundation for Research Development (FRD). The don't forget to take a short Foundation is South Africa's funding agency for re- safari to the FRONTIERS Web search in science, engineering and technology. In site for additional resources this role, Dr. Mokhele is deeply committed to up- about science in South Africa. lifting disadvantaged communities in South Africa. http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/ Dr. Mokhele spoke with Alan Alda at length Ol6skeeter/index.html about the role of education in the "new" South Af- Discover hundreds of rica. Here is an excerpt from his comments: mosquito "bytes," "I don't believe we will have any democracy to including facts about speak of until black people in South Africa start to malaria, illustrations of the mosqui- feel they can be architects of this democracy not to's life cycle, even a contest for the 'ust the social aspects, but the education and economic aspects as well. For us best "skeeter nightmare." for black people and for the total society, we must have unhindered access to r2=-- http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/ those careers upon which an economy is built. And you don't easily do that by pro- academic/cultsci/anthro/Africa.html ducing lots of accountants, lawyers and medical doctors. You do it by producing en- Find out more about how the history gineers, physicists and chemists. To create a new society we must open the door that of Africa is marked by the rise of makes mathematics and science education available to everyone in this country." complex societies, migrations, Born in 1955 in South Africa, Dr. Mokhele matriculated from a rural school and agriculture and diversity. obtained a B.Sc. degree in agriculture. Then, on a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship, he Dr-http://www.geocities. studied at the University of California-Davis, earning an M.Sc. (food science) and com/Athens/6398/ a Ph.D. (microbiology) in 1986. Subsequently, he was awarded postdoctoral fel- Experience how the past lowships and worked in the laboratory of Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Hamilton 0. Smith speaks to the future in at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Mokhele returned to South this site that reports on archaeology Africa in 1987 and held teaching and research positions before joining the FDR. and excavations in South Africa. Click Dr. Mokhele will be available to answer your questions about science on the "Thulamela Story" for maps, photos and reports from the in South Africa on the "Ask the Scientists" forum. Please refer to the Thulamela excavation. opposite page for details about how to submit your questions. http://www.southafrica.net/ tourism/wildlife.html Scnence Ngi] Cyroxerrapacce Travel to this site to see colorful illustra- In each issue of this guide, look for news about innovative tions and learn more about South Africa's Web sites researched and recommended by FRONTIERS staff. animals and wildlife habitats. We hope you'll find them helpful. http://www.panda.org/ http://www.biology.com http://www.biology.com, or call research/facts/fct_medicinal.htm 'It> The Biology Place is de- toll-free 888-TBP-SITE. Check this site for an ilmh, signed to put the Web to And coming soon from Peregrine overview of plant use in work for your general bio- traditional and modern Publishers. . . logy course. Led by Neil The Chemistry Place, scheduled medicine, as well as facts Campell of the University to launch in February 1997. about conservation issues of California Riverside, and biodiversity. The Biology Place faculty provides http://rodie.animal.uiuc.edu/ resources for instructors and stu- Documents/RSA.html dents, including inquiry-based activi- LET US CITE YOUR FAVORITE SITE! ties and selections from Scientific Tell us about your favorite science Visit the South Africa home page and discover a vast and varied land. Find American magazine.The Biology sites on the information superhigh- maps, statistics, links and much more. Place is a new service from Peregrine way. If we recommend your site in Publishers, Inc. this guide, you'll receive a FRONTIERS At press time, the online features and sites listed here For a full description of member- T-shirt. Please send your suggestions were current. Due to the rapidly changing online world, ship options, go to Membership at to: [email protected]. some may have changed or may no longer be available.

31 3N7 7 N FRONTIERS : SCIENMFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS airs monthly on PBS October and November 1996 and January February and April 1997 Each hour-long special includes a variety of fIrrilk,---,AI fascinating science stories based on a single theme. V hitraa<-1-'7.2.0. T.* -040.Aeso'nfh0 Ilivm In Mt fUTUR[ rlf(fS Of moo .1 ;_lit:- A: [Show 701] [show 7001 Z;007.4.14,.."--- Wednesday, October 23, 1996 8 pm Wednesday, January 22, 1997 8 pm t,00.2t: Spend the night in a sleep laboratory :41 qt, s 41.11.- Leap forward into the future when

FRONTIERSvisits the MIT Media Lab to and find out more about how your test out smart cars, smart rooms and brain works to create memories, wearable computers. Meet scientists dreams and language. who are redesigning the look and role of computers. 001116 TO Dams [show 7041 Wednesday, February 19, 1997 8 pm S(Ifftf SAfAKI Join scientists as they track the fastest [show 70] animal on earth and investigate survival mechanisms of animals in desert and Intnational Soccial arctic environments. Wednesday, November 20, 1996 8 pm

Travel on a science safari to South ROBOTS WM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS.takes viewers Africa and meet scientists who are [Show 7051 on a trip to South Africa, where old meets conserving wildlife; then trek to sites Wednesday, April 9, 1997 8 pm once inhabited by early humans. Find new in a land of amazing beauty and diver- Meet some autonomous robots with out how technology is helping combat sity. Remember, teachers may videotape the show to use minds of their own. Host Alan Alda malaria and what archaeologists are catches up with the inventor of year after year. GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, learning about ancient cultures. Flaky, Man's robot friend from a grants educators free off-air taping rights in perpetuity for previous season. classroom use.

/IC! ASK THE SUERS! llik Hil:re:nDeenacsoeni eanncile ostha caineunwtiestrsy

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SCIENTIFIC Connecticut Public Television NON PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE AMERICAN P.O. Box 260240 PAID FRONTIERS Hartford, CT 06126-0240 Permit No. 51 Bristol, PA

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INSIDE THE BRAIN has done for the hearing-impaired. For more information on DVS, "We've gone to extraordinary places and call 617-492-2777, ext. 3490. done extraordinary things inMaking FRONTIERS ON VIDEOTAPE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS. BUt there's Videotapes of past shows are available through theFRONTIERS nowhere we visited that is more extraor- School dinary than our destination now: inside Program. If you missed a show or want to the human brain." With these words, host complete yourFRONTIERSvideotape library, Alan Alda introduces Pieces of Mind. call 800-315-5010. Tapes are $19.97 each, We still know relatively little about how the including shipping and handling. (Orders brain works. In this show, we meet researchers who are now able accepted with purchase order, credit to see inside the human brain while it is thinking, remembering, card or check.) Teaching guides learning, sleeping and dreaming. for many past shows are available on theFRONTIERSWeb site. FRONTIERSmeets scientists exploring the inner workings of the human mind, using a combination of technology and psychological FREE KIT FOR TEACHERS studies to find out more about how the brain works. Looking for free materials? Scientific American magazine offers a Join them as they take you on a fascinating journey, exploring free kit for educators. The kit, designed for grades nine and higher, the questions humankind has pondered for millennia. The remark- contains a sample issue of the magazine, plus tips for using the able and revolutionary findings you see here are perhaps only the magazine in the classroom. To request a kit, call 800-377-9414. beginnings of a larger understanding of the amazing and complex human brain of the late 20th century. CORRECTION Be sure to visit our Web site (http://www.pbs.org/saf/) and In the teaching guide for Science Safari (Show 702), we inadvert- try our online activities (see pp. 14-15 in this guide). You and ently put the drawings of the stages of the mosquito life cycle (p. 7) your students can enter the Viewer Challenge (p. 4) and have a in the wrong order. The "larva" stage of the mosquito's life cycle chance to win one of our terrificFRONTIERST-shirts. should come before the "pupa" stage. We regret the error. If you would like to receive a corrected illustration of the mosquito life FRONTIERS Now AVAILABLE IN DVS cycle, please call 800-315-5010 or visit our Web site. With a grant from GTE, the underwriter ofFRONTIERS,the blind and visually impaired can once again enjoy Descriptive Video Service NEXT TIME ON FRONTIERS (DVS) narration ofFRONTIERS.Broadcast via the second audio Tune in February 19, 1997, when SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN program (SAP) channel on stereo television or stereo VCRs, DVS FRONTIERS goes to extremes, looking at spiders that narration describes key visual elements without interfering with the adapt to the desert and frogs that freeze. Watch Going existing dialogue or soundtrack. DVS, now broadcast by 129 televi- to Extremes for more about unusual environments on sion stations, does for the visually impaired what closed-captioning the planet. (See back cover for season schedule.)

fi4APITI6THE SHOW lET US HEAR [Ron YOU! Always check TV listings to confirm air date and time. We appreciate and welcome your questions, comments, As a teacher, you have off-air taping rights in perpetuity for classroom use. compliments and constructive d If you can't find the show in your TV listings, callyour local PBS station. criticism. Please contact us. . . Do you need help? Call the FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. BY MAIL: I Videotapes of past shows can be purchased ($19.97 each). Call 800-315-5010. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120 MriE VIDEOTAPE 0 PHOTROPYITIG RIGHTS Newtown, PA 18940-3425 E Corporation, the series underwriter, makes available complete off-air taping rights BY PHONE:800-315-5010 n perpetuity for classroom use of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS. Educators may record BY FAX:215-579-8589 epch show when it airs on PBS and keep the tapes to use in the classroom year after BY E-MAIL: [email protected] yar. Educators may also photocopy all materials in this guide for classroom use. know of other educators interested in receiving these guides, they may sign up by VISIT US EMIR: Ming the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. http://www.pbs.org/saf/

3 4 IE

SHOW 703 JAHUARY gE 1997 0 P11 on rns' IMES Of ming THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS 6Studies with so-called "split-brain" patients yield fascinating information about how the brain works. Activity: What happens when the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing? REMEMBERING WHAT MATTERS 7Why do we remember experiences that are emotionally significant? A neurobiologist shares his findings. Activity: Learn more about PET scans and how they work. TRUE OR FALSE? A noted brain researcher explores false memory. 0Activities: DEPARTMEHTS Improve your memory with mnemonic devices. WHAT'S IN A DREAM? 4VIEWER CHALLENGE Join host Alan Alda as he spends the night in a sleep lab THE BIG PICTURE 10 .Find out what happens during REM sleep and why. 5 Activities: 14SAF ONLINE Keep a sleep and dream journal . . .Find allusions to sleep and dreams in popular culture. El 0 OLD BRAIN/ w 1- ['RUSIN r11110 z0 NEW TRICKS 'JSHOW 700. inaigi ui lE Is there a critical window to learning language? One neuro- o rn. on NM scientist's work suggests that very early learning is best. NOTE: More detailed curriculum -iozooLLI -J ..1 Activities: links are included on the activity ig cl 2o r sheets to individual stories. 3 la U) () 1 An experiment in sensory competition ...Graphing the Z H.1 - C.) RUNNING = IA '''' 0 LLI relationship between language and age. TIME M CD O. L.-- H STORY I TIM flan with Two Drains 10:05

1itmErnbtring What 11attfrs 0:05

0 Till( or false 0:57 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS iS made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. The series is produced by The Chedd- eiC4 _1 What's in a Drum? 13:g0 Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine and presented to PBS by Connecticut Public Television. TN Brain/lkw Tricks 10:50 , Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. PBS *CHECK LOCAL TIME 35 , 61-10W 703 FRONTIERS DO YEVIER ELEH: El 111 January BB, 1997 at 6 pm on PM Student's Name Teacher's Name & Course

WatchSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS Pieces of Mind (Show 703) for answers to questions on this page. Answer the 10 questions correctly and you'll be eligible towin a FRONTIERS T-shirt!

The Man with Two mrains 6. According to Schacter, what is the role of the hippocampus? 1. Why did surgeons cut the man's corpus callosum? El a. creates memories Li b. indexes memories Li c. deletes bad memories 0 d. creates dreams

2. What is the role of the corpus callosum? What's in a Dream? 7. What does REM refer to in sleep? El a. stores memories DI a. routine eye motion 0 b. random excess memory 0 b. directs motor functions Li c. rapid eye movement Li d. resting energy momentum CI c. warns brain of impending danger El d. connects the two hemispheres 8. Why do Carlyle Smith and other researchers believe dreams are important? emembering What Matters 3. What hormone enhances memory? D a. estrogen 0 b. adrenaline El c. cortisol Li d. ACTH Old Braintiklew Tricks 4. What part of the brain is activated by emotions? 9. According to Neville's studies, where is grammar processed in an adult's brain? ID a. cortex 0 b. hippocampus True or False? Li c. left hemisphere Li d. midbrain 5. According to Daniel Schacter's theory, where is memory 10.What is the main difference in how adults' and children's located in the brain? brains process language?

For Teachers Only

When completed, this page can become an entry to the Important!! Please include a separate cover sheet and tell us: FRONTIERS T-shirt contest; 20 winners (10 students, 10 number of challenges submitted teachers) will be drawn at random for each show. To teacher's name enter the T-shirt drawing, send all completed challenges in grade and course one envelope with a cover sheet to: Viewer Challenge, school name, address and phone number SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS, 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown, where your students watched the show at home, at school or both PA 18940-3425. Mail completed entries by February 14, 1997. the name of your students' favorite story in this show TIP: You can also downloall these questions on the FRosnas Web site (see pp. 14-15). (conduct a quick poll to find out) Thank you!41

ANSWERS TO VIEWER CHALLENGE 703:1. to prevent epileptic seizures2. d3. b4. amygdala5. all over the brain6. b7. c8. This sleep state helps us consolidate memories and process information in various regions. 9. cto. In adults, language is processed in specific areas; very young children process language all over the brain. 4 36 ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN

Every aspect of our lives from breathing and sleeping to personality, likes and dislikes is governed by the brain. This artist's rendition depicts some of the parts of the brain and explains how they affect our functions.

Weighing in at about 1,450g and containing 100 billion neurons, the human brain is the most complex structure we know. The human brain is made up of three major regions: the forebrain or cerebrum (13); the midbrain (5); and the hindbrain, which consists of the medulla oblongata (2) and the cerebellum (11). The cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres, left and right, each consisting of four lobes; the lobes are named after the bones of the skull that protect them (frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal). The surface of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex (12), which is composed of neuron cell bodies collectively known as gray matter. The many folds of the cerebral cortex provide more surface area and more room for neuron cell bodies than a smooth surface. Here are some other important parts of the human brain:

1. SPINAL CORD: Conveys impulses to and from the brain. 2. MEDULLA OBLONGATA: Helps regulate basic func- EC) tions like breathing, blood pressure, sneezing, sleep. SL.IGG IR E S 1.._1 3. PONS: Links cortex with cerebellum; associated with facial expression. Searching for Memory: The Brain, the Mind, 4. AMYGDALA: Activated by emotions; see p. 7 of this guide. and the Past by Daniel L. Schacter (C) 1996, 5. MIDBRAIN: Forwards impulses from the spinal cord; controls certain Basic Books) reflex responses. V Nature's Mind: The Biological Roots of Thinking, 6. OLFACTORY BULB: Forwards sensory information from nose to cortex Emotions, Sexuality, Language, and Intelligence and amygdala. by Michael Gazzaniga (C) 1994, Basic Books) 7. HIPPOCAMPUS: Keeps track of memories; see pp. 8-9 of this guide. V An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical 8. THALAMUS: Associated with all senses except smell; relays sensory Tales by Oliver Sacks (© 1996, Vintage Books) impulses to the cerebral cortex. V How Brains Think: Evolving Intelligence, Then and Now by William H. Calvin (C) 1996, Basic 9. HYPOTHALAMUS: Regulates many body functions, such as heart Books) rate, body temperature, sleep cycles, hormone levels, libido, hunger, thirst. V The Brain Pack: An Interactive Three-Dimen- 10. CORPUS CALLOSUM: Links left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing sional Exploration of the Mysteries of the Mind them to communicate; see p. 6 of this guide. by Ron Van der Meer and Ad Dudink (C) 1996, 11. CEREBELLUM: Controls muscle coordination and sense of balance; also in- Running Press) volved in learning of motor skills. V Sleep Thieves: An Eye-opening Exploration Into 12. CEREBRAL CORTEX: Wrinkled outer layer of the cerebrum; controls our higher- the Science and Mysteries of Sleep by Stanley level, advanced abilities like speech and reasoning. Coren (C) 1996, The Free Press) 13. CEREBRUM: Serves as the center for speech, reasoning, emotions and per- The Brain (C) 1990, How Things Work series, sonality; interprets sensory information and controls motor impulses. Time-Life Books, Inc.) 14. SEPTUM: Associated with feelings of pleasure. Scientific American magazine: "Dyslexia," November 1996 SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATION: A PICTORIAL HANDBOOK OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOG Y BY "The Puzzle of Conscious Experience," DR. JAMES BEVAN (0 1994, REED INTERNATIONAL BOOKS LIMITED) AND MIND AND BRAIN (0 1993, JOURNEY THROUGH THE MIND AND BODY SERIES, TIME-LIFE BOOKS, INC.) December 1995

37 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN THE WITH TWO BRAM FRONTIERS rim L__J mow ma he corpus callosum acts as a bridge between the two hemispheres of your brain. What happens when the two halves no longer connect? For more than a PIECES decade, Dartmouth neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga has followed the cognitive expe- OFmu riences of a man with severe epilepsy whose connection between his brain's two hemispheres was severed to stop his seizures. Gazzaniga's work with so-called "split-brain" patients has given him a unique perspective into how the brain perceives and communicates.

