Loading...NOVA: Making Stuff
Special Collection
NOVA's four-part series, “Making Stuff,” explores the material world and presents dramatic stories about how the field of materials science has changed history and is shaping the future. Scientists are generating new materials that are stronger, smaller, smarter, and cleaner than ever. Expected to revolutionize medicine and technology, these innovations are likely to result in an unprecedented trove of nifty new stuff that will transform the way we live, work, and play.
Major funding for NOVA: "Making Stuff" is provided by the National Science Foundation, with additional funding provided by the U.S. Department of Energy. ©2012-11 WGBH Educational Foundation.
| RESOURCE | GRADE LEVEL | MEDIA TYPE |
|---|---|---|
Breaking Point: Testing Tensile StrengthThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Stronger" and accompanying demonstration illustrate the toughness and tensile strength of Kevlar® and other everyday materials. |
6-12 |
Video |
Building a Cleaner BatteryThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Cleaner" and accompanying activity guide for grades K–8 introduce students to the design and use of batteries and the rapidly developing science of clean energy and clean materials. |
6-12 |
Video |
The Business of BioplasticsThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Cleaner" and accompanying demonstration introduce students to the production and importance of bioplastics, or plastics made from plant or animal products. |
6-12 |
Video |
Magnetic MicrobotsThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Smaller" and accompanying activity for grades K–8 teach students how materials scientists are building extremely small robots that may be able to travel inside the human body. |
6-12 |
Video |
Nanowires and the Ever-Shrinking MicrochipThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Smaller" and accompanying demonstration introduce students to small, thin wires, called nanowires, that may help make computers and electronics even smaller in the future. |
6-12 |
Video |
Outsmarting OobleckThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Smarter" and accompanying activity for grades K–8 help students investigate some “smart” materials that respond to forces or changes in their environment in unusual ways. |
6-12 |
Video |
Shape Shifters: Shape-Memory Alloys and PolymersThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Smarter" and accompanying demonstration teach students about revolutionary shape-memory materials. |
6-12 |
Video |
Strong as Steel: Testing ToughnessThis video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Stronger" and accompanying activity for grades K–8 help students investigate the strength and toughness of steel and other everyday materials. |
6-12 |
Video |
What's This Stuff?Learn about the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of ten mystery materials in this interactive activity adapted from NOVA. |
6-12 |
Interactive |
