Contents
■ About The Human Body
Page
...............................1
Pre-Viewing Teaching Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1. Name That Part
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
■ Activity 2. Pumping for Life
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
■ Activity 3. Be a Brain
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
■ Activity 4. The Brain Team
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
■ Activity
Dear Teacher:
D
iscovery Pictures and the British Broadcasting Corporation
have partnered to bring you The Human Body, a
remarkable large-format film that brings a fascinating new
dimension to the exploration of the miracle of life in its most
personal of settings—our own bodies. For the first time ever,
students will view their intimate, everyday world from some
amazingly intricate and novel perspectives.
The film uses ground-breaking photographic techniques and
state-of-the-art technology to transport viewers on an
incredible voyage into the workings of the human body.
This Teacher’s Resource Guide, which
was prepared with the help of professional educators like yourself, will
further your students’ understanding of
the body’s organ systems and how they
work together, and the relationship
between a healthy lifestyle and a healthy
body. The material is designed for use
with students between ages 8 and 14.
Activity 1 includes space for a Body
Heart strings
Maintenance Plan for student selfassessment and for tracking information learned as students work on the various activity masters. Be
sure to send copies of the letter on page 24 home with your
students so they can share it, as well as their Body Maintenance
Plans, with their parents, guardians or caregivers.
The material is designed to be flexible. Please feel free to modify
and duplicate the copyrighted materials to suit your students’
needs. And, please share these materials with other teachers in
your school.
I hope you and your students enjoy viewing The Human Body as
much as we enjoyed making the film and bringing it to you!
Sincerely,
Jana Bennett
Executive-in-Charge
Discovery Pictures
Post-Viewing Teaching Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5. It’s a Cell Call
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
■ Activity 6. A World of Sense
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
■ Activity 7. Tasty Aromas
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
■ Activity 8. Bone Basics
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
■ Activity 9. On the Other Hand
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
■ Activity 10. The Living System
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
■ Activity 11. My Personal Body
■ Activity
Inventory and Health Profile
Teaching Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Activity Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
■ Letter to Parents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
■ Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
© 2001 DCI/BBC
About
T
hree years in the making, The Human Body
reveals the incredible story of life. In
astonishing detail, this large-format film presents a
look at the biological processes that go on without
our control and often without our notice. Throughout
the film we follow a family from dawn to dusk as
they go about their daily routines. But this is no
ordinary story. This is the tale of what takes place
beneath the skin—a tale that allows us to see the
extraordinary accomplishments of our everyday
lives.
The everyday biological processes that keep us ticking
are all in a day’s work for the human body. Finding a
way to film and illustrate those activities for a screen
seven stories tall required a cinematic inventiveness
that was anything but routine. Co-produced by
Discovery Pictures and the BBC, The Human Body
incorporates ground-breaking computer graphics with
stunning real-life images to create a day in the life of a
human body. “This film is one of the most technically
complex large-format films ever made,” states directorproducer Peter Georgi. “To get the subject matter on
the large screen, we’ve pushed the boundaries, taken
advantage of the most advanced scanning electron
microscopes, the latest thermal imaging and highdefinition digital video cameras, the cutting edge in
medical computer graphics…whatever we thought
could provide the best possible images.”
And provide images it does! The Human Body will
provide a glimpse of:
■ the 100 billion new red blood cells the body
generates each morning;
■ the 40 yards of new hair that sprouts every day;
■ a human egg nestling into the folds of a
fallopian tube;
■ a thermal image of a child riding a bicycle;
■ a trip on a tomato from mouth to stomach;
■ babies able to hold their breath under water, and
■ the inside of an ear as cells actually dance
to music.
“The film explores the complexities of the human body by
investigating, in great detail, the functions the body performs
routinely every day,” notes executive producer Jana Bennett. “We
investigated and portrayed the human body in ways never seen
before. This film brings images to
the audience on a scale never before
captured in the history of cinema.”
To make The Human Body come
alive took not only the marriage
of the latest developments in
medical imaging with cutting-edge
cinematic techniques and cameras,
but also a good measure of
ingenuity as well. As a result, The
Human Body is an incredible
technological achievement for
Discovery Pictures and the BBC.
The film’s opening sequence—a
close tracking shot over the
body—is just one instance where
Play at monitor-image of
“ingenuity” played a major role.
Luke's eye
“You had to light the body with an
enormous number of big film lamps
to accomplish that [tracking shot over the body],” explains writerproducer Richard Dale. “The lights gave off tremendous heat and
ultraviolet light, which could have been very damaging to the skin.
The commercially available UV filters were not adequate to stop
that much light, so our photographers developed little aquariums
that could fit in front of the lamps. They had cold water, which is
quite a good absorber of UV, constantly running through them.”
Ultimately, The Human Body shows us more than a biological
wonder at its best; the film also shares the emotions of life. From
the joy of learning and the anxiety of puberty, to the potential
wonder of pregnancy and birth, The Human Body tells us the
amazing story of our own lives—through our own bodies. “Large
format has traditionally climbed mountains and gone to the
bottom of the ocean, but we have turned the camera on ourselves
and looked to our own bodies as a place for exploration,”
observes Dale. “Technology makes it possible to think about our
lives differently and to suddenly realize how marvelous the
human body is.”
The Human Body is a presentation of The
Learning Channel and BBC Worldwide of a
Discovery Pictures / BBC co-production in
association with the Maryland Science
Center and the Science Museum, London
with major funding provided by the
National Science Foundation and distributed
by nWave Pictures Distribution.
1
Pre-Viewing Teaching Strategies
1. Review with students the words appearing in italics on
the teaching strategies pages in this guide (the left-hand
pages) and the activity masters (the right-hand pages).
Explain that these are just some of the things they will
learn more about during the film and from the activities
they will do after viewing the film.
2. Use the synopsis of The Human Body on page 1 to give
students a brief summary of the film. Review with them
the major body parts and their functions.
3. Reproduce and distribute the Letter to Parent/Guardian
on page 24 for students to take home.
■ Activity 1
Name
That
Part
Student Objectives: To develop an understanding of where the
various body parts are located in relation to one another and to consider
what it takes to create—and maintain—a healthy body.
Materials: None
Teaching Tips
Part A. Have students research any needed information about the
functions of body parts in preparation for the diagram matching
activity below. To play Body Trivia, divide your students into “teams” of
3 to 5 students each. Each student should find at least 5 interesting facts
about his or her team’s chosen body part, then teams should combine
facts into a master list and develop true/false and fill-in-the-blank
questions based on them. Teams take turns quizzing other teams, with
the team that first responds correctly winning a point. When all teams
have asked their questions, the team with the most points wins.
lungs
take in oxygen (O 2) and expel
carbon dioxide (C02)
diaphragm
muscle that helps us breathe in
and out
kidney
helps filter waste from the blood
brain
the body’s “control center”
liver
secretes bile that helps digestion
heart
pumps blood through the body
stomach
breaks down the food that we eat
large intestine
removes the liquid and “leftovers”
from digested food
small intestine
absorbs the nutrients from
digested food
2
Pre-viewing
Activity
Part B. First talk with your students about the
importance of living a healthy lifestyle—proper
diet and exercise, avoiding smoking, drugs and
alcohol, etc. You might want to have students add to
their Body Maintenance Plan as the unit progresses
and as they learn more about different aspects of
their bodies.