'NOUN ABOUT YOUR BRAM

RUNNING Inside your head, you possess three pounds of the today, the same response is activated every day in TIME: most complex structure that we know of: your brain. modern humans. 10:05 The human brain has evolved over several million The brain of three million years ago found food, years to become the incredibly complex organ that later learned to cook it, eventually learned to farm, CURRICULUM LINKS: it is in humans today. You might say the brain has make tools, build great cities and invent the come a long way from its hominid ancestors on the computer. Over the course of those three million BIOLOGY brain organization, African savannas. years, both cranial capacity and brain size have ex- learning, memory Still, we share many brain activities with our dis- panded. The human brain has become increasingly GENERAL SCIENCE tant ancestors dreams, memory, sleep and some complex, enabling us to enjoy a high level of prob- brain, human body, form of language or communication have long lem-solving abilities. nervous system characterized humans and made us individuals. This show takes you inside the human brain and HEALTH The fight-or-flight response, for example, helped shows you what fascinating questions scientists are disease our ancestors defend and survive attacks by preda- exploring today about perception, memory, sleep, LIFE SCIENCE tors. Although we don't have to fight predators dreams and language. human evolution, vision PSYCHOLOGY cognition, ACTIVITY:kft and Right Brains perception TECHNOLOGY The corpus callosum connects both hemispheres of tF2Ne 1" II I S. v c>1..11R S ELF computers, imaging the brain and enables the left and right sides of the After watching the show, try to replicate what Alan brain to communicate. As you see in this episode Alda does and draw figures or geometric shapes with of FRONTIERS, when this bridge is disconnected, the your left and right hands simultaneously. You might person functions quite well but experiences per- trysetting up ascreen like Alda does on the show so ceptual and cognitive dysfunction. If the corpus that you do not see what your callosum is severed, the right hand truly does not hands are drawing. What hap- know what the left hand is doing. 0 A pens? How is what you draw For the vast majority of us, the right hemisphere different from what the patient of the brain controls the left side of the body, and http://www.pbs.org/saf/ on FRONTIERS does? Explain. the left hemisphere controls the right side. What your left eye perceives registers in your right brain; Signals from nerves on one ASK what your right eye sees registers in your left brain. side of the body arrive at the The right brain sends messages to the left, and vice brain and cross over to the opposite side via the corpus SUffITISTS versa, via the corpus callosum. callosum, which links the left When the corpus callosum is severed, as it is and right hemispheres. The in the patient's brain as seen on FRONTIERS, there corpus callosum shown here is perception but no messages travel back and is severed. forth between the brain's two hemispheres. Thus, S I Michael Gazzanlga, although both eyes "see" an image, each hand seen in drawing the figure does only what its half of the Using your biology text and any other resources, ,,n this segment, answers your brain perceives. The left hemisphere, which you trace the pathway of a signal from a nerve to ycur questions online. handles language in most people, does not receive brain? Some situations to map might be: what hap- See p. 14 or send messages about what the two halves see. pens when you stub your toe, when you taste a piece for information. The brain is, indeed, divided. of chocolate or when you worry about an exam.

RET1EMBERM6 1.1 WHAT UTTERS what Is a tEl Scan?

RUNNING APET scan is not an x-ray of your pet though the amygdala. McGaugh uses the PET scan tech- TIME: perhaps it would be interesting to find out how nique to actually peek inside the brain as memo- 8:35 the brains of cats and dogs and other animals ries are formed! work while sleeping and dreaming! PET scans are now used to identify different CURRICULUM LINKS: As you seeon Pieces of Mind,the use of PET areas of the brain used for sight, sound.and speech, (positron emission tomography) imaging has so researchers can actually "see" what a thought BIOLOGY brain organization given researchers a tool to look inside the brain. looks like. PET scans are also being used to help Researchers can study the brain while we are explain what is happening inside the brains of people GENERAL SCIENCE with Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and other diseases. human brain learning, talking, remembering, thinking. ThePETtechnique uses radioactive elements A PETscan of a person with severe Alzheimer's HEALTH to produce images of the inside of the body or indicates diminished brain activity. mental disorders brain. The person whose brain will be scanned LANGUAGE ARTS drinks a simple glucose (sugar) solution tagged crIV ITV LIFE SCIENCE with a radioactive element. As the solution moves After you watch the show, brainstorm brain activities human brain into the brain, it gives off particles like x-rays that you think a PET scan could be used for..Perhaps your PSYCHOLOGY allow the computer to trace their location on a idea will one day be part of an experiment, as we emotions color monitor. The more active the brain is, the continue to learn more about the human brain. TECHNOLOGY more it uses the sugar solution. The greater the imaging use of glucose, the brighter those areas glow. s I CD NI S techniques During a PET scan, the researchers may vary the What might be the evolutionary advantages of person's exposure to sound or sight to watch for memories enhanced by an emotional response? changes in the brain's image. PET scans are featured in several stories in How many of your experiences today can you re- Pieces of Mind,including this one on James call? Of those you remember, are there some with McGaugh's work, which investigates the role of greateremotional significance?

@IOLKRG2K1V 1_;,-3.1Z1a;KR@GE1 L;---)LKRCDO http://www.pbs.org/saf/ You can find out more about sleep and dream research, as well as other topics featured on this episode of FRONTIERS, by using the World Wide Web. Here are AN flit some projects of interest: [::=- Essay Contest: The Sleep Research Society, a professional scientific organization, spon- SOUITISTS sors an annual high school Essay Awards Program. For contest rules and an entry form, contact Sleep Contest Inquiry, Sleep Research Society, 1610 14th Street NW, Suite 300, Rochester, MN 55901, or visit their Web site (http://www.websciences.org/trainee/ EssayIntro.htm). Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 1997. L=-- Students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are working on a quantitative analysis James McGaugh, of dream content. You can visit their Web site (http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/dreams) and down- seen in load a "DreamSAT," a spreadsheet that will help you analyze dream data. this segment, answers your For more about the true meaning of Native American dream catchers, visit the Native questions online. American Technology and Art site (http://www.lib.uconn.edu/NativeTech/dreamcat/ See p. 14 dreamcat.html). for information.

TRUE OR FALSE? ACTIVITY 1:Visual Rua II

RUNNING Draw a picture of a familiar setting like a living TIME: room, classroom or playground. Do not fill the set 8:57 with objects. Photocopy the scene and set the copy aside. To the original sketch, add drawings of fur- CURRICULUM LINKS: niture and other objects normally found in the setting. When you've finished adding objects to ART your scene, exchange completed scenes with a BIOLOGY brain organization partner. Study each other's furnished scenes for 60 seconds. Then exchange the original, unfurnished GENERAL SCIENCE scenes and try to sketch in as many of the missing human brain objects as you can remember. HEALTH emotions, mental health LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITY 0:11 In(moni( Doicts LIFE SCIENCE human brain Mnemonics,or the science or PSYCHOLOGY art of aiding memory, is an Write alist of 15 objects. Exchange lists with a part- learning, memory ancient concept. Many people rely on mnemonic de- ner. Allow a few minutes to create memory maps of TECHNOLOGY your partner's list based on a familiar location or path. imaging techniques vices to help remember what they've learned or Then remove the lists and proceed on your visual need to recall, from journey, writing down all the objects you can recall grocery lists to from your partner's list. people's names to and queens orthe presidents. What works for one person may not work Associations for another. The six devices described below suggest ways to help improve Developing associations is a familiar strategy memory. Each device is followed by a used to recall information by connecting it to challenge. other, more familiar pieces of information. For example, memorizing a sequence of seemingly random digits is easy when that number series rlanory flaps is your birth date or street address. Developing This technique depends on visualizing a journey associations is also a helpful way to remember in which objects to be recalled are placed in fa- new information. miliar locations. For example, suppose you had to remember such unrelated items as a tuba, ice To learn more skate, pen, walrus, coffee cup and airplane. You Develop a 10- or 15-digit random number that does about Daniel can visualize a walk through the rooms of your not repeat and figure out associations to help you Schacter's memory research, visit house in which each item is placed in a different memorize it. Use each type of association only once his Web site: room. This technique is useful for memorizing (only one date or onephone number, etc.). Ex- http://www.wjh. harvard.edu/dls bones or muscles of the body or other lists of re- changenumbers with a partner and memorize, us- lated terms. ing associations.

Chunking

When reciting a telephone or Social Security number, most people are IT apt to speak it in three chunks. For example, the first and second Try memorizing a series of nine TRUE OR chunks of a phone number consist of three digits and the third chunk random numbers. Then break up contains four digits. Chunking the numbers makes a meaningless se- the series into three chunks. FAIR? ries easier to remember. Can you think of other series of numbers that Does chunking help to recall the are frequently chunked? numbers?

Acronyms and Auostks

Acronyms and acrostics are mnemonic devices used to recall concepts IT ALLE G E or information. The two devices are different, but they work similarly L:=,- Create acronyms to describe in creating an easy-to-remember association of words. each of your school sub- An acronym is a word formed from the initial letter or letters of jects. Or, devise a quiz to each of the parts of a name or organization. For example, the acro- see how many official acronym LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of nyms you can spell out. Radiation. Some other familiar acronyms are RADAR, REM sleep, SCUBA, SONAR, NASA, ZIP code, etc. Create an acrostic to help Though we usually think of acronyms as names of you remember the planets in organizations or terms created by the scientific or the solar system in order or medical community, you can also make up acro- some other concept, like the nyms to help you remember information. Think of 10 most abundant elements an acronym as a "fun" word or phrase in which in the universe. each letter stands for the first letter of the item Survey people to see what to be recalled. For example, Roy G. Biv stands mnemonic devices they have for the colors of the spectrum. Psychology used to remember things. students made up the acronym WIRES to remember kinds of memory (Working, Implicit, E NJ S I C) NJ S Remote, Episodic, Semantic). r=-- Repeat the picnic experi- By contrast, an acrostic is a memory strategy that takes the first letters of a series of ment seen on FRONTIERS, but script a different scene. Use words, lines or verses to form a memorable phrase. An acrostic is probably more well a Polaroid to take photos. known as a kind of crossword puzzle or po- 1=-- Devise an experiment using etry game. word lists like what you see Sometimes the phrase is nonsense, which on the show. Does your mind Do you think imag- may help you remember it! Here are two: want to make associations ing techniques similar to those shown on this King Philip Came Over For Great Spaghetti or to other words? episode of FRONTIERS Kings Play Cards On Fat Green Stools. Each This is an experiment often should ever be used acrostic stands for the biological classification done in law school: act out as evidence in a trial? hierarchy (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Fam- a scene and then see how Why or why not? ily, Genus, Species). many observers remember c>. In what ways do what actually took place. photographs enhance our memories? THE TERM 'illHETIONK° CONEJ 1=-- What do you think ACTIVITIES ON THESE PAGES CONTRIB- memory was like in the UTED BY MASSACHUSETTS SCIENCE long history of humans mon THE NAME rOK THE gREEK WRITER AND CONSULTANT MICHAEL DISPEZ 10, AUTHOR OF CRITICAL before photography? iqObbEll Or mono nnrno3mr. THINKING PUZZLES (STERLING, 19961.

WHAT'S III A DREA11? "TO SErs, MOINE TO DREAM

RUNNING The scientists you see in this episode of SCIENTIFIC a song by Jackson Browne), scientists have ex- TIME: AMERICAN FRONTIERS are researching what seems to tended and are redefining some of our understand- 13:28 be an inherent human fascination with sleep and ing about sleep and dreams. Recent findings have dreams. With modern technology and new tools for implications for learning. In these activities you CURRICULUM LINKS: unlocking "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" (title of will explore more about sleep and dreams. ART BIOLOGY brain organization, nervous system ACTIVITY Thc Skcp Journal GENERAL SCIENCE scientific method Although you can't measure changes in brain chemistry or track subtle variationsinan HEALTH emotions, electroencephalogram (EEG) to study REM sleep, mental health you can use one of the tools sleep and dream sci- LIFE SCIENCE entists have used for many years: the sleep jour- LITERATURE nal. By keeping a sleep journal, you can track your MATH sleep patterns to see if the quantity and quality of data analysis your sleep affects your performance in school or PSYCHOLOGY sports. A sleep journal also allows you to record dreams, learning, your dreams and consider their content to see if sleep they relate to events during your waking hours. 2. WHEN YOU WAKE UP AT NIGHT. Often when you wake TECHNOLOGY during the night it is right after a period ofREM computers, imaging i ECTINIE sleep and therefore, most likely, right after a Keepa journal to track sleep and dream activity. dream. It is better to try to recall any dreams and write them down when you wake up rather than to 0.1ROCEIDL.11=ZE turn over and figure you'll remember to write them down in the morning. When you wake at night, Tokeep a sleep journal you must get into the habit write down the time. If you recall a dream, write of writing down information at three key times: when http://www.pbs.org/saf/ down as many details as you can remember. (Hint: you go to bed, when you wake up during the night and keep a notepad, pen and flashlight by your bed.) when you wake up in the morning. (You may adapt 3. WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING. Write down ASK RR the study and track just your nighttime and morning the time you wake up, the number of hours you routines.) Establish a time period for your study (one SOffITISTS slept and whether you feel rested or still tired. week is suggested). When you have completed the Record your pulse when you wake up and compare study, examine your data and answer the questions it with your resting pulse from the night before. that follow. Summarize your findings. ritraar This data gives you an idea about how well your 1. As You Go To BED. Write down the date, the time sleep has helped you recover from the previous Robert Stickgold, you go to bed and key events that happened to day's exertions. Scientists believe that deep sleep seen in you during the day. Note your resting pulse rate. has a critical restorative effect on the body. In this segment, answers your Later you will use this information to determine general, if you slept well, your pulse should be questions online. the total time you slept, how well you slept andif lower in the morning than it was the night before. See p. 14 the day's events seem to have influenced your Lastly, record any dreams you remember from the for information. sleep patterns and dreams. nightbefore.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS iS made possible by an undelwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the 10 4 2 School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. © 1997, GTE Corporation. Cin 0181,iJ T 1 CDNJ you wake up seem to affect how well your day SCIENTIFIC 1. Do the previous day's activities seem to interfere goes? Does a good night's sleep help you have a AMERICAN with your ability to get a good night's sleep? If you better day? FRONTIERS go to bed worried, does that cause you to have a 4. Is there a difference in your ability to recall de- SHOW 703 restless night's sleep? tails of dreams recorded when you wake up at 2. Do your dreams seem to be related to what hap- night versus those recalled in the morning? ITCH pened during the previous day? What other factors 5. Does your ability to remember your dreams seem Of MD might affect your dreams worries, experiences, to improve as you track them in your journal? people you've met or seen on TV? 6. Do you notice a change in your ability to solve 3. Do the number of hours and the quality of your problems or think creatively after a good night's sleep whether you are rested or still tired when sleep?

WHAT'S Ill ACTIVITY g:Slap and Mums in Our Culturf A DREAM?

Dream and sleep images are everywhere in popu- of their imagery. Be as specific as possible and write lar culture. You can probably think of many refer- down the exact title of the song or movie, and the ences to sleep and dreams in movies, TV shows, lyrics in the song or scenes in the movie that use books, poetry and songs (Sheryl Crow's album Or- these images. Explain what the songwriter or screen- dinag Morning contains allusions to sleep and writer was trying to say. dreams, for example). Going back in time, Shake- speare used many references to dreams, such as NJ S I CD 11 these lines from Romeo andJuliet: "True, I talk of r=- Find additional references to dreams and sleep in dreams; Which are the children of an idle brain." cartoons, books, advertisements, etc.

41413J ECTIVE Look for examples of dream images and what they might convey in works of art, like paintings by Find examples of ways sleep and dreams are used Marc Chagall. as images in popular culture. 1=- Dreams play different roles in various cultures. O.F2CDCEE)IJIRE Consider the concept of dreamtime in the mythol- E>.- It is estimated that Divide into teams and list as many movies or songs ogy of Australian Aborigenes or the dream catch- millions of Americans as you can think of that use sleep or dreams as part ers of Native Americans. especially teenagers experience sleep deprivation. What has contributed to this What flappths Whfn You Slap? phenomenon in our culture? Consider the An EEG (electroencephalagram) shows what hap- impact on driving, learning, jobs. Are you pens to our brains during sleep. Most people ex- getting enough sleep? perience several stages of sleep during an 1=-- Scientists believe ordinary night. If you were to spend the night in that REM sleep helps REM sleep: In the 1950s, scientists discovered a sleep lab connected to an EEG like the subjects consolidate memories. do onFRONTIERS,the EEG would give a portrait that the eyes of sleeping subjects fluttered back What implications does of your brain during the night. The electri- and forth under their eyelids at various times. They this have for learning? identified this stage as rapid-eye-movement or REM cal activity indicated by brainwave r=-- Some chronic patterns would fluctuate through sleep. As you see on FRONTIERS, REM sleep plays diseases are associ- stages of non-REM and REM sleep. a role in the consolidation of memories and pro- ated with either a loss Sleep cycles through five stages: cessing information. So "sleeping on it" may serve of Stage 4 sleep or some form of sleep Stage 1: This "alpha" stage is the a vital function in problem solving for humans. In disturbances. Use the transition from wakefulness to real sleep. addition, many great discoveries in science and other creative endeavors have been initiated by Internet to find out D.- Stage 2: Generally considered the first true more about current dreams. sleep state and still light sleep. research into sleep Humans spend about 30 percent of their sleep disturbances like r:- Stages 3 and4 are characterizedby deep, slow- time dreaming and about 20 percent in deep sleep, narcolepsy, sleep wave sleep. Stage 3 might be described as mod- with the remaining time in light sleep. Perhaps you apnea, insomnia. erately deep sleep and Stage 4 as very deep can observe a sleeping dog to see if it shows rapid Why did early sleep. Stage 4, the "delta" stage, is restorative eye movements. humans fall into the sleep and can be affected by caffeine, drugs, habit of sleeping at noise, etc. People with sleep-related disturbances THESE ACTIVITIES WERE CONTRIBUTED BY JAMIE LARSEN, A SCIENCE TEACHER AND TUFTS UNIVERSITY WRIGHT FELLOW night? or sleep deprivation show a lack of Stage 4 sleep. CURRENTLY LIVING NEAR SEDONA, ARIZONA.

