Activities

Switch explores the world’s leading energy sites, from coal to solar, oil to biofuels, and gets straight answers from the international leaders driving energy today. This documentary is approximately one hour and 40 minutes long. Links to the Switch Energy lab video series are also included in this educational resource. 

Join Dr. Scott Tinker on an amazing global adventure to remote corners of Africa, Asia and Latin America to meet leaders, entrepreneurs and everyday citizens working to eradicate 'energy poverty' in their countries. In a journey that's enlightening and emotional, uplifting and unforgettable, Switch On will change the way you look at energy and the developing world forever. The entire documentary is approximately one hour and 20 minutes long. Links to the Switch On Energy Poverty video series which are approximately 20 minutes long each are also included in this educational resource.

EarthDate is a public service radio program and accompanying website with a mission to engage listeners in Earth science and connect them to the wonders of their world. Each EarthDate radio episode tells a captivating two-minute story that reminds listeners how science can enlighten, educate, and entertain. Every topic is accompanied by an article, educational PDFs for classroom or home use, and links to further reading on the EarthDate website. EarthDate was conceived of and is hosted by Dr. Scott W. Tinker, Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. Each episode is written and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Harry Lynch and researched by Juli Hennings, a career geoscientist.

Hurricanes, one of the most powerful natural hazards, are intense low-pressure weather systems that form in tropical waters. In this presentation you will learn more about hurricanes and how these powerful storms have impacted the Texas coastal environment.

A look at the basic definitions of weather and climate and the actual elements of weather (things we observe and forecast) as well a brief look at the various weather hazards that we experience here in Central Texas.

Learn about nurdles, tiny plastic pellets that frequently turn up along the Texas coast and endanger wildlife, from whales to sea turtles. Jace Tunnell, Director of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, will also tell you how you can help by doing a nurdle survey and reporting your findings.

Many students have heard about the dangers of climate change, but don’t know how it happens or what we can do to reduce the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) that’s already in the air. Discover how scientists from the Gulf Coast Carbon Center hope to change this by educating communities about the greenhouse gas effect and the benefits of carbon capture and storage.

Fossils are evidence of past life. But how much information do different kinds of fossils reveal? In this lesson, two paleontologists will discuss how the rock record preserves a wealth of clues on how extinct organisms interacted with their environments.

This video presentation of Space: Fact vs. Fiction contrasts a number of common and not so common misconceptions about space by sharing the real facts about those issues. Issue topics include gravity, living in space, rockets, atmospheric entry, the costs and benefits of space exploration, the civilian space program, Star Trek and extra-terrestrials.

In this series of short videos, you’ll meet members of the main groups of invertebrates that live in the ocean—anemones, corals, snails, shrimp, crabs, sea stars and sea urchins. And just for fun, you’ll also meet some of the most popular vertebrates on the 40 Acres: residents of the UT Turtle Pond.

Join Greg Clark from the Freshman Research Initiative Cell Signaling team to discover how plants have unexpected abilities to sense and respond to stimuli and "talk with" each other and with animals. Learn how plants sense and respond to changes in their environment and how plants are able to communicate using a chemical language.

Take the "Which Nutrition Job Best Fits Your Personality?" quiz and then discover more about nutrition professions by navigating through fun interviews with future Registered Dietitian Nutritionists.

Toma el cuestionario "¿Qué trabajo de nutrición se adapta mejor a tu personalidad?" y descubre profesiones nutricionales que te interesan. Después, ve el video que corresponde con el resultado del cuestionario para ver entrevistas con futuras Nutricionist.

This video tour, an Urban Safari of the UT Austin campus, explores the natural world of our urban spaces and includes common – and not so common – organisms that can be found on campus.  It highlights challenges facing urban nature and spotlights areas where there has been success in encouraging plants, animals and microbes to flourish.

This virtual nature tour of the UT campus and around Austin utilizes the format of a choose-your-own-adventure game. Players can choose where to go, what to see, and with which systems they want to interact. Along the way, adventurers can discover the variety of ecosystems that exist and the organisms that inhabit them.

Join us to learn about the the geological formations and rocks that can be found in any "backyard." During this session you'll learn about types of rocks you might find in your backyard or local parks and creeks. You'll discover how to identify them, how they formed and how to create a rock collection.  We hope this will help you gain a stronger understanding of the natural processes that create the landscape we inhabit.  We hope you will be inspired to explore becoming a hobby, or full time, geologist.

Public health professionals are leading the response to the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide. This video presentation will use the pandemic to answer the question “What is Public Health?” and provide high school teachers with resources to help them explore this dynamic and impactful field with their students. Participants will also learn about the UT Austin Undergraduate Public Health Program and meet some of UT Austin’s public health graduates!

Dr. Scott Tinker demystifies the complex world of energy and gets to the core of concepts through unexpected experiments and fieldwork. For viewers of all ages and experience levels.

Join the UT Austin Physics Circus as they use do extremely "cool" science demos to show how temperature relates to the three states of matter. They might even show you how to turn a banana into a hammer.

In this interactive game, participants will test their skills at identifying scientific objects and organisms from super-zoomed-in images.

Feast your eyes on the sun as you’ve never seen it before: live, through specially filtered telescopes and cameras. Learn about sunspots, prominences, solar flares, and more. As a bonus, learn how, when, and where to safely view the upcoming total solar eclipse, a once in a life time event, on April 8, 2024. The host and moderators will answer your questions live.

Join Kate the Chemist, author of “The Big Book of Experiments” for this explosive event. Dr. Kate Biberdorf will show off chemistry experiments such as the Thunder Cloud and viewers can participate along with her from school or home during the Dry Ice Bubbles and Bubble Snake experiments.  There will be a live Q&A and you won't want to miss the Kate the Chemist Texas Educators Prize Give-away including a visit and performance for one lucky school. Enter and learn more details here.

Join in for video demonstrations of glass blowing and live Q&A with UT Austin glassblowers. This show is part of the Girl Day at UT Austin experience. Learn more and register to join in.

Take part in a special night time Explore UT program, starting at 10 p.m., to go where no human has gone before: thousands of light years from Earth. Join the McDonald Observatory for a live tour of galaxies, nebulae, star clusters and more through a research-grade telescope in West Texas. An astronomer will discuss the unique features and scientific observations of each target and moderators will answer your questions live.