Add-on Activities
■ Students might work in their
original groups to identify
and demonstrate a
“mechanical body
part”—something
that performs the
same function as
the part they
studied (i.e., a
computer as the brain,
a pump as the heart). As
a class, they could link
Digestion
their parts together to
form a machine that
works like parts of the human body. You might
want to share The Robot Zoo: A Mechanical Guide
to the Way Animals Work, by Philip Whitfield
Obin (Turner Publishing, 1994) with students. The
book contains detailed, tongue-in-cheek
illustrations that transform 16 different creatures
into complex machines.
■ Younger students could use fabric paint to
draw “body shirts” showing major organs, the
skeletal system, the circulatory system, etc., on
white T-shirts.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
T
Name
That
he new large-format film, The Human Body, will
take you on the most fantastic trip you’ve ever
experienced—inside an actual human body. You’ll meet a
family—parents-to-be Heather and Buster, their teenage
nephew Luke, 15, and his sister Zannah, 8. You’ll go inside a
cell—the body’s basic building block. You’ll see the many
miracles we live through each day as—hidden from us and
often unnoticed—our bodies are achieving incredible things.
In this film, you will see how all of those parts you have
work together as a remarkable interdependent system. You’ll
learn that regardless of the differences in how we look on
the outside, and although we may live very different lives, we
all share the same basic structure. But first, before we begin
this journey, let’s find out what you already know!
Part A. The human body below is like a car that is made
up of different kinds of parts—together they make the body
“hum” at top speed. As the “body mechanic,” it’s your job to
identify where those parts are located. Draw a line from the
name of the part to its correct location, and write on the line
below each what that part does.
N
Part
Activity
1
ow you’re going to become a specialist! You
Reproducible Master
and your team will pick one of the body parts
you’ve identified. Each member of your team will do some
research and develop a list of interesting facts about your
part. Then, combine your lists and try to stump your
classmates in a game of Body Trivia. (Your teacher will
explain the rules.)
My team’s body part is: ______________________________
Use the back of this sheet for your list of interesting facts.
Part B. Like any complex machine, your body needs proper
care and maintenance to work well. In the space below, begin
your own Body Maintenance Plan. (An example has been
given.)You can finish it on another page.
My Body Maintenance Plan
New Facts
New Facts
New Facts
Diet
Eat 5
fruits and
vegetables
a day.
lungs
____________________________
____________________________
diaphragm
____________________________
____________________________
kidney
____________________________________
____________________________________
brain
________________________________________
________________________________
liver
_________________________________________________
________________________________________________
heart
____________________________
____________________________
stomach
____________________________
____________________________
large intestine
____________________________
____________________________
small intestine
____________________________
____________________________
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Exercise
I will also
do this:
I won’t
do this:
Add-on Using your choice of
building materials
Activity (anything from toothpicks
to bricks!), build a class exhibit that
shows how the body is put together.
3
■ Activity 2
Pumping
for
Life
Student Objectives: To learn about the respiratory system
and how the heart works.
Materials: Tennis balls, modeling clay, toothpicks or tacks
Teaching Tips
Part A. Review with students the following background:
The diaphragm—the muscle that separates the chest and
the abdominal cavity—helps us to breathe in and out as
it expands and contracts, exchanging carbon dioxide for
oxygen. Blood carries the oxygen and nutrients through
the left side of the heart and from there, via the
arteries, to all of the body’s cells, as carbon dioxide and
other waste products are returned to the blood. This
blood flows through the body’s veins to the right side of
the heart and from there to the lungs. The lungs release the
carbon dioxide and waste products and pick up oxygen—
repeating the cycle.
After doing the tennis ball experiment, have students discuss
the results. Then talk with them about the effects of changes
in altitude on how the respiratory system works. When you
change altitudes too quickly your body isn’t able to adjust fast
enough to the change in the air pressure. The higher you go,
the “thinner” the air
becomes and the
less oxygen there is.
That means you
take in less oxygen
each time you
breathe. Most
people begin to
notice the effects of
higher altitudes at
7,000 to 8,000 feet
Heart
above sea level (at a
ski resort in the Colorado Rockies or the Swiss Alps, for
example). The symptoms of this condition—known as
altitude sickness—include headaches, shortness of breath and
nausea. They generally go away within a few days, after your
body has adjusted. Anoxia (meaning “no oxygen”) is one of
the most common problems mountain climbers face. Along
with a shortage of oxygen, there is a simultaneous increase in
the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood, which causes us
to breathe faster in an effort to eliminate it.
4
Pre-viewing
Activity
Part B. Demonstrate for your students the correct
ways to take a pulse—by placing their index and middle fingers
together at the pulse point on the neck or
wrists. (To make it easier for your
students to see and count their pulse,
you might have them use a
toothpick inserted into a small
lump of clay and have them
rest the clay on their wrist
pulse point with the toothpick
pointing up. Another method
is to use a metal thumb tack
placed on the wrist with the
pointed end up.) Tell your students
that the average pulse rate for a
young person can range from 90 to 120
Blood in vein
beats per minute. The average pulse rate
for an adult (the rate they approximated in their tennis ball
experiment) is about 72 beats per minute. A word of caution:
Students’ physical abilities may vary widely, and some may not be
able to safely undertake even limited exercise. All students should
be monitored carefully during any kind of physical activity.
Add-on Activities
■ Students might learn more about the diaphragm and
investigate the causes and various “cures” for hiccups.
■ Students might interview someone they know who has
asthma to learn what can trigger an asthma attack, what it feels
like to have an asthma attack and what doctors can do to help.
■ Students can do some research to learn about the
stethoscope, which was invented almost 200 years ago. They
could compare the early model to the one used today to see
how similar or different they are.
■ Older students might check out the American Heart
Association Web site (www.americanheart.org) to research
heart-healthy nutrition, and plan a week’s worth of hearthealthy meals.
■ Students might research and report on the pioneers of heart
surgery and the technological advances that have occurred in
this field. As a starting point, students might want to review
“Pioneers of Heart Surgery,” NOVA Online,
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/heart/
pioneers.html.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Activity
Pumping
T
for
Life
2
Reproducible Master
he human heart really doesn’t look much like the
heart on a Valentine’s Day card. Actually, it looks
more like an upside-down pear.
How many times did you open and close your
hand? __________________________________________________
The heart is part of the circulatory system. It works
together with the lungs and diaphragm, which are part of
the respiratory system. The respiratory system causes
oxygen to be inhaled into the body and removes waste such
as carbon dioxide as air is exhaled.