OlD BRAM/ DEW TOKIO MTIVITY Salsorg Competition

RUNNING Helen Neville, the sci- 8. For each study, record data in the following tables. TIME: entist featured on this V paper 10:50 segment of FRONTIERS, V pen or pencil studies where in the CURRICULUM V stop watch LINKS: brain we process lan- V boom box (optional) SILENT# OF CORRECT guage. She also is in- TRIAL ANSWERS BIOLOGY brain organization terested in various cogitive functions and the 1 plasticity of the brain. In this activity, we'll explore GENERAL SCIENCE what happens when you try to learn something 2 brain through one sense but experience competing in- 3 LANGUAGE ARTS put from another. LIFE SCIENCE Try this activity with a partner. Read the entire TOTAL MATH activity first and set up your data table before you graphing begin the experiment. PSYCHOLOGY language development IBJ ECTIVE NOISY# OF CORRECT TECHNOLOGY Conduct an experiment to find out how various senses TRIAL ANSWERS imaging techniques compete during the learning experience. 1

RELATED IR 0 E CD 1J F E 2 FRONTIERS V ACTIVITY: 1.Writea series of six random, two-digit numbers, 3 like this: 47 09 15 66 31 14. IT'S A KID'S WORLD (Show 505) TOTAL Teaching Guide 2. Give the list to your partner. Allow your partner 30 "Born to Talk" (p. 11) seconds to memorize the numbers. Keep the en- and "A Change of Mind" (p. 12) vironment as quiet as possible. Close all doors and windows. Instruct those around you to speak 9. How do the scores compare (silent vs. noisy)? Pro- softly or not at all. pose a hypothesis about learning that might ac- http://www.pbs.org/saf/ 3. After 30 seconds, put the list of numbers away. count for the differences. You may want to Wait another 30 seconds. consider such information as which noises were AN Bit 4. Ask your partner to write down the numbers. most distracting. SOUITISH 5. Check how many numbers your partner remem- 10. Tally data for the class as a whole. Did different bered correctly. individuals demonstrate different learning styles? 6. Repeat Steps 1 through 5 using a new set of num- OJAH1U LJ s-r I'DNJ bers. This time, in Step 2, introduce some "audi- /TNT L tory competition." That is, make noise. Talk to What are the implications of this experiment for: your partner. Sing or say a poem. Tell about your Helen Neville, r>.- a teacher preparing a lesson or teaching a class? last birthday, what day it was and what you did. seen in r- an architect designing a conference room? this segment, Play some music if you have it. answers your D"- an air traffic controller? questions online. 7. Using new numbers each time, repeat both trials See p. /4 two more times, so you have three "quiet" trials c=-- students studying for an exam? for information. and three "noisy" ones. r>- a library?

mir FRONTIERS Even at a young age, \1] f_U 71n1U NJ P.. L I S Bum ma children can talk and V tape recorder Transcribe your interviews by listening to the tape and theirlanguagehas V pen or pencil writing down the name, age and recorded comments FITHE meaning.Asthey grow of each subject. Analyze the passage: older, they exhibit in- V writing paper OFrum creasing grammatical V photographs or 1. Count the total number of words. complexity. illustrations Develop- 2. Circle the nouns and underline the verbs. mental psychologists are interested in the way the brain acquires, stores 3. Count the total number of nouns and verbs. and retrieves information. 4. Calculate the average number of words per For this activity, you'll need several willing sub- sentence. OLD BRAM/ jects of different ages ranging from young children flEW TRICKS to teenagers or adults. For example, your younger 5. Calculate the average number of letters per word. brother, age 8; your cousin, 4; friend, 10; friend, 6. Graph one or all of the following data as a 14 or 15; parent, 42. This study can be done indi- function of age: vidually, in pairs or in teams. a. words per minute ItaESJ ECTIN/E b. words per sentence

Explore the relationship between age and language c.letters per word by employing research methods of interviewing, tran- scription and statistical analysis. d. any other relationships you feel might be important to your study. IV.FCDIDLJ IR E Make a line or bar graph and put age on the X or 1.Choose a photograph or work of art that contains horizontal axis this is the independent variable. a simple, recognizable scene. It should have some Data about language, the dependent variable, details, but not be too complex or abstract. A goes on the Y or vertical axis. farmer in a field or a ship docked in a bay would 7. What can you conclude about language from this be good examples. study? What do your graphs show about the de- 2. Explain to your subject that you want him/her to velopment of language? Can you form any hypoth- look at the image and describe it verbally for one eses about how people learn? minute. Explain that you will tape record the description. Before you begin, try to make your sub- q<-1- E N1 S I 0 NI ject comfortable. Answer any questions he/she has about the study before you begin and explain Compare different languages rather than age levels. that there is no "right answer" expected. (All you Interview a person whose native language is English, have to say about your study is that you are re- and then repeat the experiment in a second language. searching the way people describe things.) Of course, analyzing your data could be tricky without an interpreter! 3. Your subject should say as much as he/she feels like saying in a minute. Don't force or pressure your subject into saying more than what comes MARC ROSNER, WHO TEACHES PHYSICAL AND EARTH SCIENCE AT PORT CHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL IN PORT CHESTER, NEW naturally. YORK, CONTRIBUTED THIS ACTIVITY.

L:= What night be the implications of these studies for learning a second language? What would be the most effective way for a deaf child to learn a language?

Explore the MindwKITFROMITERS OnnuaeV Pieces of Mind profiles intriguing research about memory, dreams and language. If you'd like to learn more about these topics, we invite you to send your questions to the ing92%four scientists from the show featured on this page. They will be avai able to answer questions from January 22 to February 7, 1997, via theFRONTIERS Web site: http://www.pbs.org/saf/. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 THE MAN WITH WHAT'S IN A DREAM? TWO BRAINS At Harvard University's sleep lab, Robert - o Stickgold's research involves waking up his Michael Gazzaniga of Dartmouth University 4.4 o subjects including Alan Alda and giving st studies patients with hemispheric disconnec- 0 them a test. Stickgold's experiments are trying tion, also called "split brains." When the cor- o o to establish how REM sleep and dreaming af- pus callosum is severed, the two halves of the fect mental activities and the learning process. r,VA brain no longer communicate and, although -1111---;` If you'd like to know more about discoveries at the sleep lab, send these patients function normally, Gazzaniga's experiments reveal that o O your questions to Stickgold. the two sides of their brains interpret and organize information differ- ently. Find out more by sending your questions to Gazzaniga. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 OLD BRAIN/ REMEMBERING NEW TRICKS WHAT MATTERS Is there a critical window of opportunity for children to learn language and what hap- James McGaugh is director of the Center for pens if the brain is not exposed to language at Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the O the appropriate time? Neuroscientist Helen University of California, Irvine. He has found a Neville of the University of Oregon researches strong relationship between emotional experi- language acquisition and its relationship to the developing brain. Learn ences and memory and discovered that memory O more about these topics by sending your questions to Neville. may be enhanced and manipulated. McGaugh answers viewers' questions about his research and the implications of his findings. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 NMMc), 4® (mum itminum [Ina AS 0 a comg &tgo[g-kruouvg 0 Understanding Emotional Memory Using the Web: E>.- Watch Pieces of Mind and review this classroom guide An interactive online activity for Pieces of Mind to prepare your question(s) and decide which scientist(s) Here's an opportunity to use the Web to introduce your students to you'd like to contact. the anatomy and physiology of emotional memory. This interactive I> Visit SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS on the World Wide exercise, designed for student participation after watching Pieces O Web at http://www.pbs.org/saf/.Clickon the "Ask the of Mind, simulates an experiment on emotional states and memory. o Scientists" icon on the opening screen to send your To find this activity, visit the FRONTIERS Web site (http://www. O question(s). Scientists' answers will be posted online for pbs.org/saf/). Click on Guides and Resources and then select FRONTIERS viewers to read. Depending on the volume of Guides and Resources for the Current Show to link to the activity. 0 O questions received, only selected questions may be Many thanks to The Biology Place (http://www. O 0 answered. biology.com) for creating this activity. The Biology Age Place, a service of Peregrine Publishers, Inc., pro- I> Remember to e-mail your questions by February 7,1997. vides resources and inquiry-based activities for Pieces of Mind airs on PBS on science educators. For more information, visit 0. Wednesday, January 22, 1997, at 8 pm*. Membership at http://www.biology.com or call to II-free 888-TBP-SITE. * Check your TV listings to confirm local air timeanddate.

iI 46 RTURIC/

ID Meet Jamie Larsen find fort

"As we encourage our students to get on the informa- About th( Mind tion highway, it's important that we teach them to Check out these sites for more evaluate the resources they find there," says Jamie about the scientists and topics Larsen. Unlike more traditional resources in the li- covered on Pieces of Mind: brary, cyberspace offers very little to help students 17=-- http://www.med.harvard.edu:80/ "screen" the science sites they discover there. "As a AANLIB/home.html result," Larsen believes, "we need to really work on Explore the Whole Brain Atlas, a site with training our kids to move beyond critical thinking into actual images that illustrate parts of the becoming 'skeptical inquirers. brain and show physiological differences between a normal brain, an aging brain and Like many science educators, Larsen is concerned a brain with various diseases. about the proliferation of "psuedo-science" generally http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/dls and, most recently, the explosion of psuedo-science Visit the home page for Daniel on the Web. To help students navigate the Web intelli- Schacter, seen on "True or gently, Larsen has developed an activity that encourages skeptical inquiry, teaches False?" You'll find more about students to recognize psuedo-science and helps them determine any bias shown on a his research and publications as well as reviews of his recent particular site. In Larsen's activity, students watch a video called "Alien Autopsy," which book, Searching for Memory: The originally aired on the Fox network and that Larsen found on sale at his local video store. Brain, the Mind, and the Past, pub- Then students use the Web to research information that supports or questions what the lished by Basic Books. video presents as "actual footage of an alien autopsy." Larsen describes this activity as 1=- http://cogsci.vcsd.edu/cogsci/ a discussion-based approach for using pseudo-science as a catalyst for scientific thought. faculty/nevIlle/html Explore Helen Neville's home page and find This concept could work equally well using print or video coverage of other controver- out more about this scientist featured on sial science topics related to your curriculum. Teachers can visit Larsen's activity at "Old Brain/New Tricks" in Pieces of Mind. http://www.tufts.edu/ jlarsen/. http://neuroscience.ucdavis.edu/ Jamie Larsen has been a science teacher at Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona. faculty/gazzaniga.html Most recently, he has been on a Wright Fellowship for Science Education at Tufts Uni- Find out more about Michael Gazzaniga, versity, where he developed Slam Dunk Science and MicroMentary projects and designed seen on "The Man with Two Brains." His home page reports on his research and interactive activities for science classrooms to construct a sports research lab. publications and gives an overview of his latest book, The Cognitive Neurosciences, from MIT Press. Science in Cyberspace http://www.lthaca.edu/hs/psych/ psych1/curricuIum/gep/ In each issue of this guide, look for news about innovative sleepdreaming.html Find facts and definitions related to sleep Web sites researched and recommended by FRONTIERS staff. at the Sleep and Dreaming Class Notes We hope you'll find them helpful. site from the department of psychology at Ithaca College. http://www.exploratorium.eduo can't visit San Francisco,you can still 0 0'- http://www.uchsc.edu/sm/sm/ Imagine a site where you can see sat-O access lots of fascinating science at surgery/neurosur/science.htm ellite images of Earth, hear the Dop-O the Exploratorium online. Teachers 0 Discover an extensive list of Web-based pler effect and follow a step-by-stepO will especially enjoy "Hands-on Sci- neuroscience resources prepared by the dissection of a cow's eye. You'll find division of neurosurgery at the University °ence," a teacher's guide to student- of Colorado Health Sciences Center. all this and much, much more at theo built experiments designed to help 0 Web site for the Exploratorium in San0you and your students succeed in Francisco. O science and have fun doing it. 0 The Exploratorium was founded by O o 0 0 http://www. Dr. Frank Oppenheimer to showcase0 o LET US CITE YOUR FAVORITE SITE! science, nature, art and technology.0 pbs.org/saf/ Its exciting exhibits are actually a veryo Tell us about your favorite science sites on the information superhigh- carefully devised science curriculum,o O way. If we recommend your site in (RIBS Online) appropriate for the informal and for-o this guide, you'll receive a FRONTIERS mal teaching of science. T-shirt. Please e-mail your sugges- At press time, the online features and sites listed here 0 were current. Due to the rapidly changing online world, Even if you and your studentso tions to [email protected]. some may have changed or may no longer be available.

15 tE,'N77 31'17,1 N idi411f1H n t FE FRONTIERS SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONT ERS a rs monthly on PBS once in each of these months: October and Noverhber 1996 and January. February and April 1997, Each hour-long special includes a.. variety of fascinating,Sdience stories based on a single theme.

METE JUt fUTURE HE Ofrom Dow 1011 Motu 704 Wednesday, October 23,1996 8 pm Wednesday, January 22, 1997 8 pm Leap forward into the future wheri Spend the night in a sleep laboratory FRONTIERSvisits the Mit Media Lab to test out smart cars, smart rooms and and find out more about how your wearable computers. Meet scientists brain works to create memories, who are redesigning the look and role dreams and language. Find out how technology is helping scientists of computers. understand more about when and

SOFFIF SAFARI how the human brain learns language, processes and recalls information and Moiu 70g1 dreams dreams. . Intnational Staid 'AO Wednesday, November 20, 1996 8 pm Travel on a science safari to South OR TO FXTRUIFS Africa. Meet some of the world's Mow 7041 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS accompanies largest animals, then trek to sites once Wednesday, February 19, 1997 8 pm liOSTM BY inhabited by early humans. Find out Join scientists as they investigate sur- host Alan Alda to the Harvard sleep lab, AIAfl AIDA how scientists combat malaria today. . vival mechanisms of animals that wherehe is connected to a machine that inhabit extreme climates and how will monitor his sleep and dreams. humans cdpe with high altitudes when Remember, teachers may videotape the show to use climbing mountains. year after year. GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, ROBOTS ALIVF! grants educators free off-air taping rights in perpetuity for [Show 705] classroom use. Wednesday, April 9, 1997 8 pm Meet some autonomous robots with Niiii:rifiS[1..'°..;:111;1; minds of their own. Host Alan Aida Helen Neville and other scientists seen on Pieces of Mind answer catches up with the inventor of your questions online. See p.14. Flaky, Alan's robot friend from a http://www.pbs.org/saf/ previous season. ITS Underwritten by GTE Corporation

SCIENTIFIC Connecticut Public Television NON PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE AMERICAN P.O. Box 260240 PAID FRONTIERS Hartford, CT 06126-0240 Permit No. 51 Bristol, PA

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GOING TO EXTREMES SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN EDUCATOR RATES

JoinFRONTIERSon a journey SCIENTIFICAMERICAN magazine is an excellent resource for teachers; to various places on Earth many articles relate directly to your science curriculum or to sto- to see how animals and ries seen on FRONTIERS. For example: "Flight of Fancy" in the Janu- humans adapt to extreme ary 1997 issue and "Light in the Ocean's Midwaters" in the July environments. 1995 issue will enrich the story on mid-ocean depths in Going to Some of the adaptations Extremes. The magazine offers a special rate to educators may seem extreme in them- $24.97 for 12 monthly issues. To order, write SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, selves: frogs that freeze and Dept. SAF, 415 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10017. thaw, sea creatures living in regions of very low oxygen and light, THEY GO TO EXTREMES spiders whose behavior may indicate an evolutionary adaptation in the making and more, including the human body's response to FRONTIERSis produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in high altitudes. Watertown, Massachusetts, whose producers and camera crews often Be sure to visit our Web site (http://www.pbs.org/saf/) and go to extremes to film the stories you see. Over the years, they have try our online activities (see pp. 14-15 in this guide). You and climbed the Alps, braved Arctic waters, trekked into deserts, ex- your students can enter the Viewer Challenge (p. 4) and have a plored unfamiliar countries and captured exciting but challenging chance to win one of our terrific FRONTIERS T-shirts. footage. Along the way they've also wrestled with sharks, captured bears, risked attacks by scorpions and other critters, climbed the A LOOK BACK side of an active volcano and ventured into the unknown, all in the name of creating excellent science television. You first met evolutionary biologist and paleontologist Geerat Producing the story about mountain climbing seen in this epi- (Gary) Vermeij in Creatures of the Deep (Show 604) last season sode meant experiencing the rigors of life at 15,000 feet above sea on FRONTIERS. Vermeij, who is blind, uses his sense of touch to level. Different challenges arose for the crew and Host Alan Alda as "read" the biology and history of shells they ventured beneath the surface of the water when exploring mid- and the mollusks that once inhabited ocean depths. them. His ideas have caused other Finding cooperative cheetah and pronghorn to film was no easy scientists to reconsider the roles matter, either. Several days before taping was to begin, the cheetah of predator and prey in evolution. to be filmed suffered an unrelated injury. Luckily, at the last minute Vermeij tells his story in a new the producers were able to locate another cheetah to film. book, Privileged Hands: A Scientific Life (W.H. Freeman and Co., 1997). In his book, Vermeij recounts NEXT TIME ON FRONTIERS how an early interest in shells turned into a "burning curiosity Stay tuned April 9, 1997, for Robots Alive, the season and set the course for my life." Check your local bookstore, library finale of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS, WhiCh features or Amazon Books (http://www.amazon.com). autonomous robots with minds of their own.

