Summary: For 25 centuries the Parthenon has been shot at, set on fire, rocked by earthquakes, looted for its sculptures, and disfigured by misguided restorations. Now, a team of architects and engineers is investigating the many mysteries of this icon of Western civilization : How did the ancient Greeks design and build their masterpiece so quickly? How did they achieve such precision and perfection...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: WGBH Educational Foundation 2008

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Summary: Follows ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro over the course of a musical season, capturing dynamic performances before sold-out crowds, intimate moments of life on the road, and visits to his native Hawai'i, where he has risen from local hero to international star.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: PBS Distribution 2013

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: In 1964 Michael Apted interviewed a group of seven year old children from diverse backgrounds from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Every seven years, Apted has been back to talk to the same subjects.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: First Run Features 2004

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: He was called 'the bionic kid'. Todd Marinovich was molded by his father to be an athlete from birth, including stretching exercises in his crib and a strict diet and fitness routine. A pioneer who developed ground-breaking strength and conditioning techniques, Marv Marinovich believed his strict systems would sculpt his son into a top athlete. But along with the pursuit of perfection came...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: ESPN Home Entertainment 2012

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Gates, Henry Louis Jr.

Summary: Explores the historical period following the American Civil War known as Reconstruction.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Public Broadcasting Service 2019

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Summary: A mining operation in Colombia opened a window into an unknown period of the Earth's history where a world with giant creatures emerged. The biggest of them all was Titanoboa, a 43-foot snake, the largest that ever lived. New discoveries suggest that Titanoboa's rule was challenged by a giant crocodilian. Experiments reveal unmatched hunting prowess. So which one was the apex predator 58...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2017

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Every year, hundreds of new skyscrapers are built around the globe. As nations vie for prestige and developers look to maximize limited urban space, these shimmering towers are rising higher and higher. In China alone, dozens of buildings reach over 1,000 feet, with a few approaching 2,000 feet. But for all their impressive engineering, are these buildings safe?

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2022

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Summary: A two-part series that tells the story of the three monarchs who reigned over Europe's greatest powers at the outbreak of the First World War: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King George V of England. The emerging divisions and rivalries between the inter-related houses of Europe brought change, tragedy and personal humiliation. Of the three great Imperial dynasties...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2014

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Explores the three categories of mineral resources found within the earth (power resources, gem stones, and metals) and how they have been utilized for the advancement of civilization.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2017

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: It's long been known that German soldiers used methamphetamine called Pervitin in the Second World War. But have tales of Nazis on speed obscured the other side of the story: the massive use of stimulants by British and American troops? Did total war unleash the world's first pharmacological arms race? Historian James Holland quests to dig deeper and unearth the truth behind the war.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2019

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: In 1962, three prisoners escaped from Alcatraz, a prison surrounded on all sides by the waters of San Francisco Bay, and disappeared. The fates of the three men have remained unknown to the present day. In this program, three scientists from the Netherlands employ 3D modeling technology to reconstruct the water currents of the day of the prison break in an attempt to uncover whether or not it...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2016

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: This program explores the pros and cons of California's controversial program to slash carbon dioxide emissions and promote energy efficiency, which could be adopted nationwide during the Obama administration.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: PBS Video 2009

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Summary: In a spectacular adventure, NOVA unlocks the mystery on the vast, grassy plains of Kazakhstan, where horses still roam free, and nomadic herders follow their traditional way of life. Investigating clues from archaeology and genetics, researchers reveal vivid evidence of the very first horsemen. They also discover warriors who swept across Europe and turn out to be the ancestors of millions today.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2019

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Hannibal, one of history's most famous generals, achieved what the Romans thought to be impossible. With a vast army of 30,000 troops, 15,000 horses, and 37 war elephants, he crossed the mighty Alps in only 16 days to launch an attack on Rome from the north. In Hannibal in the Alps, a team of experts conclusively proves for the first time that Hannibal's army did indeed cross the Alps.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2018

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Summary: Every year, a million visitors are drawn to the Salisbury Plain in southern England, to gaze upon a mysterious circle of stones. Stonehenge may be the best-known and most mysterious relic of prehistory. Now investigations inside and around Stonehenge have kicked off a dramatic new era of discovery and debate. Who built Stonehenge? What was its purpose? How did prehistoric people quarry,...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: WGBH Educational Foundation 2010

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Summary: Professor Alice Roberts uses archaeological discoveries to piece together a turning point in Britain's history. The key to her quest is the excavation of a stone palace in Cornwall, long believed to be the birthplace of the King Arthur legend. Was Arthur in fact ruler of a prosperous trading village, and the defender of the native Britons against the Anglo-Saxons?

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2019

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: The first program observes the Red panda and Giant panda (one of the world's most endangered mammals) in their natural habitat, the bamboo forest of China's "Mountains of the Sleeping Dragon" a national panda reserve. The second program features the San Diego Zoo's challenge to successfully breed and raise a Giant Panda in captivity. Spotlighted is Hua Mei the baby panda and staff from the San...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Questar 2003

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Summary: Physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking poses enduring scientific questions to teams of non-scientists to test their problem solving skills and summon their inner-genius, covering topics such as time travel, the existence of life on other planets, how the universe came to be, and the origins of life.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Distributed by PBS Distribution 2016

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Summary: Features Bear Grylls, who draws on his experiences as a soldier, mountaineer, and seasoned adventurer to demonstrate life-saving survival skills and techniques in some of the toughest, most treacherous environments on Earth. Shows how Bear is stranded in wilderness destinations with few supplies and is challenged to make his way back to civilization. Looks at how Bear faces sweltering desert...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Discovery Channel 2007

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Summary: Tells the story of seven men who were exonerated after being imprisoned for decades and released after DNA evidence proved their innocence.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: New Yorker Video 2006

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Summary: A tomb of 49,000 year-old Neanderthal bones discovered in El Sidron, a remote, mountainous region of northern Spain, leads to a compelling investigation to solve a double mystery: How did this group of Neanderthals die? And could the fate of this group help explain Neanderthal extinction? Scientists examine the bones and discover signs that tell a shocking story of how this group may have met...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: PBS Distribution 2013

Copies Available at Kingsley