____________________________________________________________________________
Part A. In the film The Human Body, you’ll see Luke’s
heart and lungs working together to keep his body moving
on the basketball court.
Red blood cells
Try this experiment. Put
a tennis ball in your
hand and squeeze it as
hard and as quickly as
you can. Your goal will
be to compress it 70
times in one minute—
that’s close to the
number of times your
heart contracts in
one minute.
What did your hand feel like at the end?__________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What you just did for one minute, your heart does all day
long! Imagine how strong your heart must be to pump
constantly without stopping, 24 hours a day.
Part B. The pulse you feel when you put your fingers
on the pulse points in your neck or on your wrist is the
blood being pumped through your body—kind of like water
being pumped through a hose and a garden sprinkler.
Your pulse rate changes as you become more active and
your heart beats harder to increase the flow of oxygen
throughout the body. The average resting pulse rate for a young
person ranges from 90 to 110 beats per minute. As you get
older, the pulse rate slows to an average of 72 beats per minute.
What is your resting pulse rate?__________________________
Now raise your arms over your head 10 times. What is your
active pulse rate?________________________________________
N
ow that you know how to take your pulse, keep a log of the different activities you do for one full day and take
your pulse at six different points during the day. Use the space below to keep a record of your pulse rate during
various activities. Some examples are listed.
In bed on awakening____________ Brushing your teeth ________________Walking ________________________________
Playing sports__________________ After eating________________________ Just before going to sleep______________________
Other ________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________________
Now, make a bar graph of the changes in your pulse rate as you went through the day.
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
Activity
Add-on Interview the school nurse, your doctor or another local health professional to learn about
high blood pressure and how a healthy lifestyle can help to prevent or manage it. Use what
Activity you learn to add to your Body Maintenance Plan.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
5
■ Activity 3
Be
a
Brain
Student Objectives: To identify the major parts of the
brain and their functions and to learn about brain preference.
Materials: None
Teaching Tips
Part A. Brain Structure. Provide this background: Today, we
know a great deal about how the brain works. For example, we
know that different parts of the brain control different abilities and
functions—but that wasn’t always the case. That idea was
introduced 200 years ago by an Austrian doctor named Franz
Joseph Gall, who also believed he could diagnose what was
happening in the brain by “reading” the different bumps on the
head. Gall’s theory, phrenology, quickly became very popular.
However, today we know that Gall’s theory has no true scientific
basis. With the help of today’s technology, we can actually look
inside the skull and see the brain as it works. [Answer key to the
brain matching quiz: 1. E, 2. D, 3. C, 4. A, 5. B]
Cerebrum
Cerebellum
Brain Stem
Pituitary Gland
Hypothalamus
Now review this information with students before they do the
lobe quiz: The biggest part of your brain is divided into two
equal parts—the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. The
two hemispheres work together and share information through
a thick band of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum, which
divides them. Each hemisphere is further divided into four
lobes, each responsible for certain functions and senses.
[Answer key to the lobe function quiz: 2–vision; 3–hearing,
memory; 4–pain, touch, pressure, sensation of temperature]
Part B. To determine which eye is dominant,
Pre-viewing
students should cut a one-inch circle in a sheet of
Activity
paper and hold it about one foot in front of their eyes.
With both eyes open, they should focus on a distant object and
hold the index finger in line with the center of the hole and the
distant object. First, they should close the left eye—if
everything is still lined up, the right eye is dominant. Then, they
should close the right eye—if everything is still lined up, the left
eye is dominant. To determine which ear is dominant, students
should cup the left ear and listen as you whisper a phrase, then
cup the right ear and listen as you whisper from the same
location. Students can determine dominance according to which
ear heard the phrase more clearly. Check out the site at
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html for
more information.
Brain Dominance. Explain to your students that the right side
of the brain controls the muscles on the left side of the body
and the left side of the brain controls the muscles on the right
side of the body. Although the two sides of the brain share
many functions, they also have unique specialties. The right
side controls spatial ability and intuitive thought; the left side
controls verbal language and analytical ability. Scientists today
are learning more about brain dominance. A left-braindominant person is analytical, verbal and logical. Left-braindominant people are good at logic and word problems and
generally not so good at creative, nonlinear thought. A rightbrain-dominant person tends to be creative and holistic in
thought. Right-brain-dominant people tend to see the whole
picture but may miss the details. They may need help with
expressive language and logic. Be sure to stress to students
that, while they may tend to be right- or left-brained, they
need to develop both their analytical and creative sides to be
a well-rounded individual.
[Answer key to the brain dominance quiz: Students who
answered “true” for questions 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 tend to be rightbrained. Students who answered “true” for questions 3, 5 and 6
tend to be left-brained. Since many people exhibit some of both
tendencies, student scores could be inconclusive.]
Add-on Activities
■ Students can research why we yawn or laugh, how we
Frontal Lobe
Occipital Lobe
Temporal Lobe
Parietal Lobe
6
understand language, or why we need sleep.
■ Working in small groups, students might pick one disease or
condition that affects the brain. Each
group could prepare a class report on the
disease’s causes, symptoms, affects,
treatments available, and how the disease
might affect other body parts.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Activity
Be
a
Brain
Y
our brain is faster and more powerful than the most
powerful computer you’ve ever seen. As you learn in The
Human Body, it controls everything your body does. To do so, it
uses nearly a fifth of all the calories you eat or drink—more than
any other part of your body!
Part A. Each part of your brain has a very distinct and
important role to play. See how much you already know by
matching the name of the part to its description below. Then, label
the parts in the drawing.
A. Cerebrum
1.__ Are you too cold? Too hot? Should you
shiver or sweat? This “body thermometer” will let you know what to do!
B. Cerebellum
2.__ It may be tiny, but those hormones it
makes are sure a big deal.
C. Brain Stem
3.__ This connects the brain and the spinal cord
so you won’t lose your mind!
D. Pituitary Gland 4.__ If you think it or say it, it starts in this
part of the brain.
E. Hypothalamus 5.__ Got rhythm? You’ve got this!
Reproducible Master
Part B. There are several ways to test which side of
your body is dominant. Try the exercises suggested by
your teacher to see how you measure up:
Which hand do you normally write with? ________
Which foot do you use to kick a ball? ___________
Which eye is dominant? ________Which ear did you
use to hear better? ___________
Have you ever heard someone say they are rightbrained or left-brained? What do you think that means?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Test yourself to see which side of your brain you
would tend to use by answering true or false to
these questions.
True False
1. I’d rather think of a theme for a
party than actually plan one.
˜
˜
2. If I get lost, I’d rather have a map
than a list of directions.
˜
˜
3. Don’t tell my teacher, but I do better on
multiple-choice tests than writing essays. ˜
˜
4. When I’m studying for a test, I need
music to get my brain in gear because
silence is too “quiet.”