)ie0 1.1 ES OW 0 0 Always check TV listings to confirm air date and time. We appreciate and welcome As a teacher, you have off-air taping rights in perpetuity for classroom use. your questions, comments, compliments and constructive 0 If you can't find the show in your TV listings, call your local PBS station. criticism. Please contact us. .. L 0, Do you need help? Call the FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. BY MAIL: 0 Videotapes of past shows can be purchased ($19.97 each). Call 800-315-5010. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120 Afflt VII MIMI Dr oiDEFT11115 116 TE Newtown, PA 18940-3425 \__RGTE Corporation,the series underwriter, makes available complete off-air taping rights BY PHONE: 800-315-5010 7aill perpetuity for classroom use Of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS. Educators may record BY FAX: 215-579-8589 each show when it airs on PBS and keep the tapes to use in the classroom year after BY E-MAIL: [email protected] year. Educators may also photocopy all materials in this guide for classroom use. If you know of other educators interested in receiving these guides, they may sign up by VOSEIT J CINE: calling the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. http://www.pbs.org/saf/ a 5 0 LAE HMI Kg 0 HM[ElV 1llJ, IITTW f] k'rtI KA

001116 TO EXTREMES

SPIDER CANYON Long-term observations of funnel web spiders in a natural laboratory suggest a surprising theory. Activity: Trade observations of animal adaptations. HIGH ANXIETY

FRONTIERSclimbs to 15,000 feet to see if a test can predict who will succumb to mountain sickness. Activity: Learn about the physiology of mountain sickness. ULTIMATE SPEED Science explores the physiology and biomechanics of the two fastest runners in the animal kingdom. Activities: DUARTIUTS Measure your V02 max ...Videotape biomechanics of running. VIEWER CHALLENGE FROZEN ALIVE THE BIG PICTURE Wood frogs that freeze and winter flounder that don't are the subjects of fascinating research activities. SAF ONLINE Activities: Chill out with organic antifreeze and frozen yeast. Note: Tbe order of the activities in this guide does not reflect the actual order of the stories in the show. The At-A-Glance box below reflects the HIDDEN DEPTHS story sequence on the show. Underwater explorations of the ocean's middle depths o ID turn up some bizarre species never seen before. liJ LAI 60106 TO EXTREMS 0 C.) 1-- la Z Z Activity: h SHOW 704. a/19/97 uw LLI w Design and build a mini-ecosystem. C-/-7-----J o rn. on PBS z u- la0z0oco LIIIIIE NOTE: More detailed curriculum C.) IwIo links are included on the activity co wet 55 sheets to individual stories p _1 1111 0 CC Z La )'0 RUNNING=< ILI _Ll' I ILI STORY TIME W LU 0I O. 1 COVER PHOTO: © T/MAKER® BRODERBUND SOFTWARE. .. NOTE: THE PHOTOGRAPH OF ALAN ALDA HOLDING THE HUMAN BRAIN WHICH r -Spida. Canyon 1B:09 APPEARED ON THE TABLE OF CONTENTS IN THE PIECES OF MIND (SHOW 703) TEACHING GUIDE WAS TAKEN AND COPYRIGHTED BY STANLEY ROWIN. {----Iffoun Alilk 10:45 .... Spud 10:54 .. . SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS iS made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. The series is produced by The Chedd- CUP cl Ilitddth Opths 9:04 Angier Production Company in association with SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine and presented to PBS by Connecticut Public Television. HMh Anxitty 10:00 . Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. PBS *CHECK LOCAL TIME r a SNr.r. 01-10W 704 FRONTIERS YMEEE Ltall[LEHEInoinxirn Fthruarg 19, 1997. at') pm on MB Student's Name Teacher's Name & Course

WatchSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERSGoing to Extremes (Show 704) for answers to questions on this page. Answer the 10 questions correctly and you'll be eligible to win aFRONTIERST-shirtl

Spider Canyon 6. How do pronghorn and cheetah differ in the ways they run? 1. How does the female funnel web spider identify its prey?

Hidden Depths 2. The hybrid spider offspring of aggressive males from the 7. What is "marine snow"? desert and the less aggressive spiders from the river are: O a. very timid. CI b. super-aggressive. 111 c. not very bright. 0 d. confused.

Frozen Alive 8. The ocean at the middle depths contains low levels of 3. What enables the winter flounder to survive the cold temper- (choose two): ature of sea water? El a. oxygen. CI b. phosphorus. c. nitrogen. El d.light. High Anxiety 4. What chemical enables the wood frog to freeze and thaw? 9. The air at high altitudes causes problems for climbers O a. glucose El b. glyceric acid because it contains: LI c. glycerol 111 d. nitroglycerin CI a. less nitrogen. El b. more oxygen. Ultimate Speed El c. less oxygen. El d. more carbon dioxide. 5. When the cheetah is running, it gets extra power from 10.What is the most dangerous time on the mountain for energy stored in its: climbers susceptible to altitude sickness? El a. legs.0 b. feet. 0 c. muscles. ci d. back.

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When completed, this page can become an entry to the Important!! Please include a separate cover sheet and tell us: FRONTIERS T-shirt contest; 20 winners (10 students, 10 number of challenges submitted teachers) will be drawn at random for each show. To teacher's name enter the T-shirt drawing, send all completed challengesin grade and course one envelopewith a cover sheet to: Viewer Challenge, school name, address and phone number Scnrritic AmlaucAN FRONTIERS, 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown, where your students watched the show at home, at school or both PA 18940-3425. Mail completed entries by March 21, 1997. the name of your students' favorite story in this show TIP: You can also download these questions on the FRONTIERS Web site (seep.14). (conduct a quick poll to find out) Thank you!

ANSWERS TO VIEWER CHALLENGE 704: 1. senses vibration patterns of the prey when it touches her web 2. b 3. antifreeze proteins in its blood4. a 5. d 6. cheetah sprinter, anaerobic; pronghorn long-distance runner with great endurance, aerobic 7. junk, detritus and dust from the upper layer of ocean that drifts down 8. a, d 9. c10. night

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This episode of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS takes you to some of the extreme places on Earth and introduces you to a few of the inhabitants who live there. You'll meet animals that live in cold places and in hot places like the deserts of the American Southwest and in the savannas of Africa. You'll travel to the middle depths of the ocean off Monterey Bay, California and climb the Alps in Germany. Here are profiles of the animals and places featured on Going to Extremes.

THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE (Antilocapra americana), not a true antelope, lives in grass- lands and deserts from northern Mexico to southwestern Canada. Native to the Great Plains of North America, pronghorn were once as populous as bison. Clocked at speeds of more than 60 mph, the pronghorn is the fastest New World mammal and can run at 45 mph for several miles.

THE CHEETAH (Acinonyxjubatus) is built for speed. Sadly, the cheetah, once found in abundant numbers on African savannas (and in North America until about 10,000 years ago), is losing the race for survival. Cheetah are great sprinters and can run at speeds of 70 mph for distances of about 300 yards. The cheetah can accelerate from 0 to 45 mph in less than two seconds!

Found in the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Georgia and heavily concentrated in the northern regions, THE WINTER FLOUNDER (Pleuronectes americanus) has antifreeze proteins in its blood that keep it from freezing. The winter flounder is one species of right-eyed flatfish. When this fish is young, its eyes are on both sides of its head; but as it matures, the eyes mi- grate to the right side.

THE WOOD FROG (Rana sylvatica) is found across many regions of northern North America and can live in habitats north of the Arctic Circle. Its freeze tolerance is made possible by glucose produced by its liver, which enables it to survive cold temperatures for weeks, with as much as 67 percent of its total body water turning to ice. When temperatures warm, the frog thaws.

THE FUNNEL WEB SPIDER (Agelenopsis aperta) spins THE MIDDLE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN from a its web in the shape of a funnel (tube) on one end, few hundred to 12,000 feet below the surface where it retreats to get out of the sun and to await is one of few unexplored regions on Earth. prey that lands on the web. The funnel is oriented so Scientists only recently discovered the strange that the sun shines into the recess only in the late af- forms of life that inhabit this region, where ternoon, which permits a longer time to hunt for food there is very little sunlight or oxygen. From fang and cooler funnel temperatures in the daytime. fish to bioluminescent sea creatures and hundreds of other unique species, the inhabitants of this region have adapted to an extreme environment.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING AT HIGH ALTITUDES can be hazardous to your health. Because of the atmospheric changes at this height and above, climbers must take special precau- tions to acclimate to the extremes before making the trek to the top. The tallest peaks of Mt. Everest reach higher than 29,000 feet; the FRONTIERS crew ascends to 15,000 feet in the Alps.

YOUR 7unNz WHERE ON EARUFI .?Locate the following places on our planet: HOTTEST AND COLDEST SPOTS 0 HIGHEST MOUNTAIN PEAK 0 DEEPEST PART OF THE OCEANS 0 LONGEST RIVER

5 3 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS EFla MA 61-10W 704 ome spiders will go to any extremes to find a partner. But for the male funnel web spider in one area of Arizona, such behavior may not be in the best 5110H5 interests of the species. Arachnologist Susan Riechert has discovered that the union EXYREHEE of aggressive males from the desert with timid spiders from the river is producinga super- aggressive hybrid spider with very low survival rates. Selection pressure should eventually prevent desert and river spiders from interbreeding, causing a new species to emerge.

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ERELMINIONG The funnel web spider 'ffia 1116 TOME: noted. On the right side write the name of the ad- has evolved many adap- V paper aptation (if you know it) and a brief description of 1.2:09 tations that enable it to V pencils how it helps the organism survive. Start your cards survive. From behav- with pictures oflocal CtIJRCROCLIILIJM V clipboard animal species. As you get ioral changes like hid- LORIKS: V blank 3" x 5" index used to observing and creating cards, follow up ing in its web to escape BIOLOGY cards with library or online research to support your ob- arachnids, genetics the heat of the day to servations. Once the cards are complete, you may physical modifications like those needed to spin a wish to laminate them. EARTH SCIENCE funnel-shaped web, adaptations are "nature's biomes, desert 3. Go ONLINE.Takephotos of plants and animals and tools" for survival. In this activity, you will build a substitute them for the drawings on the trading GENERAL SCIENCE set of Nature's Tools Trading Cards. These cards, adaptation, evolution cards. A digital camera (or pictures you download like sports and other trading cards, are a good way from online sources) will let you importthepic- GEOGRAPHY for you to apply your observation skills. American Southwest tures straight into a computer. You can also build your trading cards and make them available on LIFE SCIENCE OAPEt....1ECT I N/ your school's Web site. complex invertebrates, predator & prey Observe and write about adaptations in nature. SAMPLE TRAIDING CAIRO RELATED FR cD MT FRONTIERS ACTOWITY: [IVIDF2CYCECrUIRE COMMON NAME: Show 303 1. OBSERVATIONS. Select a quiet area to black widow spider Teaching Guide observe organisms. (If weather pre- "Luv to Catch Spiders" SCIENTIFIC NAME: (pp. 13-14) vents outdoor observation, you can Latrodectus mactans observe a dog, cat, hamster or other pet.) Choose an organism to study and HABITAT: draw it. Identify a feature or adaptation Found in southwestern deserts. Prefers dark, undisturbed places you think helps the organism survive where it can build its web and wait and draw a close-up of it. Take notes for prey. Builds webs in crevices, rocks or buildings and wood piles. http://tuuluipbs.org/sat/ on how you think the adaptation works. Hides during the day. For example, the web of the black ASK THE widow uses sticky threads in a random BAC pattern to trap its prey. SOUITISTS ADAPTATION OBSERVED: 2. TRADING CARDS. Using blank index The web of the black widow seems cards, draw a vertical line down the to be different from other spiders. It middle of each side. On the front, left does not have a particular pattern; it consists of random threads that side of the card, redraw the picture of are attached to whatever is handy.

the organism you sketched in your ini- HOW IT WORKS: Susan RIechert, tial observation. On the right side write The web seems to be sticky and traps seen in the common name of the organism, the insects that stumble into it. Once this segment, insects are trapped, the spider scientific name and a brief description answers your comes out and bites the prey. questions online. of its habitat. I saw that if I tap on the web the See p. 14 On the left side of the back of the spider comes out as if an insect were for information. caught. card, draw one of the adaptations you

HIGH AllXIETT Hountarm :0111:Ing and Human 111gsMog

FPUININONG Two thousand years ago, Chinese travelers climb- pulmonary edema, which can be fatal. Experienced TOME: ing the Himalayas called them the "Headache climbers and skiers know that the key to prevent- 10:00 Mountains." And little wonder. The high peaks of ing problems at altitude is to climb slowly, allow- the Himalayas have caused more than a few head- ing the body to acclimate. As a rule of thumb, CUIRROCULLIM LANDIS: aches for even the most experienced mountain climbers can avoid perils by ascending 2,000 feet a day above 7,000 feet and by climbing at a com- BIOLOGY climbers over the centuries. circulatory system, The ancient Chinese who ascended those lofty fortable pace, allowing time for rest. respiratory system peaks had one advantage modern travelers often EARTH SCIENCE do not: climbers in previous centuries were atmosphere forced to acclimate slowly to any change in height, GENERAL SCIENCE since they could not be flown in to a mountain re- blood cells, sort and expect to be on the slopes or out hiking human brain on the same day. HEALTH In a modern scenario, tourists fly from their aerobic breathing, fitness, hypoxia homes at sea level to a mountain resort at 7,000 or 8,000 feet. The adventurous traveler then de- LIFE SCIENCE gas exchange, cides to take a tram or hike to the ski slopes, or lung capacity, climb a mountain trail, which might be closer to physiology 9,000 or 10,000 feet. By nightfall, the traveler may experience severe headaches, shortness of breath, nausea, mental confusion and great fatigue. vrion This form of altitude sickness is known as acute mountain sickness. It can occur when people accustomed to living at sea level ascend to alti- What is the altitude tudes higher than 8,000 feet too rapidly for the where you live? body to adjust. At higher altitudes, changes in the a _RO AMMEs Compare the atmo- atmospheric air pressure cause oxygen levels to spheric pressures at drop. Mountain sickness is the body's response Even altitudes of 5,000 feet can literally take your various altitudes, from to falling concentrations of oxygen. It is remedied sea level to 29,000'. breath away. If you live at an elevation of less than by rest or descent. 3,000 feet, be aware that a rapid change in altitude c=.- Investigate the Not everyone who travels above 8,000 feet will effects on the body of can occasionally cause problems. Altitude sickness deep-sea diving at experience symptoms of acute mountain sickness. is highly unpredictable and can strike people in the depths comparable to It was once thought that more physically fit people best of health. Be aware of these symptoms: high altitudes. How would have an easier time adjusting to altitude. listlessness, drowsiness, apathy are the "bends" like But that is not always the case, as you see on FRON- i=> prolonged or severe headache, extreme thirst altitude sickness? TIERS when scientists try to predict who will ex- 1>- sleep disturbances, mental confusion For more details on perience the more severe form of mountain the physiology of the sickness. Some people are not as susceptible to slowed reflexes, fatigue human body at high any form of mountain sickness. To copewith altitude sickness and its potentially altitudes, see "Moun- The case of mountain sickness in this episode unpleasant or dangerous effects when hiking, ski- tain Sickness" in the of FRONTIERS is more extreme than that experi- ing or snowboarding, acclimate yourself slowly, October 1992 issue of Scientific American. enced by the occasional traveler. This more dan- drink plenty of water and avoid vigorous exercise gerous form of mountain sickness is high-altitude until you've adjusted to the higher elevation.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS iS made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with SCIENTInC AMERICAN magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the School GEO Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. 0 1997, GTE Corporation. 5 1 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS _J SHOW 704 he cheetah and the pronghorn antelope are the world's fastest land animals, but each achieves its success in locomotion because of very different 6OHM b- iomechanics. The cheetah is a sprinter, built for speed with a flexible body and a large EXIMMEE stride. By contrast, the pronghorn's body is built for endurance and long distances; it has evolved an aerobic ability that enables it to utilize oxygen at a very high rate. Both the cheetah and the pronghorn have been clocked at speeds higher than 60 mph.

