Before agriculture, early humans were hunter-gatherers, moving from place to place to follow herds of animals. The development of agriculture gave rise to the beginning of civilization and cities. Learn about the origins of agriculture, the science of soil, the needs of plants, farming techniques, and the future of farming.

The prairies of the American west, the pampas of Argentina, the steppes of Russia, and the veldt of South Africa all share at least one thing in common: they are covered with miles upon miles of grass. This program can help students learn to identify the climates, life-forms, and behavioral adaptations that correspond to each type of grassland biome. Factors that threaten the survival of these habitats' distinctive animal communities-and of the ecosystems...

At one time, lush, steaming jungles covered much of the planet's land mass. Through this program, students can expand their understanding of rainforests and how their inhabitants live. Special attention is given to the threats to these incredibly rich ecosystems, home to more than half of the different kinds of animals and plants that live on Earth.

This comprehensive video clip library of 50 two-to-three-minute segments-breathtakingly filmed in locales around the world-will open viewers' eyes as they learn key biological, environmental, and geological concepts associated with the ecological communities forming the biosphere. Whether using a single biome clip to support a discussion or an entire five-clip biome module to give students a quick introduction, Biomes of the Earth is an indispensable...

The Australian continent is covered by desert, including parts of the country's interior where saline lakes and bizarre rock formations can also be found. Yet these deserts are full of life. Aboriginal communities have adapted to the harsh conditions and have not been displaced here as they have in other areas. The wildlife in this area has also had to adapt. From kangaroos and dingoes, to the prolific birdlife and feral animals that thrive in this...

This video from the 2009 Falling Walls Conference features Michel Brunet's lecture on how human paleontology holds the key to the origin of human life. Brunet is a professor of human paleontology and leads digs for fossil mammals and primates in Chad, Libya, Egypt, and Cameroon. Here he discusses his expedition in Central Africa, during which he discovered the skull and several jaws of a late Miocene hominid whose remains are believed to predate the...

The Namib Desert means vast space and stretches for more than 1,000 miles along the western coast of Africa. Having endured arid conditions for 55-80 million years, it is also the oldest desert in the world. While the Namib is largely unpopulated by humans, animal and plant life abounds. Namib desert beetles, or fog beetles, thrive by taking advantage of the condensation from early morning fog to stay hydrated in this environment.

Forged from volcanic eruptions deep below the seabed, the Galapagos Islands are home to some of most rare species in the world. This film explores this remarkable archipelago off the coast of Ecuador, where Charles Darwin studied the endemic species and formed his theory of evolution?

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on what is now the island of Cuba and claimed it for Spain, and in a little over a century, the native population was virtually wiped out. Cuban culture is therefore influenced by a melting pot of cultures, primarily those of Spain and Africa due to the importation of slaves from that continent. This film explores this tropical outpost where, thanks to the island's physical isolation and closed society, it seems...

The Atacama Desert in Chile is commonly known as the driest place on Earth. Studies by a group of British scientists have suggested that some riverbeds have been dry for 120,000 years. Once known for its rich deposits of copper and the world's largest natural supply of sodium nitrate, the desert is now home to the largest space observatory every built by man. Because of its high altitude, nearly non-existent cloud cover, dry air, and lack of light...