˜
˜
Pituitary Gland
5. In a debate, it’s hard for me to accept
the side of the issue I don’t agree with. ˜
˜
Hypothalamus
6. I like to do my homework right away
instead of waiting until it’s almost due.
˜
˜
7. When I lose something, I try to “see”
where I was when I lost it.
˜
˜
8. I usually can tell what people
are thinking.
˜
˜
Cerebrum
Cerebellum
Brain Stem
Now see if you can fill in the correct functions of the lobes from
the clues provided below. The first one has been done for you.
1. Frontal Lobe—You need this to make things happen and to
react to them when they do. This controls: planning, speech,
movement, problem-solving, emotions.
2. Occipital Lobe—It may be 20/20 or 20/200.
This controls: ____________________________________________________
3. Temporal Lobe—Listen and you’ll remember.
This controls: ____________________________________________________
4. Parietal Lobe—Ouch! That’s hot and it hurts!
This controls: ____________________________________________________
© 2001 DCI/BBC
3
Remember that—even though some things may be
easier for you depending on which side of the brain
you favor—you couldn’t function as a “whole person”
without both sides!
Add-on What if your brain
were a computer?
Activity Do some research to
construct a display that shows the
parts of the brain that correspond
to functions of the computer.
7
■ Activity 4
The
Brain Team
Pre-viewing
Activity
Student Objectives: To consider how learning happens and
to encourage students to consider how they learn best.
Materials: None
Part A. Lead a
class discussion
about learning
styles (see activity
sheet) and
preferences before
your students
complete the
learning preference
survey.
Teaching Tips
First, provide your students
with this background
information about the brain,
then have them label the parts
on the drawing: The brain
only weighs three or four
pounds—about the weight of
an average textbook—but it is the most complex object in the
world. Neurons receive, process and relay all the specialized
information needed to go about your daily life. But it isn’t the
number of neurons alone that makes this complex system
work—it’s the way they are organized and connected.
Structure of a neuron
dendrites
nucleus
cytoplasm
Part B. In
preparation for the
activity, put 12 small objects in a box on your desk. Set a time
for three subsequent viewings to test students’ recall—the first
time at the end of the same class, the second time at either the
beginning or end of class the following day, and the third time
two days later. Each time the students view the box, they
should write their new list on a new sheet of paper without
referring to previous lists (have them keep their lists for later
comparison). You can find additional information on this topic
at http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html.
Profile of a neuron
Add-on Activities
■ Students might research the
axon
synaptic
terminal
There are many different kinds of neurons, but they all have
some things in common. Like other cells, they all have a cell
body with a nucleus that contains the cell’s genes. The nucleus is
surrounded by cytoplasm—a liquid that contains all the
materials the neuron needs to function. But unlike other cells,
neurons also have dendrites and axons. Dendrites are like an
antenna system that receives signals from other neurons. An
axon is the channel that sends signals from one neuron to
another. The axon of one neuron is connected to the dendrites
of the next neuron by a synaptic terminal.
8
damage that can be done to the
brain and various other organs—
such as the liver, kidneys or lungs—
by smoking cigarettes or using
alcohol or illegal substances to
achieve a chemical high.
■ Students might create their own
Brain cell dying
neuron models using pipe cleaners or
some other material of their choice. You can find directions for
this activity at http://faculty.washington.edu/
chudler/chmodel.html.
■ Students might do some research to learn about the “natural
high” exercise can induce because of the body’s release into the
brain of endorphins, which then are broken down to create a
short-lived feeling of euphoria.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
The
Brain Team
T
he body is made up of billions of cells. In the
nervous system these cells are called neurons.
They are specialized to carry “messages” to the brain, and
they connect to other neurons through branch-like
structures called dendrites.
Every time you learn something new—a new word, how to
ride a bike or play the flute—your neurons develop new
connections to other neurons. In fact, your brain eventually
will form trillions of connections—that’s more connections
than there are stars in the entire universe!
Review with your teacher these terms about neurons:
■ Cytoplasm—a liquid that surrounds the cell nucleus
■ Axon—a channel that allows signals to pass between neurons
■ Synaptic terminal—allows the axon of one neuron to
connect to the dendrites of another
Activity
4
Reproducible Master
In the space below, list 10 things you have learned in your classes
during the last two days. Next to the item, describe how you
learned each. We’ve given you one example to help you get started.
Example
A new
computer program
Things I Learned
Learning Style
Visual (if you read about it
in a manual)
Auditory (if you listened to
a lecture about it)
Kinesthetic (if you
performed tasks using it)
How I Learned Them
See if you can label the parts of a neuron on the drawing below.
The more you practice what you have learned, the stronger these
connections (dendrites) become. And the connections you form at
this time in your life are the most important ones because they
become the platforms you will build on to make even more
complex connections later on.
dendrites
nucleus
cytoplasm
axon
synaptic terminal
Part A. Have you ever stopped to think about how you
learn? Some people (visual learners) learn best by looking at
things, or reading about them. Some people (auditory
learners) learn best by hearing about things. And some people
(kinesthetic learners) learn best by actually doing things.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Part B. The more links the
neurons in your brain create, the
better your memory becomes.
Try this exercise to see what
happens as your neurons go to
work. Look at the objects your
teacher has placed in the box.
Brain cell
Then return to your seat and list
as many of them as you can on the back of this paper.
How many items did you list? ________
Look at the objects again at the end of class. Then take a new
sheet of paper and make a new list. How many objects are
on your list? ________
Look at the objects the following day and make another new
list. How many objects are on your list? ________
Now look at them one final time. How many objects did
you list? ________
Add-on Work in groups to create
other exercises that
Activity demonstrate how
repetition increases memory. Then
create graphs that illustrate what the
exercises demonstrate.
9
Post-Viewing Teaching Strategies
1. Lead students in a discussion of the film, encouraging
them to share their impressions of both its content and
the impact of the large-screen format on the presentation
of the content.
2. Ask students if what they think and know about having a
healthy lifestyle has changed since viewing the film.
3. Refer to Resources on page 24 for additional information
and ideas.
■ Activity 5
It’s
a
Cell Call
Student Objectives: To learn how cells function
and to understand the structure of DNA.
Materials: Uncooked eggs, vinegar, distilled water,
(golden) corn syrup, unbreakable containers, plastic
food-handling gloves, safety glasses
Teaching Tips
Part A. Have your students work in groups of 3-4
students each for this activity. Each group should deshell two uncooked eggs by soaking them in
household vinegar for a day or two, until the shell
dissolves completely. After soaking, the eggs will be
very swollen, rather firm and easily broken. Caution
your students to handle the eggs carefully and to keep
a tray underneath them to contain spills. Note: Have
students wear inexpensive plastic food-handling gloves
so they do not touch the raw eggs directly. Because
vinegar is an acid, students also should wear eyeprotection glasses.