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'UI ORUNNONG Researchers interested different tools and devices to study the science of TOME: in the physiology of lo- ACTIVITY 1: running. Gas analyzers of 02 and CO2 concentra- 10:54 comotion look at how stopwatch tions and flowmeters can determine how effi- the body's systems calculator CURRODULUM ciently an organism uses oxygen; high-speed LONKS: respiratory, cardiovas- ACTIVITY 2: videos record and analyze components of move- cular, musculoskeletal video camera ment. The same techniques can be applied to hu- BIOLOGY V meter stick blood gases, work when animals man physiology and fitness. respiration move. ACTIVITIES 1 & 2: You can set up your own research activities V writing materials GENERAL SCIENCE As you see on FRON- V graph paper to find out more about the physiology and bio- mammals, TIERS, physiologists use mechanics of locomotion. vertebrates LIFE SCIENCE life processes, respiration ACTIVITY 1::MOUE Tig NEN PHYSICAL SCIENCE force plate analysis, KIP gases 13J aCTIN/E science project. Non-runners can handle the tim- ing and calculations for the runners. PHYSICS Collect and analyze data to calculate human aerobic acceleration, capacity. V-7 velocity D7RC:0C EC) l_1172E The two fastest land animals, the pronghorn and Use this equation to calculate V02 max for a distance RELATED cheetah, have evolved different solutions to the FRONTIERS need for speed. Each animal is perfectly designed of one mile: ACTOVITIf: to run at top speed. One difference is in the ways V02 max = 133.61(13.89 x time) SCIENCE OF the two use oxygen. The cheetah, like any sprinter, SPORTS Time is equal to the number of minutes it takes to (Show 405) is anaerobic, while the pronghorn relies on aero- Teaching Guide bic endurance, similar to marathon runners. run one mile. V02 max is usually given in milliliters "Spring Man" (p. 7) Several tests have been developed to measure of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/ aerobic capacity in people and in animals. A popu- kg/min). This equation, from Inside Running: Basics lar test measures V02 (volume of oxygen) max of Sports Physiology by David Costill, is just one ex- http://www.pbs.org/saf/ the more efficiently the oxygen is used, the more ample of many prediction equations. For a two-mile fit the runner. The higher the V02 max, the greater test, use: V02 max = 128.81 (5.95 x time). ASK Tiff the aerobic capacity. The longer the run, the more accurate the measurement. Less than a mile is (NA)LJ ESTI CD NJ S SOUITISTS anaerobic running, not aerobic. 1. Graph the data you collect and examine it in dif- Physiologists have found a high aerobic capac- ferent ways. For example, does V02 max differ by ity or ability to use oxygen in the pronghorn. As ageor gender? Does V02 max differ among stu- you see on FRONTIERS, physiologists monitor the 02 dents involved in different sports? and CO2 concentrations in expired gases from the 2. V02 max can be influenced by exercise. What kind Rodger Kram, pronghorn. of exercise might help improve V02 max? seen in You can measure V02 max yourself, by follow- this segment, 3. Why might we see more variation in aerobic ca- answers your ing these steps. Work with the physical education questions online. teacher or a track coach. You may want to ask for pacity in humans than in animals? See p. /4 volunteers from various sports teams or set aside for information. 4. Compare and contrast the physiology and biome- a block of time for a special physical education/ chanics of the cheetah and pronghorn.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. 1997, GTE Corporation. SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY g:NomEchanlics or Runk AMERICAN FRONTIERS EiJ ECMIN/E 4. Start your camera and have the subject walk SHOW 704 slowly in a straight line past the camera. Record Find out how different speeds affect stride rate and at least two trials. 500015 TO length. 5. Next have your subject run at a jogging pace and EX MEE When animals want to run faster, they increase ei- record two trials. Repeat this at faster paces until, ther their stride rate or stride length. As you see for the last trial, you have the subject sprint in on FRONTIERS, measuring the stride of a galloping front of the camera. pronghorn is challenging! 6. Once you've collected your data, examine the A stride is a complete movement from the point video to see how stride length and stride rate vary of one foot striking the ground, leaving it, then with pace. You may want to set up a data table striking the ground again. Stride length is the dis- to record the pace, stride length and stride rate. tance traveled in one stride. A horse has a maxi- UTIMATE SPEED mum stride length of about seven meters, a stride rate of about 2.25 strides/second and a top speed of about 70 km/hr. A cheetah, which is much IMPTIE1:11 smaller than a horse, has a stride length that is o o about the same as that of the horse; but the cheetah has a stride rate of about 3.5 strides/second and a top speed of about 110 km/hr. Where does Cheetah and other the difference in speed come from? Consider the large mammals inhab- cheetah's physiology as explored in the activity ited parts of North America until the end ((1p) 1 0 NJ S on page 8. of the Pleistocene era, Physiologists studying the mechanics of move- 1. How do stride rate and stride length vary between about 10,000 years ment look at how anatomy contributes to speed by males and females? Among runners of different ago. Find out where running animals at different speeds and filming ages? they lived and why them. They use high-speed cameras that can film they died out in these 2. Set up experiments that study the stride rate and at speeds greater than 1,000 images per second. regions. length of different animals, or of different breeds Even though a video camera can shoot only 30 The cheetah is of animals. How do they compare? images per second, not fast enough to capture the greatly endangered. Find out how many details researchers need to see, you can use it to *).CTINJ S 1 0 NJ S begin studying the biomechanics of running. cheetah are living, c=-- If your videotape player has a pause feature, you where they live and can stop the video at key times to trace the out- the reasons for their line of the legs in a stride. Try to superimpose the critical status. bones of the leg over your drawing. What is the The pronghorn's movement of the bones in the leg and foot over speed may be an evolu- the course of a stride cycle? tionary adaptation in response to a predator Reset your camera to get a close-up of the foot chasing it. Today there during running. How does the movement of the is no creature living in 1-7 U:TFLOCEDoli IRE foot vary at different speeds? Does a different the pronghorn's habitat part of the foot hit the ground first? Does this vary that is capable of pur- 1. Position the video camera (an 8mm camera is among different people? suing the chase. So best) in a well-lit area and against a backdrop that why do pronghorn Research other running animals. What bones do continue to run so will let you capture a runner passing in front of they use to run? How do they differ from the bones fast? Some scientists the camera. Make sure you keep a detailed re- in a human's leg and foot? How does the ankle have suggested that search journal with information on time, date and spur and bone structure help pronghorn run? they are being chased details of the data collection. You should also by "ghosts" of preda- r=.- If you have access to a software program like Avid record the position of the camera setup so you tors. In other words, Cinema, try making a movie of animals or people can duplicate it if you have to take down your according to this theory running, perhaps for your school's Web page, or equipment. pronghorn exhibit just for fun. behavior appropriate 2. Frame the picture so that you can capture about for the wild but no two full strides without having to move the cam- [- You can measure your V02 max on a treadmill. See Bicycling Medicine Cycling Health, Fitness longer necessary for era while your subject is running. survival. Can you find & injury Explained by Arnie Baker, M.D. 3. Place a meter stick or mark the background with other examples meter increments to give you a frame of reference of relict behavioral to measure. To get a time reference, have the THIS ACTIVITY AND THAT ON PAGE 6 WERE CONTRIBUTED BY adaptations? JAMIE LARSEN, A SCIENCE TEACHER AND TUFTS UNIVERSITY camera's time and date stamp feature turned on. WRIGHT FELLOW CURRENTLY LIVING NEAR SEDONA, ARIZONA.

NO1E11 AlIVE MTIVITY 1: Elut: ElFg,ank ARUTFEEN

RURIRIIING As a substance (solute) TOME: 1n converts glycogen to glucose, which is able to ac- dissolves in another tually prevent ice crystals from forming in the frog's 10:45 basin or container substance (solvent), it V thermometer cells through freezing point depression. produces a mixture (CIIJORREICLDLUIPfil V 2 small plastic cups (LAMS: called a solution. The 13_1 C relative amounts of V ice BIOLOGY V stirring rod Investigate the role of glucose (sugar solution) when hibernation, solute and solvent can used as an antifreeze. regulation affectthephysical V graduated cylinder V water CHEMISTRY properties of the so- rrFt 0 ILJF E change of phase, lution. For example, V salt glucose glucose acts as a sol- V sugar packets 1. Fill a small basin with about 500 mL of an ice-and- EARTH SCIENCE vent to lower the freez- V marker water mixture. Use a thermometer to measure the freezing & thawing, temperature of this mixture until it reaches 00 C. water cycle ingpointof water. When this happens, it is known asfreezing point 2. Once the temperature has stabilized, add 1/4 cup GENERAL SCIENCE depression or supercooling. of salt to the mixture. Stir well. After five minutes amphibians, fish An automobile's engine is cooled by jackets of remeasure the temperature of the solution. Did it LIFE SCIENCE water. In winter, water in these channels can freeze change? If so, how? cold-blooded animals, cryogenics, and expand. The expansion is so forceful it can 3. Add 10 mL of ice-cold water (no ice) to two small yeast crack an engine block. Antifreeze is a liquid sol- cups labeled A and B. PHYSICAL SCIENCE ute (ethylene glycol) that dissolves easily in wa- 4. Mix 1/2 packet of sugar into cup B. freezing point ter. In solution and added to a car's engine, it depression 5. Place both cups into thelargebasin that has been (supercooling) lowers the freezing point of water, preventing it filled with salted ice-water. from freezing and ruining the engine. TECHNOLOGY 6. After ten minutes, compare the contents of the Glucose, like the antifreeze ethylene glycol, antifreeze two cups. dissolves in water. In this activity, think of the sugar solute as a form of glucose that depresses U ESTI 0 NJ S the freezing point of water. In cells, the lowering of the freezing point of the liquid cell contents 1. What happened to the water in cups A and B? http://www.pbs.org/sat/ protects the living system from freezing and rip- 2. What might account for any observed differences ping open with fatal results. The wood frog's liver in the final appearance of the cup contents? ASK Bit SOUITISTS

Kenneth and Janet Storey, seen in this segment, answer your questions online. See p. 14 for information.

SciENTOC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. 0 1997, GTE Corporation. CEO SCIENTIFIC AUIVITY r'111711 IgENItS: ii g IA AMERICAN FRONTIERS As you observe on )] Place one portion into a small clean, dry beverage 01.10W 704 FRONTIERS,some organ- V 4 16-ounce clear container labeled A and the other portion into a isms withstand frigid beverage containers similar container labeled B. 5 M5 temperatures by shut- V 8" to 10" balloons 3. Open and divide the contents of a second yeast al115 ting down their energy V 2 packages of dry package into two equal portions. Place one por- needs. In a "suspended baker's yeast (or tion into a beverage container labeled C and the state," their cells, tis- dried yeast in jars) other portion into a container labeled D. V warm water sues and organs re- 4. Do not activate the yeast in container A. The yeast quire very little energy. V small basin filled with ice water in containers B, C and D should be activated ac- The demands of such a cording to the instructions printed on the yeast "quasi-living" state can V small basin filled package, including adding about 1/2 teaspoon of be satisfied by a very with warm water FROltfl ALIVE (about 40° C) sugar per container. slow metabolic rate. Metabolism refers V thermometer 5. Stretch and secure a balloon over the mouth of to the physical and V sugar each of the four containers. chemicalprocesses V spoon 6.Set containersA and B on a desktop. Place con- V magnifying glass that make energy avail- tainer C in a basin filled with warm water. Place able to an organism. container D in a basin filled with ice water. Metabolism is affected by temperature. The 7. Examine the setups after 15 minutes. Record any colder the temperature, the slower the reaction change in the balloons' appearance. rate. When the rate of these life-sustaining reac- Note: You can use dried yeast either in packets or in less expen- tions drops beneath a critical level, the organism sive jars. The experiment will work even if amounts of yeast are not precise. You might want to try varying amounts of yeast to see what MDRTMo will die. happens. Most instructions call for the use of sugar to activate the In this activity, you'll observe the relationship yeast; try variations of the instructions to see what happens. between temperature and metabolism. The sub- c=-- Apply the results of jects for this experiment are Saccharomyces this activity to the role cerevisiae one-celled organisms more com- of glucose solution as monly known as baker's yeast. These cells have an animal antifreeze. been specially packed, treated and stabilized so When making ice they can remain in a "suspended" but viable state cream, flavored cream for several months. When placed in warm water, is placed in a container surrounded by the cells activate. As the metabolism awakens, the salted ice. Why? cells generate carbon dioxide gas. By observing the presence of this gas, you'll be able to make ==.- Why do people put rock salt on icy side- inferences about metabolism. You'll see that walks in the winter? both the yeast and the multicellular organisms 1=-- Is your metabolism seen on FRONTIERS can survive states of suspended temperature-depen- animation or low metabolic activity. dent? Does it change ONOEgJ E0-1IN/E at all in summer or 1. Did any of the balloons change in appearance? If winter? Observe the relationship between temperature and so, how? D.- How is the metabo- metabolism. 2. What caused this change? lism of cold-blooded R00 E0U 3. What happened to the yeast in container A? Ex- animals different from that of warm-blooded plain. 1. Open a package of baker's yeast and carefully animals? 4. After 15 minutes, how did the appearance of the remove several small granules. Examine the Can you think of grains of pressed dried yeast with a hand lens. yeast change? other applications for Does the yeast appear alive? Explain. 5. How is the yeast metabolism similar to the me- the winter flounder 2. Divide the contents of this opened package into tabolism of the organisms shown in this segment and wood frog discov- two equal portions (about 11/8 teaspoons each). of FRONTIERS? eries? Investigate the supercooling mecha- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: ACTIVITY 1: 1. The water in cup A froze; the solution in cup B remained liquid. 2. The dissolved sugar lowered the freezing point of the water, thus preventing it from freezing.ACTIVITY 2:1. Balloons over containers B, C and D nisms of the Arctic inflated.2. Yeast became activated and released CO2 gas that inflated the balloons.3. Since this yeast wasn't activated, it ground squirrel, a remained in its suspended state and did not produce a detectable amount of CO2. 4. Yeast in warm water had the most froth; in mammal that is able room temperature it had a middle amount of froth; in ice water it had the least froth. 5. Metabolism is affected by temperature. In to survive very cold addition, both the yeast and multicellular organisms can survive in a "suspended state" of low metabolic activity. ACTIVITIES ON THESE PAGES WERE CONTRIBUTED BY SCIENCE WRITER MICHAEL DISPEZIO, AUTHOR OF THE BOOK THE SCIENCE OF temperatures. HIV, PART OF A NEW VIDEO AND ACTIVITIES CURRICULUM PACKAGE AVAILABLE FROM NSTA.

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RUNNING As you seeon FRONTIERS in Going to Extremes, Try to find a similar experiment or environmental TOIVIE: the middle depths of the ocean are a unique eco- problem in the news to use as a model for your 9:04 system, home to some bizarre creatures never be- experiment. Maybe you can solve the problem. fore seen. In this activity, you will design and build CURRICULUM 2. Determine the needs of the ecosystem. Air, water LINKS: your own biosphere based on a single ecosystem. and soil are important. So is selection of the flora BIOLOGY and fauna (plants and animals). You can purchase %VP invertebrates seeds and plants, then research the needs of in- EARTH SCIENCE Design and observe a mini-ecosystem. sects, fungi and microorganisms. biomes, ecology, 3. When you determine the species you want, re- oceans An ecosystem is asystem that has input and output by living and nonliving things knit together as an search the type of food and amount needed to sus- GENERAL SCIENCE tainlifein your biosphere. Figure out which ecosystems organized unit. Input can be in the form of energy from the sun or rainwater introduced into the eco- members of the food web should be in the ecosys- LIFE SCIENCE logical unit. Output is what the ecological unit pro- tem to keep everything alive. You may need to bioluminescence, classification, duces, such as heat, carbon dioxide, oxygen or provide "imported" food, like worms, for an animal ecosystems waste products. higher on the food chain. TECHNOLOGY To make your biosphere habitable for life, start 4. Research the size of your biosphere. Size is rel- submersibles with soil, air and water the media that support evant to food production. If your biosphere has a the "bios" (life) in the biosphere. You will also large consumer, like a mouse, turtle or fish, make RELATED need to provide food for the inhabitants inside their sure there are enough plants, animals or both to FRONTIERS ACTIVITY: enclosed environment. meet that animal's food needs. For example, a If you throw a bunch of plants, soil, water and field mouse needs to eat 10 to 100 times its bio- THE WILD WEST (Show 601) creatures into a glass container and seal it, you'll mass in grass each day. Teaching Guide end up with a pretty wild project. However, it prob- 5. Research the environmental needs of the bio- "Model Planet" (pp. 6-7) ably will last only a little while. If you want to build sphere. How much water will it need? What is the a biosphere that will support life, you first need to pH of the soil? What about temperature? Lighting? research and plan. Here's how: 6.Statea hypothesis about your project. 7. Put the facts together and figure out where to get 1#1'IDELJ1=2 the species for the project and how to contain PLAN' THE BIOSPHERE them. Your plan should include: the biosphere 1. Pick an ecosystem to build or replicate. It can be design, the materials, soil, water and air, as well from your area or from another place on the planet. as the plants and animals that will live inside.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM RESEARCH INSTITUTE, VISIT ITS WEB SITE AT: http://www. mbari.org WteltitiMitiAtol liZiteirenoltaliMAttice

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Biosphere 2, a three-acre, glass-and-steel structure timely issues like climate change, biodiversity, INDT1grip in Oracle, AZ, was created to help us better underwater resources and rising temperatures in hopes stand Biosphere 1 the Earth. In Biosphere 2, of applying the lessons to the real world. College I scientists created seven ecosystems, including a students from different schools may spend a semes- What physical rain forest and an ocean. The first experiment in ter doing research at the facility. features characterize 1991 involved eight scientists (and more than the middle depths of 3,000 species of plants, insects and animals) who the ocean? How is this lived in the sealed enclosure for two years. They region different from had planned to grow their own food and study the the shallows or ocean earth's ecology in miniature. However, levels of floor? CO2 became life-threatening, food was insufficient - 1=- Describe some of to meet the needs of the inhabitants and the experi- To find out more about Biosphere 2 or to take the adaptations differ- a virtual tour, go to the Web site http://www. ent species have ment was deemed one of mixed results. evolved to exist in Today, Biosphere 2 is a research and educa- bio2.edu and explore the various ecosystems. these unusual condi- tional center affiliated with Columbia University; Or, find out how you can visit Biosphere 2, now tions. scientists are using the model biosphere to study open to the public.

treks Learfinringch) mc Lduirin eRt2FRORITIERS Going to Extremes investigates how animals and humans react to extremes in their environments. After you watch this program, send your questions &%,E 51 Wantabout survival mechanisms to the experts on the show. The scientists on this page will answer viewers' questions from February 19 to March 7, 1997, via the FRONTIERS Web site: http://www.pbs.ovg/saff/. O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SPDDER CANYON ULTIMATE SPEED Susan Riechert,a professor at the University Rodger Kramof the University of California of Tennessee, Knoxville, may be the world's at Berkeley studies the motion of cheetah at A foremost authority on spider behavior. After 20 the Phoenix Zoo. He's learning that this spe- years, Riechert's study of how desert spiders cies has several key adaptations that allow it c and river spiders adapt to their environments to achieve speeds of more than 40 miles per in southern Arizona has led to new insights hour in less than two seconds. Kram will an- about the nature of evolution. Send in your swer your questions about the cheetah and questions to find out more about Riechert's ground-breaking work why it's the fastest animal in the world. O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 FROZEN ALINE MIDDEN DEPTHS KennethandJanet Storeyof Carleton Uni- This story, a repeat fromFRONTIERS' versity in Ottawa, Canada, search the woods for 1995-96 season, takes you deep the wood frog, a species into the midwaters off Monterey that freezes in the win- Bay, California, where you'll ter and thaws when encounter some of the most spring arrives. At their bizarre sea animals in the world. lab, the Storeys put the We will post online a complete

frog through MIUs to reveal how the frog .101." transcript of the "Ask the Scientists" freezes and survives this process. Send in your activity from this story, in which viewers' questions questions to the Storeys to learn more about Mirj were answered by a team of scientists from the Monterey Bay this frog's amazing survival skills. Aquarium Research Institute (MBAR°. O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0

GNU E lEARM1115 iFIKE DONM*9,c3 1-1-LOW VCD 1215noijZVGDA Visit the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS Web site (http://www. pbs.org/saf/) for an array of exciting activities and resources for Watch Going to Extremesandreview this classroom you and your students. Here are highlights of the cyberspace guide to prepare your question(s) and decide which scien- features you'll find when you visit FRONTIERSonline: tist(s) you'd like to contact. Eibrarg of linOine Resources and Reiated sites C=-- Visit SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS on PBS Online at Explore FRONTIERS' suggestions for further learning. http://www.pbs.org/saf/. Click on the "Ask the Scientists" Se(1110E Bcauenger Hunt icon on the opening screen to send your question(s). Scien- tists' answers will be posted online for FRONTIERS viewers to Answer questions for a chance to win a prize! read. Depending on the volume of questions received, only Onstant roil] selected questions may be answered. Share your opinions about topics on FRONTIERS. [:=- Remember to e-mail your questions by March 7, 1997! Vote for Tour Favorite Rug Tell us which story you like best on each show. OoOng lEravemes airs on P S on Teaching Ouides and Transcripts q Wednesday,Febyvavy 19,1997, at pm. An online version of this guide, plus the complete transcript of each show. PBS CheckyourTV listingsto confirm local air time anddate.

