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Oh yes, I remember, Mrs Snagglethorpe. Oh, what a shocker.
She could make a thermonuclear explosion in a test tube sound
dull. Of course it was a big test tube but, hey, that was
one cool class that day. I think we got detention for making
too much noise - or standing up without permission while trying
to escape the mushroom cloud.
Anyway, how about these tidbits of information for some attention
grabbing subjects for discussion.
The energy from inside the sun takes one million years to
reach its surface and only 8.5 minutes to get from there to
our planet.
A day on Mercury can be twice as long as one of its years.
And Mercury is 70 per cent iron.
Venus is a poisonous planet with an atmosphere that will
squash a human instantly and, despite the fact no sun can
penetrate the thick toxic acid clouds that swirl around it,
it gets to 480 degrees Celcius.
Mars, our near neighbour, is bitterly cold and takes 687
days to orbit the Sun.
And, on The Complete Cosmos, there are squillions more bits
of info like that to help science teachers engage the monsters
mentally.
Divided into four main sections, the DVD covers Hub of Planets,
Earthspace, Mars, Life and Impacts, the Outer Planets.
Hub of Planets looks at the Sun, Mercury and Venus. It sub-chapters
include the birth of the Sun, how it works, sunspots, Mercury's
double sunrises and craters, as well as the planet hell -
Venus.
As you would expect, Earthspace covers our beloved little
planet from its beginnings, internal structure, climate, the
oceans and then moves out a tad to examine the Moon, the space
program, celestial shows like auroras, lunar and solar eclipses.
Mars, Life and Impacts checks out the red planet, its massive
canyon, the famed face on the surface of it and then moves
on to the question of life other than on earth. Impact looks
at the dangers presented by comets and asteroids and examines
the potential catastrophe if a large rock hit Earth.
Outer Planets looks at the big boys of the solar system -
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and comets.
All deliver some pretty heavy details with the aid of some
excellent real-life photography, taken by space missions,
as well as graphics. The ones of the planets' orbits around
the sun, in relation to earth, are very helpful - particularly
for budding astronomers.
This is a fantastic DVD and should be a must-have for schools
that want to keep children interested in the sciences. Excellent,
also, for libraries.
Conclusion: Rating 90%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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