Tell students that water is one substance that can
permeate the egg’s membrane, in the process called
osmosis. When the egg is soaked in a solution in which
the concentration of water is lower than that inside the
egg (corn syrup), the liquid inside the egg passes
through the membrane into the solution and the egg
looks like a flabby bag. When an egg is soaked in a
solution where the concentration of water outside the
egg is higher (distilled water), the water tries to reach
equilibrium by passing through the membrane into
the egg, and the egg becomes larger and firmer.
Results of Experiment
Egg 1–Corn Syrup
10
Egg 2–Distilled Water
Post-viewing
Activity
Part B. Gauge how much your students already know about genetics
and how much background information they will need. You might
discuss Gregor Mendel’s research with dominant and recessive genes in
pea plants and explain that researchers have
known about DNA since Mendel’s time, but
it wasn’t until 1953 that two English
scientists—James Watson and Francis
Crick—discovered how DNA is
actually put together. DNA is
composed of building blocks called
nucleotides. Nucleotides are made
up of deoxyribose sugar, a
phosphate group and one of four
nitrogen bases: adenine (A), thymine
(T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C).
Alternating deoxyribose sugar and
Red blood cells
phosphate molecules link together to
form something like the side supports on a ladder. Complementary pairs
of nitrogen bases form the rungs of the ladder. Adenine is always paired
with thymine and guanine is always paired with cytosine. The technical
term for the DNA ladder (see diagram on activity sheet) is a right-handed
double helix, because the strands twist to the right. Everyone’s DNA has
the same basic chemical structure, but the way its components are
arranged differs from person to person. Each person’s DNA is unique to
him or herself. (Identical twins, however, have identical DNA, although
their fingerprints are different.) Information on building DNA models
can be found here: http://biology.about.com/science/biology/library/
howto/htcandydna.htm.
Add-on Activities
■ Many people have concerns about the possibility of manipulating
DNA as a way to genetically engineer humans. Older students might
develop position papers on genetic engineering or hold a debate on the
ethics and/or possible consequences of such practices.
■ Students might research news articles about the
use of DNA to solve crimes to learn the arguments
for and against this technology, then develop their
own positions on this issue. For example, should
there be limits on how and where it is collected, or
how it is used?
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Y
ou can’t see them, but they’re everywhere. In fact,
every single living thing on this planet is made up of
them. Cells may be tiny, but they play a big role in the
human body! In fact, in The Human Body, we see the cells of
the mother’s unborn baby grow and change.
Part A. Healthy cells are essential for a healthy body. Just
like other living things, cells need to take in oxygen and
nutrients and get rid of waste products. Every human cell is
surrounded by a cell membrane that controls what the cell
takes in and what it lets out. What’s really amazing is that it
allows in and out only the things it’s supposed to!
Be sure to handle the de-shelled
eggs carefully (the membrane
can tear easily). The membrane
on your de-shelled eggs is very
similar to the membrane that
surrounds a human cell.
Cover egg 1 with corn syrup.
Cover egg 2 with distilled water.
It’s a
Cell Call
Activity
5
Reproducible Master
Use the chart below to record what happens to your eggs
during a 24-hour period.
Why do you think each egg changed the way it did?
Describe the egg at the
beginning of the experiment.
Describe the egg at the
end of the experiment.
Egg 1
(corn syrup)
Egg 2
(distilled water)
Part B. The cell is the smallest living unit in our bodies, and has a language and
structure all its own. An entire world exists inside the cell:
■ power houses to create energy
■ places to store energy
■ places where energy is used
■ a place where things (like proteins) are made
■ a place where our physical characteristics are stored (genes)
■ a place where all of these processes are controlled (the nucleus)
Let’s build a model to help explain what is going on, starting with
the nucleus. Inside the nucleus we will find DNA. DNA is the reason
you look the way you do—your hair, eyes, height, skin type, skin
color, and so on. DNA is found in genes, and genes are responsible
for how similar you look to your parents in some ways or like your
grandparents in others and even like your brothers and sisters. If
we opened up a gene, took out the DNA, and gently stretched it
out, we would find that it is shaped like a spiral. Scientists call that
a double helix. There are two strands of DNA wound around and attached to
each other by units called bases, named adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G),
and cytosine (C). The strands are made up of a sugar (deoxyribose) and a
phosphate molecule.
The DNA strands join together as follows: A on one strand will always pair with T
on the other, and G will always pair with C. It looks something like this:
C T C A C A G C G T A C C
G A G T G T C G C A T G G
Names and Words
to Know
■ Adenine, thymine, guanine,
cytosine: The chemicals, or nitrogen bases, that are found in DNA.
■ DNA (deoxyribonucleic
acid): The genetic material that is
contained in every cell in the
human body. Every person’s DNA
is unique, except for that of
identical twins.
■ Double helix: The structure of
DNA. A double helix looks
something like a twisted ladder.
■ Human Genome Project: A
project that identified every gene
present in human DNA.
■ Mendel: The Augustinian monk
whose work formed the foundation
for the science of genetics.
■ Watson & Crick: The English
scientists who discovered how DNA
is put together.
Do an Internet search to
Add-on
learn about the Human
Activity Genome Project, the
The bases form the ladder, and the sugar-phosphate
molecules form the outside spiral form. Follow your teacher’s progress it has made and why it is
so important.
instructions to make your own DNA strand.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
11
■ Activity 6
A
of
World
Sense
Student
Objectives: To
consider how the eye
and ear work and to
learn about visual
perspective and sound
waves.
Materials: Tuning
The human eye
fork, broad plastic bowl
or other unbreakable container, empty shoe boxes
or other similar containers, various sizes and
widths of rubber bands
Teaching Tips
Talk with your students about the different parts
of the eye and how they work together. The optic
nerve in the back of the eye sends what the eye
sees to the brain. When the light passes through
the eye’s lens and the image hits the retina, the
image is upside down. Therefore, the image that
travels through the optic nerve to the brain also is
upside down. The brain has to flip the image over
so it’s the right way up and makes sense.
You might want to have your students make a
pinhole camera (camera obscura)—showing what
an image looks like when it reaches the retina of
the eye—then sketch the images they see through
it. For directions on how to make a very simple
pinhole viewer, go to http://www.exploratorium.
edu/IFI/activities/pinholeinquiry/viewer.html.
For information about making an actual pinhole
camera that can take pictures, go to
http://www.kodak.com/global/
en/consumer/education/lessonPlans/
pinholeCamera/pinholeCanBox.shtml.
Part A. Here are some Web sites that contain
additional examples of optical illusions:
http://www.justriddlesandmore.com/illusion.html
http://www.aoanet.org/jfk-optical-illusions.html
12
Part B. Talk with your students about the three different
parts of the ear. Explain that the outer ear is the part you
Post-viewing
can see. It collects the sound waves. The sound waves
Activity
travel through the outer ear canal to the middle ear, where
they strike the eardrum. The eardrum begins to vibrate, and the vibrations
pass through three tiny bones—the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup—
which transfer the vibrations to the inner ear. There they enter a small curled
tube known as the cochlea, where they are turned into nerve signals that
allow the brain to understand the sound.