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"This year, I'm having a lot of fun withFRONTIERSonline ENtITUIRES [IDE features, as are many of my seventh graders," reports Check out these sites for more Martin Byhower, a science teacher at Chadwick School information about the topics in Palos Verdes Peninsula, California. "I have incor- covered on this program: porated information from your suggested Web sites in D"-http://www.usyd.edu. class discussion, including materials from the 'Mos- au/su/anaes/spiders.html quito Bytes' site after we watched the malaria story in Discover photos of Australian arachnids ScienceSafari. My students have sent e-mail to Alan and insects, as well as information about Alda and also submitted questions to scientists on the spider bites and their treatment. shows through 'Ask the Scientists' on your Web site." http://www.princeton.edu/ "To let students know what's available, I make rcurtis/altitude.html copies of the online information in the teaching guides Check out this guide to high-altitude ac- [pp. 14 and 15] ," he explains, "and then I give them climatization. Includes scientific explana- extra credit if they show me they visited your site or the related ones and interacted in tions of the body's responses to changes in oxygen levels. some way. For example, students can give me downloads of poll responses, or e-mail 1==- http://ngp.ngpc.state.ne.us/ to or from Alan or the scientists." wildlife/antelope.html At this point, out of fairness to those who don't have Internet access or don't know Learn more about the how to use it, Byhower is encouraging but not requiring his students to visit the site. He pronghorn ante- also offers alternatives for students who want extra credit but can't get online. (For these lope, its habitat, diet and distribution. students, try offering the Viewer Challenge on p. 4 of this guide.) "Fairness, or at least http://www.neocomm.net/ the perception of such, is of prime importance in dealing with middle-schoolers," he eadams/cheetah.html advises. "So while I can require my students to watch the show and complete activities Find facts, photos, sounds from the teaching guide, I can also encourage them to explore and learn more through and links about the cheetah. Includes "picture your Web site features." links," paw prints and more. In addition to teaching life science, Byhower is director of Birding Southern Califor- http://superior.carleton.ca/ nia, a group that offers tours, private guiding and more. Educators interested in ornithol- kbstorey/post-1990.html ogy may enjoy visiting the group's Web site: http://www.loop.com/brambleThirds/. Visit this site for abstracts of articles on cryogenics and other research by Ken- Sdicance 'Cm Cyberrepaos neth B. Storey at Carleton University. http://www.wh.whol.edu/library/ In each issue of this guide, look for news about innovative sos94/spsyn/fldrs/winter.html Explore this page in the Nation- Web sites researched and recommended by FRONTIERS staff. al Marine Fisheries Science We hope you'll find them helpful. Center Web site. Includes a picture of winter flounder and V Ask the experts specific science questions information about its habitat and range. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN and send e-mail with your comments, ques- OEM AM Knowittout f OR ME RV EMORY tions and concerns. r- http://www.mbarl.org Find out more about the research and http://www.sciam.com/ V Travel into the past to see science as it happened, in actual pictures and words as re- discoveries at the Monterey Bay Aquar- For more than 150years, Scientific Ameri- ported 50, 100 and 150 years ago. Or turn ium Research Institute featured in "Hid- canmagazine has been the leader in docu- forward and preview what's coming in the next den Depths." mentationofscientificrevelationand month's issue. 00 invention. Now, theScientific AmericanWeb V Shop theScientific AmericanMarketplace site takes you well beyond the printed page for a subscription or unique items for yourself and brings you a whole new world to explore. and other science enthusiasts. http://www. Here are a few highlights: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 V Find timely features about fast-breaking LET US CITE YOUR FAVORITE SITE! pbs.org/saf/ news, continually updated and referenced O Tell us about your favorite science with links to related past articles and otherO sites on the information superhigh- Web sites. O way. If we recommend your site in (RIBS On I I me) V Learn about the latest scientific events hap-O this guide, you'll receive aFRONTIERS 00 At press time, the online features and sites listed here pening anywhere and download the latest in T-shirt. Please e-mail your sugges- were current. Due to the rapidly changing online world, scientific images too. O tions [email protected]. some may have changed or may no longer be available.

6 '3 \ cir FRONTIERS V.,14if 1j1 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS airs on PBS onceineach of these monthsOctober and NoVember 1996 and January, February and April 1997. Each hour-long special includeS a variety of fascinating science stories based on a single theme.

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[Show 7011 Row 7031 Wednesday, October 23, 1996 '8 pm Wednesday, January 22, 1997 8 pm Leap forWard into the future when Spend the night in a sleep laboratory 0,1 FRONTIERSvisits the MIT Media Lab to and find out more about how your , testout'smart cars, smart rooms and brain works to create memories, Wearable eomputers: Meet Sdentists dreams and language. 'who are 'redesigning thefook and-role of computers.

Saffiff SERI 60111610 EXTRU15 Row 781 (Show 7041 . Wednesday, February 19,1997 8pm Intnational Spgial Wednesday, November 20, 1996 8 pm Imagine a live frog that actually freezes and thaws! Join scientists as -Travel on a science safari to South they investigate survival mechanism-S Africa. Meet some of the world's of animals that inhabit unique di: largest animals, then _trek to sites once In this episode of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN mates from the desert to Canada. Join inhabited brearly humans. Find out FRONTIERS: Host Alan Alda-meets.the two 'the' creW on a mountain climb in the. how scientists combat malaria today.. German Alps and.on a dive beneath ,fastest anithais on Earth, the cheetah and .the sea asFROWTIERSgoes.to extreines pronghorn antelope. The crew also explores life at nature's -1111111110111111/111111111°R- on Earth. extremes, to see how people and animals cope. Remember,teachers may videotape the show to use year after yeai GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, ROBOTS ADE grants educators free off-air taping rights in perpetuity for C Mow 7051 Wednesday, April 9, 1997 8 pm classroom use. ASK Tit altfiTE! Meet some autonomous robots with Susan Riechert and other scientists seen on Going to Extremes answer minds of their own, as well as inven- your questions online. See p.14. tors who are working on the robots http ://www. p bs . org/saf/ of tomorrow. PBS Underkitten bY GTE CorporatiOn C11:4

SCIENTIFIC Connecticut Public Television NON PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE AMERICAN P.O. Box 260240 FRONTIERS PAID Hartford, CT 06126-0240 Permit No. 51 Bristol, PA

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ROBOTS ALIVE! teaching guide activities as part of a science fair display at your Robots that walk, talk and think for themselves school? Or create a lending library of your classroom tapes that are the featured subjects in the season finale students can watch at home with their families. Visit the National of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS. This episode Science Foundation's NSTW home page for more ideas on how to 00 00flalso includes a test ride in a van that drives celebrate NSTW '97 and a list of organizations that can provide fur- itself and competitions with very intelligent ther resources: http://www.nsf.gov/od/Ipalnstw/start.htm. robot contestants. Host Alan Alda meets with $12,000 GRANT OPPORTUNITY inventors of these autonomous robots to find If you missed applying for a GTE Growth Initia- out more about their works in progress and tives for Teachers (GIFT) grant this year, what we might expect to see in the near future. you can put your name on the mailing list Be sure to visit our Web site (http://www. to receive an application for next year's pbs.org/saf/) and try our online activities (see pp. 14-15 in this program by calling 800-315-5010. Each guide). You and your students can enter the Viewer Challenge (p. year, GTE Corporation awards grants of and have a chance to win one of our terrific FRONTIERS T-shirts. $12,000 to 60 teams of one math and one RESOURCES YOU CAN USE science teacher from the same school. Teachers Articles in Scientific American bring you current developments of grades 6-12 from selected states may apply for these grants, in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. Some examples which are designated for school enrichment projects and profes- include the special report on the Internet in the March 1997 issue; sional development. Educators in the following states are eligible: "A Cricket Robot," Dec. 1996; "Controlling Computers with Neural AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, Signals," Oct. 1996 and "Will Robots Inherit the Earth?" Oct. 1994. ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, See also "The Global Positioning System," Feb. 1996, for more on WA, WI and WV. GPS technology. In September, look for a special issue of Scientific Applications will be mailed out in early fall. The deadline for American about advances in travel and transportation. completed applications will be mid-January 1998. You can access the magazine directly on the Web (http:// NEXT SEASON ON FRONTIERS www.sciam.com/) and on America Online (keyword: Sciam). To subscribe (a one-year subscription costs $24.97), write to Scien- We'll return to PBS in October 1997. Be sure to tune tific American, Dept. SAF, 415 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10017. in whenSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERSbrings you five c- Books of interest include: HAL's Legacy: 2001's Computer as new shows covering topics that range from sci- Dream and Reality, edited by David G. Stork (MIT Press, 1997); ence in Scandinavian countries, to zoo research, and Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers (HarperPerennial, 1995). pseudoscience and the connections between art and science. We'll also take a special trip to explore CELEBRATE NATIONAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY WEEK science in Panama, the tropical isthmus that con- April 20-26 is National Science & Technology Week (NSTW), a great nects the Americas. Until next season, watch for time to promote science and technology with students, parents and reruns of the 700 series on your local PBS station the public. Why not use your videotaped copies of FRONTIERS and this summer.

- TIE 6 W Difl6Realf1611 0, Always check TV listings to confirm air date and time. We appreciate and welcome your questions, comments, 0 As a teacher, you have off-air taping rights in perpetuity for classroom use. compliments and constructive O If you can't find the show in your TV listings, call your local PBS station. criticism. Please contact us . . C) Do you need help? Call the FRONTIERS School Program at 800-315-5010. BY MAIL: 0 Videotapes of past shows can be purchased ($19.97 each). Call 800-315-5010. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120 flEE onJ 31r Newtown, PA 18940-3425 GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, makes available complete off-air taping rights BY PHONE:800-315-5010 in perpetuity for classroom use ofSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS.Educators may record BY FAX:215-579-8589 each show when it airs on PBS and keep the tapes to use in the classroom year after BY E-MAIL:[email protected] year. Educators may also photocopy all materials in this guide for classroom use. If you know of other educators interested in receiving these guides, they may sign up by calling theSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERSSchool Program at 800-315-5010. http://www.pbs.org/saf/ a 6 EON irrAg WIA clE1011, ra0

ROBOTS ALIVE!

MAZES AND SQUIGGLES Autonomous robots compete to see which ones can navigate a maze and clean up a tennis court. Activities:

Define and write an algorithm... Takethe robot challenge. LOOK, NO HANDS! A van that drives itself is taking shape at Carnegie Mellon University. Activity: Build a pizza-cutting robot. TODDLER'S FIRST STEPS Teaching a robot to walk on two legs is not as easy as it sounds, but a project at the University of New Hampshire is doing just that. Activity: DEPARTMENS Find the center of gravity. VIEWER CHALLENGE loALMOST HUMAN THE BIG PICTURE Building a robot that will match humans is the dream of robotics guru Rodney Brooks. SAF ONLINE Activity: Design a robot.

, la ROBOFLYERS , c.) w w ROBOTS ALIVE! z (..) C.) Z College students build and race flying robots at the Aerial , SHOW 7064/9/97 La Z Robotics Competition. C.) UJ 14 L.- --- 0 111* on PB6 000 Activities: re w NOTE:More detailed curriculum 11+2 -.a al 99 What goes up must come down... Helicopter aviation. -1 links are included on the activity m ao0o sheets to individual stories. 5 I c7 61 az )- -0 - RUNNING 0 ILI I STORY TIME 00 0. a. I- -rHaus and Squigglfs 14:41 .. COVER PHOTO OF COG: 0 SAM OGDEN/BOSTON. ) _--lbok .Ho Hands! Hg SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS iS made possible by an underwriting .. grant from GTE Corporation. The series is produced by The Chedd- 070 .--E 5-Toddkrs First Steps 6:g3 Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American Almost Human 11:1g . .. magazine and presented to PBS by Connecticut Public Television. 5 ----, Itoboflyus 11:44 . Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. *CHECK LOCAL TIME a \ \ SHOW 705 FRONTIERS MBE EYA3 REMADV April 9,1997 at 0 pm on PBS Student's Name Teacher's Name & Course teb 00 WatchSCIENTIAC AMERICAN FRONTIERSRobots Antal (Show 705) 0 0 0 00 0 for answers to questions on this page. Answer the 10 questions correctly and you'll be eligible to win aFRONTIERST-shirti

Mamas and Squiggles 6. What is the first thing the robot nicknamed "Toddler" learns? 1. What strategy enables SRI to win the maze contest? a. how to walk 0 a. radar 111 b. multiple robots 0 b. how to balance on one leg LI c. remote sensors LII d. motion detectors c. how to hop d. how not to fall over 2. In the tennis ball contest, what kinds of robots are favored to do best? Almost Human 7. With Cog, Rodney Brooks and his colleagues at MIT hope to Look, No Handel build a robot with the intelligence and capabilities of a(n): 0 a. six-month-old baby. 3. If lane markers are missing, what does the experimental 0 b. ten-year-old child. van's system do? III c. adult. 0 a. stops running d. Star Fleet commander. b. adapts to identify other features on the road 8. Compared to robots like IT, Cog is a more advanced system c. alerts the driver because it: d. sends signals to satellites 4. Name two potential applications of the Carnegie Mellon Navlab project. RobolFlyers 9. Describe the task the aerial robot must complete.

Toddler's First Steps 5. How is the robot built by the University of New Hampshire 10. Which of these devices enables the Stanford team to win the different from earlier walking robots? contest? 0 a. sensors Ob. motion detectors CI c. vision systemCld. GPS (Global Positioning System)

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When completed, this page can become an entry to the Important!! Please include a separate cover sheet and tell us:

FRONTIERST-shirt contest; 20 winners (10 students, 10 number of challenges submitted teachers) will be drawn at random for each show. To teacher's name enter the T-shirt drawing, send all completed challengesin grade and course one envelopewith a cover sheet to: Viewer Challenge, school name, address and phone number SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS,105 Terry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown, where your students watched the show at home, at school or both PA 18940-3425. Mail completed entries by May 1, 1997. the name of your students' favorite story in this show TIP:You can also download these questions on the FRONTIERS Web site(see p. 14). (conduct a quick poll to find out) Thank you!III

ANSWERS TO VIEWER CHALLENGE 705:1. b 2. small, agile robots 3. b 4. navigate hazardous environments, make highways safer, alert sleepy truck drivers 5. robot is modeled on humans; it learns from past experiences 6. d 7. a 8. learns from experiences 9. fly across a barrier, pick up puck anddrop it at a designated site 10. d b lf Ji- DEP

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Although robots are considered a 20th-century invention, Frankenstein explored what happens when a man-made their origins lie in the distant past. From the earliest times, monster is given life by a well-meaning scientist. As com- people have created myths about mechanical beings built puter technology became more advanced, scientists became in their own likeness with superhuman powers. The ancient more interested in building intelligent machines that could Egyptians and Greeks built mechanical automatons to eventually think for themselves. Today, robots of all kinds perform simple tasks. In modern times, mechanical toys populate our world and are used for varied applications in entertained and ever-more-complicated machines were space exploration, the military, medicine, industry, research, invented. The idea of a lifelike mechanical humanoid in- police work and, of course, the movies. Here are some high- fluenced both art and science; in 1818, Mary Shelley's lights of robot invention in the 20th century.

In 1921, the Czech dramatist Karel Capek Classic sci-fi movies like coins_the word __TheDay the Earth Stood Still robot in-his- andFor-bidden Planetin the -play R.U.R. 1950s and '60s show robots from a Czech in various roles, fromNad- word meaning vanced saviorS-to malevolent "compulsory monsters. labor." \

Beginning in 1977 (and re-released in 19971. the Star Wars trilogy captures the popular imagination of seueral generations of rnouiegoers. According to Arthur C. Clarke's popular 2001: A Space Odyssey, published in 1968,-the-homicidal computer HAL9000.- "becomes ope--rationall--anuary12, 1997." Though thiS-noyel_was written beforecorpputers" became as powerful and popular as they are today, some of Clarke's predictions ring true.