Tuning-fork experiment: Strike a tuning fork so the students can hear
the sound. Explain that the sound was caused by vibrations. Then, have
students take turns dipping the tuning fork in a broad
plastic dish or bowl or other unbreakable
container of water. The vibrating fork sets up
little waves in the water, just as it sets up
waves of molecules in the air.
Rubber-band experiment: Have
students stretch several different widths of
rubber bands over an empty box, in the
order of thickness, then pluck each one with
their finger. (Be sure that they protect their
eyes in case the band snaps.) Have students
Ear cochlea
describe the sounds the bands made and rate their
comparative pitch (highness or lowness of the sound). They will see that the
thinner rubber bands vibrate faster than the thick ones, causing them to have
a higher pitch. Now have students pluck one rubber band, immediately touch it
with their finger, and listen to the sound. When they touch the vibrating
rubber bands, the vibrations stop and the sound stops.
Add-on Activities
■ Students could do a simple experiment that allows them to “find” their blind
spot, the area on the retina that has no receptors. For directions on how to
conduct this activity, visit http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html.
■ Students might work in teams to prepare presentations about vision—
beginning with the eye patterns of a newborn who is learning how to see.
■ Students can try this experiment to experience the direction of sound: One
student stands at arm’s length behind a blindfolded classmate and snaps his or
her fingers in various directions. The blindfolded student points in the
direction the sound is coming from. Next, the experiment is repeated with the
blindfolded student wearing a pair of earmuffs. Finally, with the blindfold still
in place, the student removes the earmuffs and places a cardboard tube from a
roll of paper towels over one ear before the finger-snapping exercise is
repeated. Students should be able to detect the direction of the sound with
their ears uncovered. It will be more difficult to determine the direction when
the sound is muffled by the earmuffs. Putting the cardboard tube over one ear
causes the sound to travel a greater distance to reach that ear, so the student
will perceive the sound as coming from the opposite direction.
■ Students might work in teams to research and report back to class the
causes of earaches and ear wax, how cold germs can be spread to the ear,
and how the ear controls balance.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Activity
A
World
T
he eyes may be the windows to your soul, but it
takes both your eyes and ears for you to sense
your world each day. Together, they allow you to see a
friend’s face or hear your favorite music.
Your Eyes. When you first open your eyes, your top
layer of sense cells is actually scorched away by the bright
light. But, happily, beneath them, a fresh layer is
revealed—new sensors with which you’ll see the new day.
Let’s learn how your eye works, and how it can fool you—
because seeing isn’t as simple as it looks.
Your cornea focuses light, and the iris controls just how
much light passes through the pupil. The lens helps focus
this light on the retina, which contains a layer of lightsensitive cells. If your eyeball is too long or your cornea is
too curved, you will be nearsighted (objects that are close
to you are clear but those in the distance are blurry). If
your eyeball is too short or your cornea isn’t curved
enough, you will be farsighted. This means you can see
distant objects clearly but things that are close are blurry.
Part A. Sometimes, your brain makes you see things that
aren’t really there. For example, if you look down a long
straight roadway, the sides of the road seem to come
together in the distance. This is because of perspective—
the way two objects appear in relation to each other. Try
this optical illusion. Which flower has the bigger center?
of
Sense
6
Reproducible Master
ears, your brain wouldn’t have anything to interpret and
you wouldn’t be able to hear or dance to music! Next time
you’re enjoying your favorite CD, take a moment to thank
those hairs in your ears. They are part of a built-in
amplifying system that’s better than anything you can find
in your local electronics store.
Hammer, anvil and stirrup
Part B. Sound is produced by vibration. Try this: Feel your
throat as you place your fingers lightly on it and say, “My
name is _______.” Do you feel the vibrations? Vibrations that
come from the sources of sound cause air molecules to move,
setting up sound waves. Your ears contain the three tiniest
and most delicate bones in your entire body. They’re located
right behind your eardrum, and they’re called the hammer,
the anvil and the stirrup. Their job is to transfer sound
vibrations that reach your outer ear into your inner ear.
Now, follow your teacher’s instructions as you experiment
with a tuning fork, a bowl of water, and some rubber bands,
to see what a sound wave looks like and why some sounds
are high and some low.
If you picked the flower on the left, you’re wrong! Actually,
both centers are the same size. (Measure them with a ruler
to make sure.) You can fool your brain into thinking that an
object is bigger or smaller by placing it next to objects of
different sizes.
Your Ears. If you’ve ever been to a very loud rock
concert, you may have experienced a ringing in your ears
afterward. Your ears are sensitive to sound and can be
easily—and permanently—damaged if you expose them
to loud noises like this without protection. Your ears are in
charge of collecting sounds and turning them into nerve
signals that your brain interprets for you. Without your
Add-on Look at this
illustration at right.
Activity What do you think
you see? Take a class poll on
the results.
Your eyes may fool you, but
you can’t fool your ears—if you
damage them when you are young,
your hearing will get worse as you
get older. Research the harmful
effects of loud sounds and where
you might find them in your
everyday life.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
13
■ Activity 7
Tasty Aromas
Student Objectives: To learn about the sense of smell, the
relationship between taste and smell, and the “taste centers” on
the tongue.
Materials: Part A—small paper bags; small cups of water;
odorants such as cinnamon, garlic, ginger, onions, vanilla
extract, chocolate, rosemary, mouthwash, orange peel; small
containers such as empty film canisters; lemon, grape and
cherry mini-jelly beans. Part B—small glass containers, sugar,
lemon juice, salt, tonic water or onion juice, toothpicks, water
Teaching Tips
Part A. The materials to be smelled (see list above) should be
placed in containers that students can’t see through (35mm film
canisters with holes in the lids or clear containers that have
been covered with tape, etc). Containers should be numbered
from 1 to 10. Keep a log of what is in each container. Select
four odorants and put some of each in two different
containers. Put some of two additional odorants in one
container each.
Part B. Prepare small glasses that contain
solutions of (1) sugary water (sweet), (2) lemon
Post-viewing
juice (sour), (3) salty water (salty), and (4) tonic
Activity
water or onion juice (bitter). Have students dip
clean toothpicks into each solution. Then, they should lightly
touch different parts of the tongue and record what they taste
on their chart. Be sure to have students use a clean toothpick
each time they dip and take a drink of water each time they
change taste categories. They also may want to nibble a piece of
bread in between the taste tests.
Explain to your students that their taste buds are located on the
papillae, the little bumps they can feel on their tongue. Each
papillae contains between 1 and 15 taste buds. Each of the taste
buds is made up of a cluster of between 80 and 100 cells,
including receptor cells that are attached to nerves. Different
receptors are sensitive to different tastes. (This experiment also
could be done as a take-home activity.)