The MarsroverSolourner[below]. now on its wag to Mars. is expected SinCe 1984, the U.S. Census has kept track to land on Joh] 4. 1997: the robot Dante oF the robot population. Today, more than explores volcanoes; robots" 7o,00p robots are in use in the U.S., even assist-with surgeru. M\ostlYor manufacturing and industrial purposes. Today, robotics researchers build machines that are learning-to walk, think, searth ----- for bombs and perform_other dangerous lobs Sorne-rob-dts are modeled on other forms of life, especially insects. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS 81-10W 705 :ailing a meeting and cleaning up a tennis court are not hard jobs for people. But for robots? Contests at the annual meeting of the American Association of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) in 1996 challenged robots to do just that. Competing robots had to navigate a maze of offices in one contest and locate and collect tennis balls in the other. Join FRONTIERS in the fun to see how the latest generation of autonomous robots complete the assignments almost as if they were alive!

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RLIIMINIUNG The robot contest at the annual meeting of the As you seeon FRONTIERS, defining a procedure, TOME: American Association of Artificial Intelligence is or algorithm, even for a seemingly simple task is 14:41 designed to demonstrate the best efforts from the much more difficult than it appears. A paradox of fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. artificial intelligence is that the easier a task is for Cum:aucam.anvo LORIKS: Contestants must design a robot with enough in- humans to perform, the harder it is to create a telligence and capabilities to participate in a chal- COMPUTER SCIENCE computer program to model it. artificial intelligence, lenge event like these: "Call a Meeting" required In the first activity below, you will design an programming robots to navigate a maze of offices and corridors algorithm and "program" a human "robot" to GENERAL SCIENCE and summon a meeting at a specific time; "Clean complete the task. For these activities, you will want computer tech Up a Tennis Court" challenged robots to find and to work in teams. To add a little fun to this activity, PHYSICAL SCIENCE sweep up tennis balls. have the teams in your class compete against each As humans, we might look at the events' de- other to see which can complete the event in the TECH ED scriptions and wonder why robots are asked to inventions, robotics fastest time. The second activity is based on one of complete such seemingly easy jobs. We would out- the events you'llseein this episode. line a procedure (steps) necessary to accomplish RelatedFRONTIERS Shows and the task, then do it. Defining the steps, or making Activities Include: an algorithm, is also one of the first tasks a robot- Understand a programmer's job by writing instructions Inventing the Future, Show ics researcher would take. The algorithm lays the for a robot to perform specific tasks. 701: "Virtually Real" (pp. 6- 7) / Life's Big Questions, groundwork the researcher will use to develop a Show 501:"WillRobots robot and controlling program that will complete Take Over?" (p. 14) / Spe- cial!Science Contests, the challenge. Show 403:"The Turing Test" (pp. 9-10) AUIVITY 1:ning Up la:Ur)

Work in teams of three or four students each to another. List on the board define an algorithm, write a "program" for a "ro- as many steps as you can. bot" to follow, have your robot execute the pro- Be specific. http://www.pbs.org/saf/ gram to see how effective your algorithm is and "debug" your program to improve it. The team will 2. DESIGN AN ALGORITHM. Using the steps listed on the ASK THE collaborate on writing the program; then one of the members will act as the robot that executes it. board, people on each team STEISTS You'll want waterproof aprons or coveralls or even should write down, in order, a change of clothes for this event. the steps that will allow their robot to accomplish the challenge. I-1 AL E (See example on p. 7.)

Place two cups, one filled with water, the other empty, 3. WRITE THE PROGRAM. Write down spe- Kurt Konollge, on a table in front of a chair. Your "robot" must sit in cific instructions your robot will carry whose autonomous the chair and pour the cup of water into the empty out to complete each step. Your ro- robot appears in this segment, cup. Oh, by the way, your robot will be blindfolded and bot will follow these instructions as answers your won't be able to see! they are read by a team member, while another questions online. 1. BRAINSTORM. As a class, brainstorm what steps a person or your teacher makes sure they are fol- See p. 14. robot must follow to pour water from one cup to lowed exactly.

5. REVISE THE PROGRAM. Now you must debug your pro- Putting on a pair of boots. gram by revising the instructions your robot will c=-- Opening an umbrella.

TagTT ACTIVITY E: hE AAA la SIP

Onceyou have success- i fully programmed your r> Do you think a V tennis balls robot for the simple human would always be challenge above, you V Squiggle balls* superior to a robot in performing certain are ready to attempt a ' V cardboard larger challenge. Below jobs? If so, which jobs *Battery-powered and why? you will find a brief de- Squiggle balls are avail- scription of one of the D' Are there tasks ro- able at science or toy robot challenges at the bots would perform bet- stores. You can substi- ter than humans? If so, 1996 AAAI meeting, the tute Ping-Pong balls or what tasks and why? tennis court cleanup even crumpled up paper r- For a complete FRON- contest seen on for tennis balls and leave description of both TIERS.Design a program out the Squiggle ball to contests, instructions for a human robot to make the task simpler. to robots and more 1. What limitations in performing the tennis court execute that will solve Or, to challenge students about the competitions challenge might a robot have that a human would the challenge. Follow the further, use more than seen on FRONTIERS, go not have? steps above to help you one Squiggle ball! to http://www.aaal. program your robot. 2. Can you think of ways to revise your program to org/Conferences/ You may provide yourrobot with tools that will make the number of instructions as small as pos- National/1996/ help execute your program. Good luck! sible? What would be the advantage of this? Do robot.html. artificial intelligence (Al) researchers have to worry ==.- The designer of the about the size of their programs? winning robots in the IJV'IRCDCEIDLIFtE maze contest is Kurt The robot's task is to clean up a room of tennis balls, NOTE TO TEACHER ON SETTING UP THE CHALLENGE: To conduct Konolige, who also built this challenge, block off a section of your room with a card- including one that is moving! The robot will be placed the robot Flakey, seen board barrier that will allow students to observe the robot per- on FRONTIERS in an in a closed room. In the room with the robot will be a forming the task but will limit the space so the task is not earlier season. For small number of tennis balls and one powered impossible. A cardboard box with an opening cut in the side more on Flakey and can serve as a pen. Squiggle ball that will be moving around. In one cor- Konolige, go to http:// ner of the room will be a pen with two gates. The www.al.sri.com/ THESE ACTIVITIES AND THOSE ON PAGES 10-11 WERE DEVEL- objective is to place all of the tennis balls and the OPED BY JAMIE LARSEN, A SCIENCE EDUCATOR AND CONSULT- people/flakey. moving ball into the pen. ANT IN SEDONA, ARIZONA.

lOOK, DO HAM! ACTIVITY:ROM FlaIftlEF

RUHRIONG A robot is a device made four commands: forward, stop, right, left. Control- of two main parts: a ler the only team member allowed to work the 8:52 radio-controlled car mechanical or machine with controller unit controls of the R/C car; responds only to com- CU ROCULUM part, and a control de- large sheets of mands issued by the operator. LONKS: vice or brain. In simple newsprint, each 2. Have the engineer attach the marker to the R/C with a circle 2 feet COMPUTER terms, the Navlab ve- car so that the marker's point extends beneath SCIENCE hicle also consists of in diameter drawn on it the car and makes contact with the floor surface. artificial intelligence, these components: a neural networks, permanent If attached properly, the marker will leave a trace programming machine (van) and com- marking pen of the car's path. GENERAL SCIENCE puterized components tape 3. The timer should tape the pizza target to the floor. computer tech that read the road and The engineer should place the modified R/C car tell the van what to do. PHYSICAL SCIENCE in the center of the newsprint circle, making sure machines Among the more positive applications of robot- the marker remains in contact with the newsprint ics are the many high-tech devices that help dis- TECH ED surface. abled people function normally. A few years ago, a engineering, 4. The controller (person holding the control unit) inventions, robotics design team at Carnegie Mellon University invented should stand about ten feet from the target, fac- Pizzabot, a robotic arm that could make a pizza. ing in the opposite direction. Related FRONTIERS With the help of this high-tech chef, a disabled Shows and person used voice commands to tell the robot 5. The operator, while facing the target, then gives Activities include: commands to move the R/C car. The object is for Inventing the Future, Show which toppings to put on a pizza. 701:. "Smart Cars" (p. 10) Surprisingly, a pizza is a complicated product the operator to have the car trace "cuts" onto the / Dragon Science, Show pizza target that will result in four equal slices. 602: "Driven to the Wall" to make. Each step in the pizza-making process (p. 10) / Life's Big Ques- must be programmed. Using the algorithm proce- 6. The timer gives the operator three minutes to tions, Show 501: "Will Ro- complete the objective. At the end of three min- bots Take Over?" (p. 14) / dure on pages 6-7 of this guide, describe the se- Scientific Breakthroughs quence of steps involved in making a simple pizza. utes, team members should exchange places, in Germany, Show 402: "A Now, try to build a pizza using just your voice. making sure everyone has a chance to perform Car That Drives Itself" (p. 7) By using verbal commands, you will guide a me- each of the four roles. chanical device over a "pizza" target. The machine http://www.pbs.org/sat/ is a radio-controlled car with a marking pen attached to it. Since an electronic voice-activated circuit would be too difficult to build and too ex- AN Mt pensive to buy, we'll use the next best thing a human voice. Work in teams of four. 5[1[11TISTS ovsE1J ECT I N/ 711-11111M 711111Tar Simulate programming a robotic device. ENSIC) NJ um,F2 0 ELi F E c=-- In 1995, researchers from the Robotics Lab at Chuck Thorpe, CMU "drove" the van seen in this segment (Navlab seen in 1. Assign each person in the group one of these 5) from Pittsburgh, Pa., to San Diego, Calif., as this segment, answers your roles: Engineer figures out how to attach the part of the "No Hands Across America" project. questions online. marker to the R/C car. Timer times each You can read about their trip on the Web (http:/ See p. 14 person's turn. Operator directs the movements /www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/tjochem/www/ for information. of the R/C car by voice command; can give only nhaa/nhaa_home_page.html).

Virtually Real 13:24 to ILI as- ,_CC = E5aBody Talk 9.. 15 2 LA, c.)1 = Smart Car 11.23 ... wED g EPrivate Eyes 11:44 = a..

Brain Music 7:04

City of Gold 9:22 E. ..a, Ecf,tilWays of the Wild 14:25 E...,_ .. cn =Q LIJ Mr.. Cele's Garden 7:58 Z 0CNIRAJ ; 8FightingMalaria 8:55 E.... E. The First People 10:28 - The Man with Two Brains 10:05 E- E. = Remembering What Matters 8:35 g m mLs. True or False? 8:57 g. EnQ clea LAJ 0 3 ECWhat's in a Dream? 13:28 = Old Brain/New Tricks 10:50

Spider Canyon 12:09 E.. as. cn .-1ILI Frozen Alive 10:45 = ,_ E. Et L"Ultimate Speed 10:54

P- C5 ff.Hidden Depths 9:04 X C5 us HighAnxiety 10:00

Mazes and Squiggles 14:41 .- E. Look, No Hands! 8:52 2 =, .E v.) Toddler's First Steps 6:23 r.E.03 3 eg0 =a Almost Human 11:12

RoboFlyers 11:44

For more information on the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS SchoolPogram, w ite to: 105 Te ry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown PA 18940-3425 or call 800-315-5010. Videotapes of past shows may be purchased ($19.97 per onehour show). Call 800-315-5010. ,00 PBS GOSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this index for classroom use. 1997, GTE Corporation. a17 E40lEARfuu ED ER Inuenting the future works to create memories, dreams and language. Find out how technology is helping scientists understand more about when Show 701 and how the human brain learns language, processes and re- ORIGINAL AIR DATE: OCTOBER 1996 calls information and dreams dreams.

Leap into the future whenFRONTIERS visits the MIT Media Lab to test out smart cars, smart rooms and wearable Going to Extremes computers. Scientists here are redefining the computer as Show 704 we know it, from a box that sits on your desk to an intelligent ORIGINAL AIR DATE: FEBRUARY 1997 personal information appliance that might be with you at Imagine a live frog that actu- all times. ally freezes and thaws! Join scientists as they investigate survival mechanisms of animals &km Safari that inhabit unique climates from the desert to Canada. Join Show 70E the crew on a mountain climb in the German Alps and on a Intunational Spccial dive beneath the sea asFRONTIERSgoes to extremes on Earth. ORIGINAL AIR DATE: NOVEMBER 1996 jri Travel on a science safari to South Africa and Robots Niue! meet scientists who are conserving wildlife; Show 705 then trek to sites once inhabited by early humans. Find out 00 00 how technology is helping combat malaria and what archae- ORIGINAL AIR DATE: APRIL 1997 ologists are learning about ancient cultures. Meet some autonomous robots with minds 000000 of their own, as well as inventors who are NUB of Mind working on the robots of tomorrow. Robots that walk, talk and think are the subjects Show 703 of this episode. Join FRONTIERS to see who ORIGINAL AIR DATE: JANUARY 1997 wins a variety of robotics contests and take a ride in a van that Spend the night in a sleep laboratory and drives itself! Visit MIT's Cog Shop, where the world's most so- find out more about how your brain phisticated robot is being assembled.

eT heu rro tiouLl FROnTIERS We appreciate and welcome your questions, comments, compliments and

on Vkkotapc constructive criticism. Please contact us... Videotapes of past shows are available By mail:SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS, through the FRONTIERS School Program. If you missed a show or want 105 Terry Drive, Suite 120, Newtown, PA to complete your FRONTIERS videotape library, call 800-315-5010. 18940-3425 By phut:800-315-5010 Tapes are $19.97 each. (Orders accepted with purchase order, credit card or check.) Teaching guides for many past shows are available By fax: 215-579-8589 By (-mail: on the FRONTIERS site on PBS ONLINE: http://www.pbs.org/saf/. [email protected] Visit Us Onlinc!: 11. http://www.pbs.org/saf/ SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Ell°6 FRONTIERS OlfEl SHOW 705 alking is hard to learn to do, especially when you're a robot. Robotics engineers have been trying to teach robots to walk for several decades. Rti3 Some of the earliest robots took steps, but every move they made was programmed. And they were likely to fall over.Enterthe University ofNewHampshire's biped walking robot, "Toddler," which is programmed to learn from its experiences. Before it starts to walk, it will learn how to stay in balance.

r TODDLER'S FIRST STEPS MTIVITY: 2dandngAct

ORURIRIIING Engineers who design machines like the biped 5. Repeat the procedure with a hole somewhere else TIME: robot seen on FRONTIERS must address a variety of on the cutout. 6:23 physical considerations in their design, including 6. The point where the lines intersect is the center moment of force and center of mass. But the key CURROCULUM of mass! You can test by piercing at this intersec- BANKS: consideration is balance. The robot (with its com- tion. The object will spin freely about that point, puter-based "brain") has the difficult task of per- COMPUTER remaining in balance. SCIENCE ceiving itself in space and balancing in Earth's 7. Repeat with other shapes. artificial intelligence, gravitational field. programming Earlier walking robots like the six-legged LIFE SCIENCE walker seen on FRONTIERS employed static balance; biological equilibrium if one of these robots stopped walking and went out of balance, it would fall over. By contrast, the LITERATURE science fiction strategy used with the current generation of walking robots, like "Toddler," is that of dynamic bal- PHYSICAL SCIENCE ance. Modeled on the human body, Toddler takes biomechanics, center of mass, advantage of momentum to move forward. dynamic balance TECH ED inventions, robotics SSWEIJ IN/ E Study the physics involved in balancing. Related FRONTIERS Shows and Mtn Activities Include: Ll ES-I-101\1S 21st Century Medicine, nu- of Hass 1. The center of mass in people varies, depend:ng Show 605: "Center of Grav- on height and weight. Because the biped robot has ity" (p. 8) The center of mass (center of gravity) is the point a lot of weight in its legs, its center of mass is at which the whole weight of an object balances. lower than it is on a person. Where is your center The center of mass might be considered the "av- of mass? How does your center of mass help you erage" point of all the matter in the object. You're stay balanced and not fall over? http://www.pbs.org/saf/ probably not aware of it, but adjustments when you 2. Explore more about dynamic balance and how we move affect your center of gravity and help you stay use it when we walk. For example, when you walk in balance. Tightrope walkers, for example, adjust and lift one leg off the floor, your body is making ASK their arms, hips and other body parts in order to adjustments so that you don't fall over. The next SOUITISTS move their center of gravity and stay atop the rope. time you are walking, think about the work your You can use cardboard cutouts to explore the body must do to stay balanced. effects of center of mass, as follows: LgJfuJIiuIILiiI 3. How do other animals stay in balance? Cats, for example, can flip themselves over during a fall and 1. Draw various shapes on a piece of cardboard and 14113 1-11 r land on all four feet a neat balancing act. cut them out. 4. What biological systems help vertebrates stay in Thomas Miller, 2. Pierce each shape with a hole punch. seen in equilibrium? Consider the vision system, vestibu- this segment, 3. Allow the cutout to hang freely on a nail that is lar system (inner ear) and the brain and muscles answers your questions online. mounted on a ring stand. (proprioception). See p. 14 4. Hang a plumb line and trace the line along the for information. SCIENCE WRITER AND EDUCATOR MARC ROSNER CONTRIBUTED cutout. TO THIS ACTIVITY.

AMOST 111111An AUIVITY: dgag Mats

RILDikiNOIMG "The motivation behind creating Cog," according functions of the robot, as well as reflect the form TOME: to researchers in the Cog Shop at MIT's Artificial of an organism that functions in a similar man- 11:12 Intelligence Lab, is the hypothesis that "humanoid ner in the real world. Follow the steps listed here intelligence requires humanoid interactions with to develop and draw the robot. Work in small CUORCROCLDLUlitfil LORIKS: the world." groups or teams. In other words, the researchers behind Cog are COMPUTER SCIENCE rrlerIR 0 c1iLJ F E artificial intelligence, trying to duplicate the human form and its func- programming tions. To do this, they draw on resources from a 1. BRAINSTORM. First identify what jobs this robot GENERAL SCIENCE variety of fields, from developmental psychology to must perform to complete the mining task (func- computer tech functional morphology. The researchers are study- tion). Then brainstorm the design, including fea- LITERATURE ing not only what it means to act human, but also tures you want to include (form). For example, a science fiction to look human. mining robot will have to dig; it will have to find An interesting aspect of their research (aside PHYSICAL SCIENCE and bring back a small sample; it will have to re- biomechanics from all the cool science that is going on behind member where it found the sample. List the jobs designing, building and debugging their various and corresponding design features on the board. TECH ED systems) is the humanoid appearance of Cog. inventions, robotics 2. IDENTIFY ANALOGOUS ORGANISMS.Nextto the jobs Just as nature seems to focus on specific forms you've listed on the board, identify organisms with to fill certain niches, Cog's creators also focus on Reisted FRONTIERS a form that might fit the task. a form that has proven itself in a niche in the real Shows and 3. DRAW YOUR ROBOT. Use the notes on the board to Activities Onciude: world. Does it follow that for robots to perform design your robot. Your drawing may be a hybrid Inventing the Future, Show specific jobs they must have forms that are a re- 701: "Virtually Real" (pp. 6- of the organisms listed or it may be totally differ- 7) / 21st Century Medi- flection of organisms that fill a niche similar to ent from the suggestions. Remember, however, cine, Show 605: "Cyber- that job? surgery" (pp. 10-11) that your drawing must reflect the mechanical In the making of Star Wars, George Lucas and nature of the parts that will make up your robot. the designers at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) ("Nailbot," for example, is a robot given the task must have had this idea in mind when they de- of hammering nails into inaccessible places.) veloped many of their robots. From human-like C-3P0 to the mouse-like robots scurrying around 4. LABEL YOUR ROBOT. Label the major features and parts of your robot and briefly describe how they http://www.pbs.org/sat/ in the ships of the Imperial Fleet, the robots of Star Wars could be argued to have forms that fit function. their functions. An Internet search turns up many ASK At researchers in artificial intelligence (AI) and ro- SOUITI6IS botics who are taking a similar tactic and designing a menagerie of robots with forms that mimic real-world animals.

'11716153_1 ECm/1a Design robots for specific tasks with forms that fit Rodney Brooks, seen in their functions. this segment, answers your In this activity you will design and draw a robot questions online. that will search out deposits of underground min- See p. 14 erals. Its form must fit its function. Your design for information. should include details of the sensory and motor

NAME: HARM FUNCTION: TO PLACE AND unAiftVitER RIMLS OMACCEMBLE IPLACES

TELEMETRY SYSTEM FOR FIBER OPTIC TOMO POSITIONING INFORMATION CAMERAS FOR j 0 7Uwo' POSITIONING INFORMATION r=.- Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, in his Rama series of books, includes many robots with forms LEGS PIVOT AND HAVE PRONGS based on animals. He ACCESS PORT FOR TO POSITION AND HOLD CONTROL CIRCUITRY also suggests an interesting alternative: bioengineered organisms that perform specific tasks. Read the series and discuss the pros and cons of NAIL MAGAZINE robots versus bioengineered organisms.

E=-- Build your own insect-like robot! Get SOLAR CELLS TO RECHARGE information on a INTERNAL LITHIUM-ION BATTERY small, six-legged, inexpensive robot called Stiquito from the Computer Science Department, Indiana University, 215 Lindley Hall, Bloomington, IN 47405. Or go to http://grouchy.cs. indiana.edu/robotics/ SPRING-LOADED TAIL WITH FORCE stiquito.html for infor- TRANSDUCER TO SENSE AND PROVIDE mation on the colonies FEEDBACK TO HAMMERING MECHANISM of Stiquito robots being used today.

ROBOHYRS AUIVITY 1:RotzUng Mng.. firin

BENT-UP DRUMMING Unlike most aircraft, TOME: LEADING EDGES a helicopter does not Vthin cardboard or 11:44 have a stationary or poster board fixed wing. Instead, the straws or small ClUIRIROCULUM spinning rotor blades round dowels atop the craft function Vtape (if necessary) COMPUTER SCIENCE computer-assisted as a lift-generating wing. modeling knife or a design, three- As the blades turn, they hole punch dimensional imaging produce the upward scissors GENERAL SCIENCE force needed to counter- flight, 4. On each side of scientific method balance the downward pull of gravity. When the the center hole,

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS is made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd.Angier Production Company in :7 0 association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the a I School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. 0 1997, GTE Corporation. SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY g:gAting EtatIll El0 FR? AMERICAN FRONTIERS The teams of college r.I 51-10W 705 students participating in v sheets of 81/2" x the Aerial Robotics Com- 11" paper RIVE petition used sophisti- V small paper clips D'Ufl cated (and,in some V sCissors cases, expensive) technology. They spent many months creating and a. perfecting their designs. But even with the most high-tech devices, their designs required an understanding of the basic principles that govern helicopter flight. These simpler activities provide an opportunity to learn more about rotating wings ROBIN IYERS without having to program a flying helicopter.

ONOI3JECTIVE

Experiment with rotating wings and helicopter aviation. 4. Fold and crease the wings in opposite directions Observe the relationship between stability and spin. as shown in the drawing. r:=- You can read about the Aerial Robotics If you've ever spun a top, you know that rotating 5. Fold in the bottom leaves as shown. Secure the Competition in "Mag- objects gain stability from their twirling motion. three-layer fold with a paper clip. nificent Men (Mostly) This type of balance is also seen in objects that spin and Their Flying Ma- as they fall through the sky. You can observe this chines," Scientific gyroscope-like stability in a rotating glider made American, September with a sheet of paper and a paper clip. 1995. D.' A flying propeller toy like the one illus- trated on p. 12 can be Ft C3 U E purchased from Edmund Scientific. 1. Cut one sheet of 81/2"x11" paper lengthwise SHEET OF PAPER For rules, videos of into thirds. Each the competition and to see what other schools strip (about 28 cm are doing in the "ulti- by about 7 cm) mate collegiate com- becomes a "wing." petition," go to the 6. While holding the wings out, release the glider. Association of Un- from a height of about six feet. manned Vehicle Sys- tems International 7. Experiment with using different weights of paper (AUVSI) Web site at or shorter or longer wings, and releasing the ro- http://avdil.gtri. tating glider from various heights. gatech.edu/AUVS/ lARCLaunchPoint.html. AUVSI also spon- CUT LINES sors a high school contest. Any interested robotics clubs Observe the direction of the rotation. Alter the craft should see the contest CUT 2. Cut about two-thirds of so that it spins in the opposite direction. LINES description and rules the way down the center at http://avdil.gtri. of each strip (wing) as gatech.edu/AUVS/ shown by the dotted line. CIII--1.45.1_1_EINIGE2 971ARC/1997HSOpen 3. Make two horizontal cuts Rules.html. PAPER about 2 cm deep along Change the design so that the craft rotates as fast Find out more about STRIP the dotted lines as shown. as possible. the winning entry and how it used GPS technology at http://www. gtri.gatech.edu:80/ MASSACHUSErfS-BASED SCIENCE WRITER MICHAEL DISPEZIO CONTRIBUTED THESE ACTIVITIES. DISPEZIO IS THE AUTHOR OF SEV- ERAL RECENT BOOKS OF SCIENCE ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING VISUAL FOOLERY (PLANET DEXTER DIVISION OF ADDISON-WESLEY, 1995), res-news/AERROB.html. CRITICAL THINKING PUZZLES (STERLING, 1996) AND THE SCIENCE OF HIV, PART OF A CURRICULUM PACKAGE FOR NSTA.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS iS made possible by an underwriting grant from GTE Corporation. Produced by The Chedd-Angier Production Company in association with Scientific American magazine. Classroom materials produced by Media Management Services, Inc. For more information on the School Program, call 800-315-5010. Permission is granted to teachers to reproduce this activity sheet for classroom use. © 1997, GTE Corporation. a TERMS _,sarrn[inCONDSZ EnWe Mth FROM-NEM OndnaVa On Robots Alive! you'll meet some autonomous robots with minds of their own. Although they're not yet advanced enough to field queries from FRONTIERS viewers, you can grarZ send your questions about these robots to the researchers who developed them. The scientists featured on this page will answer your questions from April 9 to 18, 1997, via the FRONTIERS Web site: http://www.pbs.ovg/sailf O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MAZES AND TODDLER'S SQUOGGLES FORST STEPS FRONTIERSviewers first met Kurt Konolige At the University of New Hampshire, robots and his robot Flakey several seasons ago. We are learning to walk in Professor Thomas catch up with Konolige and his research on this Miller's lab. Miller, chair of the department program, where he takes first place in the fifth of electrical and computer engineering, fo- annual robotics contest sponsored by the cuses his research on the dynamic balance of American Association of Artificial Intelligence. legged walking robots. Instead of being pro- The technology Konolige uses in competition is completely different grammed, his robots actually "learn" to walk themselves. Find out from that used to develop Flakey. Find out more about Konolige's more about Miller and his robots by sending your questions to "Ask winning strategy by sending him your questions. the Scientists." O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0

ALMOST HUMAIA9 LOOK9IM HAMDS1 Is it possible to create a computer that mim- Chuck Thorpe's Navlab project at Carnegie ics a human being? That's the goal of Rodney Mellon University is dedicated to creating safer Brooks, a professor of computer science and highways. Thorpe, a senior research scientist engineering and associate director of the Arti- at CMU's Robotics Institute, has created a pro- ficial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachu- totype van that analyzes the road ahead and setts Institute of Technology. Brooks hopes his steers itself along the highway. Thorpe answers robot Cog will have the intelligence of a six- your questions about Navlab 5 and how this month-old human baby. Send in your questions to learn more about technology may help drivers in the future. how Brooks is working toward his goal. O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0

ITEM1 EE3 EIME 51HE F MICD AS UNII2 We've received many positive comments about our expanded Web site thank you. It's rewarding to hear that educators are turningIO FRON- C- WatchRobots Alive!and review thisclassroom guide to TIERSon PBS Online for resources to expand learning before and after prepare your question(s)and decide which scientist(s) you'd the show. We're also pleased to let you know that our site was recently like to contact. recognized for excellence with a Platinum Award from NetGuide, which screened over 100,000 URLs and reviewed more than 50,000 sites be- C%- Visit SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERSon PBS Online at fore presenting its awards. Here's NetGuide's review ofFRONTIERSonline: http://www.pbs.org/saf/.Click on the "Ask the Scientists" icon onthe opening screen to send your question(s). Scien- "The clear and simplelayout of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRON- tists' answers will be posted online for FRONTIERS viewers to TIERS site belies a wealth of learning resources. Accenting read. Depending on the volumeofquestionsreceived, only education, the features here allowyou to delve into recent selected questions may be answered. broadcasts using transcripts, teacher's guides, contests, quiz- zes and QuickTime video clips of upcoming episodes. Ifyou (> Remember to e-mail your questions by April 18, 1997! prefer to exchangeviews with some of the show'sparticipants, navel alvs on DIMS on go to 'Ask The Scientists' area. The'Related Sites' supplement ), Rolhez directs you to further explore issues raised in each show. This Wednesday, Apnill 9, 1997, is a great place for students and science mavens alike." PBS *Check your TV listings to confirmlocalairtimeand date.

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sca2 JacAcIlyn -g3onumeamo _ats Check out these sites for more Jacklyn Bonneau, a former GTE Growth Initiatives for information about the scien- Teachers (GIFT) Fellow, teaches at the Massachusetts Acad- tists and topics covered on emy for Mathematics and Science in Worcester, Mass. Each this program: of the Academy's students (all juniors and seniors) is re- http://www.al.srl.comp-konolige quired to complete a science, math or technology project. Find out more about Kurt Konolige and his Bonneau finds her students often need some help getting robots seen on "Mazes and Squiggles" by started and relies onFRONTIERSas a source of inspiration. visiting his home page, where you'll find photos and descriptions of his robotics projects. 1 "I keep teaching guides and videotapes of the shows from past seasons," she says, "and have found them to be http://www.cs.cmu.edu/ats/cs. cmu.edu/pvoject/alv/member/ A a starting point for many students. Often the simple activi- www/navlab_home_page.html 4,ties are the basis for students to develop more elaborate Take a drive on the Information Superhigh- work." Bonneau says she finds this is especially true since way to Navlab's home page for a description of systems used by vans on "Look, No the "Ask the Scientists" feature has been added toFRONTIERSonline. "Learning about Hands!" plus photos and videos about scientists in certain fields is especially helpful as students follow up and research more Navlab people and projects. about a topic. These projects require students to perform at a high level andFRONTIERS http://www.ece. resources have been a huge help with this." unh.edu/robots/ In addition to FRONTIERS resources, Bonneau has found other schools to be useful rbt_home.htm sources for ideas. "As we go to more project-based classes, many teachers have diffi- Discover how Thomas Miller 0 00 0 of "Toddler's First Steps" is culty finding time to develop project ideas along with the daily preparation for their teaching robots to walk at classes," she explains, "so I turned to other schools' Web sites." By laying a foundation the University of New Hamp- 0 0 0 0 0 0 upon which she can build, these sites make it easier for Bonneau to make a rapid tran- shire Robotics Lab. Click on sition into many extended projects in several classes. UNH biped robot to see photos and movies. One of Bonneau's favorite sites for physics is Glenbrook South High School in http://www.al.mit. Illinois (http://www. glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbsdft.html). "This site has done some edu/projects/cog/ of the legwork by providing initial ideas for my students to build upon and by creating Stop in at the Cog Shop at MIT, where other links as resources," reports Bonneau. Click on "Internet Resources for Educa- Rodney Brooks is building Cog, the proto- tion" to find lesson plans and other classroom resources. typical humanoid robot. Learn all about the project, plus view photos and a glossary of technical terms. Sckancs um Cybscrapace http://avdil.gtel.gatech.edu:80/ ALIVS/Indett.html Learn more about contests in aerial, ground Thanks to all the FRONTIERS viewers who have sent suggestions and undersea robotics sponsored by the for their favorite sites. Here is just a sampling: Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). THE MICROBE ZOO 11[6UFFETS WEB http://www.kristech.com:80/ indett.html http://commtechlab.msu.edu/ http://csep1.0.phys.utk.edu/ CTLProjects/dIc-me/zoo/ mcguffey/mcguffey.html Have fun with KrisTech'sRobot Magazine for robotics students and enthusiasts. Great Visitthe Microbe Zoo (the Michigan State FRONTIERS' suggestion for teachers who are resources for practical robot design, robot- University Digital Learning Center for Micro- net neophytes offers a comprehensive intro ics news and useful links to robotics re- bial Ecology) for detailed information about to the Web and tutorials for building your sources, plus robot art and a photo of Mars microorganisms, their habitat and life cycle, own Web pages. rover Sojourner. plus great photos taken with the scanning electron microscope. (Thanks to John Bea- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ver of Illinois.) LET US CITE http://www. A WALKIHO ROBOT YOUR FAVORITE SITE! http://maas-neotek.arc.nasa. Tell us about your favorite science pbs.org/saf/ gov/dante/dante.html sites on the information superhigh- Discover Dante II, a tethered walking robot way. If we recommend your site in that explores volcanoes! Developed by the this guide, you'll receive a FRONTIERS (PBS Online) Intelligent Mechanisms Group at NASA, ro- T-shirt. Please e-mail your sugges- At press time, the online features and sites listed here bots like Dante II may one day explore other were current. Due to the rapidly changing online world, planets. (Thanks to Marc Rosner of Newyork.) tions [email protected]. some may have changed or may no longer be available. WE1HucrOr] rE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS airs on PBS with five new programs each season, October through April. Each hour-long special includes a variety of fascinating science stories based on a single theme.

Tft RITE PIE(5 ofmoo Motu 7011 btu 7011 Wednesday, October 23, 1996 8 pm Wednesday, January 22, 1997 8 pm Leap forward into the future witen Spend the night in a sleep laboratory FRONTIERSvisits the MIT Media Lab to and find out more about how your test smart cars, smart rooms and brain works to create memories, wearable computers. Meet scientists dreams and language. who are redesigning the look and role of computers. 60116TO EXTIES

SantSMARI 1Show 7041 Wednesday, February 19, 1997 8 pm Row 7001 Join scientists as they investigate sur- Inarnational Spccial vival mechanisms of animals that Wednesday, November 20, 1996 8 pm inhabit extreme climates, from the Travel on a science safari to South desert to the Arctic. Africa. Meet some of the world's largest animals, then trek to sites once Join Host Alan Alda for the season finale of inhabited by early humans. Find out SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS, as he visits how scientists combat malaria today. ROE ADE scientists working on new developments in

[Show 7051 the twin frontiers of computer technologyrobotics and Wednesday, April 9, 1997 8 pm artificial intelligence. Meet some autonomous robots with Remember, teachers may videotape the show to use minds of their own, as well as inventors who are working on the robots year after year. GTE Corporation, the series underwriter, of tomorrow. Robots that walk, talk grants educators free off-air taping rights in perpetuity for kt,00,1 and think are the subjects of this classroom use. ASK THE sathfigs! episode. JoinFRONTIERSto see who Rodney Brooks and other scientists wins a variety of robotics contests and seen on Robots Alive! answer take a ride in a van that drives itselt1 your questions online. See p.14. http://www.pbs.org/saf/ Underwritten by GTE Corporation CEO

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