Add-on Activities
■ Lead a discussion on eating disorders and poor
nutrition, based on student findings in
researching the USDA food pyramid
Students should pick up each container and sniff
recommendations.
it. What odors were most easily identified? Most
■ As people age their sense of smell gets
difficult to identify? How many students identified
worse. Students might conduct “smell tests” to
all the odors? How many were able to match all
identify differences in the ability to smell
four odors and identify the two that did not have a
among family members, older neighbors and
pair? How well did the boys do compared to the
friends, etc.
girls? You might ask your students to create graphs
■ Students might create their own “odor charts,”
that illustrate the results of the smell test. Note: Be
The nose
identifying as many different kinds of odors as
sure to ask about allergies before having your
they can, and categorizing them by type (sweet,
students participate in this activity. Discard all foods assembled
minty, sour, etc.).
in this unit after they have been used in classroom testing.
■ Heat and climate affect the diffusion of gas molecules that
cause odors. Students could research why odors are different in
Smell-taste activity: You will need six small paper bags and intensity in the summer than in the winter, and why odors are
scoops of lemon, grape and cherry mini-jelly beans. (If students so readily associated with tropical climates.
work in groups, use one set of bags per group.) Label the bags:
■ Younger students might create taste charts by cutting pictures
#1 taste, #1 smell, #2 taste, #2 smell, #3 taste, #3 smell. Put
of food out of magazines and organizing them according to
several crushed jelly beans in each of the “smell” bags. Put the
taste categories.
remainder of the jelly beans in the “taste” bags. Be sure that the ■ Just as in other areas of biological science, what we know
same flavor jelly beans are placed in the bags with the same
about taste changes as researchers make new discoveries (for
number (i.e., #1 bags contain the lemon jelly beans, etc.).
example, researchers recently discovered a fifth basic taste
called Umami. This taste occurs when foods that contain
Students should close their eyes, hold their noses and chew a
glutamate—like the MSG used in much Oriental food—are
jelly bean from each taste bag. Tell them to take a small sip of
eaten). Students could do some research
water between each test, then record the tastes on the chart.
to learn more about glutamate and why it
Next, have students close their eyes and sniff each of the “smell” is used predominantly in certain cuisines.
bags, recording their findings on the chart. Finally, have them
■ Students might construct a model of
repeat the taste test, but this time without holding their noses.
the digestive system.
Discuss the findings as a class.
14
© 2001 DCI/BBC
W
hat do the aroma of pizza when you enter the
school cafeteria and the stench of sweaty socks in
the locker room have in common? It’s your nose, of course!
Everything you need to smell with is inside your nose. It
alerts you to those socks and tempts you with that aroma—
then it even helps you enjoy the taste of the pizza!
Tasty
Aromas
Which containers are the same? Identify them on the third
line below each pair:
# ____
# ____
# ____
# ____
_______________________
________________________
# ____
# ____
# ____
# ____
_______________________
________________________
Which containers are not the same? Identify them below:
# ____ is ___________________________________ and
# ____ is ____________________________________.
When you have a bad cold, does everything “taste the same”?
That’s because you’ve lost the ability to smell what you’re
eating! Use the chart below to record the results of a test that
will show you how important that smell/taste partnership is.
Bag 2
Sour
Salty
Bitter
Middle
Follow your teacher’s directions to identify the odorants in
the containers prepared for you. Hold the container in front
of your face and waft your hand over it toward your nose to
get the best whiff.
Bag 1
Sweet
Tip
Part A. Some people have a better sense of smell than
others. Although the average person can identify between
3,000 and 10,000 different odors, some people who have a
condition called anosmia have no sense of smell at all.
Taste Only
7
Part of
Tongue
As you breathe in, odor molecules in the air enter through
your nostrils, pass into the nasal cavity, and then go to the
olfactory bulb. That’s where special nerve cells (receptors)
determine just what the odor is. The nerve cells send signals
to the brain, which lets you know what you’re smelling.
Smell Only
Part B. All tastes come from different
Activity
combinations of four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty
and bitter. Different taste buds interpret these
tastes. Follow your teacher’s directions to find the Reproducible Master
different “taste centers” on your tongue. Record
your findings below as “3” if it is a strong taste, “2” if it is
neither strong nor weak, or “1” if it is weak.
Smell & Taste
Left side
Right side
Now, use the information above to draw a “taste map” of your
tongue, using a different color for each type of taste and
shading to show how strong the tastes are in each area. How
does your taste map compare with those of your classmates?
Add-on Everything our body does for us takes fuel.
Getting the food to fuel our bodies into our
Activity mouths, as we see in The
Human Body, is one thing. What
happens next is not quite as tidy.
Biting into that great-tasting pizza is
the first step on an amazing journey
through your digestive system.
After your molars grind it up,
chemicals in your saliva begin to break down the
pizza as your tongue pushes it to the back of your throat.
Like squeezing a tube of toothpaste, your muscles squeeze it
down your esophagus and into your stomach. That’s where
some serious action takes place. The mushy stuff that used to
look like pizza is mixed with acid and digestive chemicals
until it is broken down into tiny bits, which move into the
small intestine. There, chemicals and liquids continue the
process, until all the nutrients are absorbed.
The final stage of your pizza’s journey takes place in the large
intestine, which is a kind of drying chamber. The liquid is
removed from the leftovers and absorbed back into the body.
All that’s left now is the stuff you don’t need. And you know
what happens to it! Your body’s “team” approach to this
process should make it a little easier to understand the
problems that can occur when you don’t get enough to eat or
eat the wrong kind of food.
Use resources to check out the USDA’s
food pyramid and compare what you
usually eat with what it recommends.
Where can you improve your diet?
Bag 3
© 2001 DCI/BBC
15
■ Activity 8
Bone Basics
Student Objectives: To learn about bones—how
to build healthy bones and how to protect our bones.
Materials: None
Teaching Tips
Part A. Provide this background information for
students: The spine (also known as the spinal column
or backbone) is a collection of 33 bones known as
vertebrae that are stacked up and held together by
connective tissues called ligaments. The spine is what
allows us to stand upright and to be flexible—to twist
and turn and bend. The spine also provides
protection for the spinal cord—the group of nerves
that helps to send information from the brain to
other parts of the body. Moving joints allow for
flexibility, too.
If students are having difficulty finding examples of
hinge joints and ball-and-socket joints, you might
want to provide them with a few examples. (Hinge
joints could include the hinges on a door or a lift-top
desk; many swivel desk lamps have ball-and-socket
joints. Students might relate best to the example of a
computer joystick.)
Part B. Examples of protective equipment used in
sports include: bicycle helmets, batting helmets for
baseball and softball, helmets for riding scooters, knee
and elbow pads for inline skating, and skateboarding.
This activity provides an excellent introduction to a
discussion of sports safety in general.
Use the activity about calcium in food as the basis for
a discussion about good nutrition. To extend the
discussion, you might want to have students plan a
week’s worth of lunches that are well balanced and
supply significant amounts of calcium. Explain that
the body’s need for calcium changes with age. For
example, the National Academy of Sciences
recommends that adults under age 50 should have
1,000 mg of calcium daily, while people over 50
should have 1,200 mg daily.
16
Add-on Activities
Post-viewing
■ Just as good nutrition is important to good health,
Activity
environmental factors can affect our health, too—even
that of unborn babies.
Students might investigate
environmental hazards such
as smoking and discuss
solutions to deal with them.
■ Students might explore
how the shapes of different
bones relate to the amount
of force they must
withstand.
■ Students might explore the
amazing “engineering” that
allows the spine to support
the human body. For
example, they might
experiment with a ball of
modeling clay and four
X-ray of a skeleton
coffee-stirrer straws placed
vertically to see how the head sits on the little vertebrae in the neck.
■ Students might do research to see how the skeletal systems of other
animals are designed to provide different kinds of mobility.
■ Students might do observational research to see how different types
of shoes affect posture and balance. Why are high heels so bad for the
female foot?
■ Students can make a “rubber
bone” by soaking a chicken
bone in vinegar for several
days. Because vinegar is an
acid, it dissolves the calcium,
leaving the bone thinner and
vulnerable to breaking, much as
it would be if it were diseased
from osteoporosis due to a
loss of calcium. Refer to
www.flinnsci.com/homepage/
bio/rubbone.html.
■ Have students investigate
Hand bones
other uses for thermal
imaging, the technology that
showed Luke’s image in the film (for example, fire fighters can locate
victims overcome by smoke who have hidden in a burning house by
pointing a thermal imaging camera at the house).
Can students think of how this technology might
be medically useful?
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Activity
Bone Basics
I
n The Human Body, we see Luke pedaling his
bike—or, more specifically, it’s the thermal image
of Luke, surrounded by thermal images of people
walking thermal images of pets. Thermal imagers are
instruments that create pictures of heat. So, we’re
looking at the heat Luke’s body is generating. (He’s a
pretty colorful guy, don’t you think!)
What would Luke look like if all you saw were his
bones? Skeletons or fossils in a museum are dry and
brittle, but Luke’s bones, like those in your body, are
very much alive. Living bones contain marrow, the
soft tissue that manufactures red and white blood cells
and produces nutrients vital to your body. The 206
bones in your body hold you up, allow you to move
and protect your internal organs. They’re growing and
changing just like other parts of your body.
Part A. The place where two bones meet is called a
joint. And, while many joints move, some—like those
in your skull—are fixed.
One kind of moving joint, a
hinge joint, allows the bones to
bend and straighten. Your
elbows contain hinge joints.
Another kind is called a balland-socket joint, because the
round end of one bone fits into
a cuplike area on another bone.
Ball-and-socket joints allow the
bones to swivel and turn in all
directions. Your hips have ball-and-socket joints.
People who build things use joints, too. How many
examples of hinge joints and ball-and-socket joints
can you find in things you might encounter every
day? Make your lists in the space below.
Hinge Joints
Ball-and-Socket Joints
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
© 2001 DCI/BBC
8
Reproducible Master
Part B. If you have ever broken a bone, how long did it
take to heal? Professional athletes, such as hockey and
football players, wear equipment to protect their bones. What
are other examples of protective equipment in sports?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Calcium Clues. You need more than equipment to protect
your bones, however—it’s also important to eat a diet rich in
calcium. Calcium is a mineral that helps bones harden and
become strong. If you don’t get enough, you could be at risk
for osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to fracture easily.
And if you don’t have enough calcium, your body will actually steal
it from your bones. Your risk of developing osteoporosis
depends in large part on how much bone mass you attain
between the ages of 25 and 35.
Bone mass is determined by:
■ your genes (the bone strength you inherit from your parents)
■ the amount of calcium in your diet
■ the amount of exercise you get
Dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt are high in
calcium. What are some other good food sources of calcium?
List them below and add them to your Body Maintenance Plan.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Move It or Lose It! Weight-bearing exercise done on your feet—
walking, running, skiing, tennis, etc.—also can help to build strong
bones as well as muscles. Did you eat any foods yesterday that
had calcium in them? Did you exercise? Fill in the information
below. Compare what you ate to the calcium sources you listed
above. Do you need to improve in any areas?
Yesterday I ate: ________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Yesterday I did this exercise: ____________________________
Here’s where I could improve my diet and exercise plan:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Add-on Build a model spine by stringing
Activity spools or other circular objects
together to represent the
different vertebrae.
17
■ Activity 9
On the
Other Hand
Student Objectives: To experiment with the
sense of touch and to learn how fingerprints are
classified.
Materials: Small paper bags, rice, small paper
clips, index cards, unpopped popcorn, sugar,
seeds, sand
Teaching Tips
Part A. Paper clip/bag activity: Partially
fill the bags (enough so that each small group of
students has one bag) with rice. Add several
small paper clips and mix well. Students should
close their eyes, reach into the bag, and try to
pick out the paper clips.
Identification activity: Coat the index cards
with glue and cover each card with one of the
materials. Place each coated card in a numbered
bag. Students should reach into the bag and try
to identify the material they are feeling. You can
use this activity as a springboard to a discussion
of the role of the hand as a sensory organ. Have
students ever used their hands to feel their way
down a dark hall? To pick an object from a
drawer without looking? Have they ever noticed
the Braille “bumps” next to the buttons in an
elevator? You also might include a discussion of
Braille, and even let students experience touching
the letters in the Braille alphabet, or invite
someone from the local Braille association to
speak to the class about Braille.
Loop
18
Whorl
Part B. Provide students with this background:
Fingerprints are ridges on our skin that make it easier for
Post-viewing
us to hold onto things. Just as everyone’s DNA is different,
Activity
no two people have the same fingerprints. Even identical
twins have different fingerprints. Fingerprints can be classified by patterns—
arches, loops and whorls—by the size of the patterns, and by the position of
the patterns on the finger.
Have students work in pairs. Each
student should take a #2 pencil and
make an “ink pad” by coating a
small area (about 1 inch square)
of the card with pencil lead.
Each student should then take
an impression of the pad of
their index finger and pinky
finger of the hand they write
with. After the student rolls one
finger over the pencil lead, his or
her partner will carefully “lift” the
fingerprint onto a piece of transparent
tape and attach the tape to a blank
The hand
index card. The second print should be
placed next to the first print. Students should label each print (e.g., left index
finger) and write their name on the reverse side of the card.
Designate one desk for loops, one for whorls and one for arches, and have
students place their cards on the appropriate desk. Which is the most
common pattern? (Use a magnifying glass if needed to see better.) Note: As
a safeguard of their identity, have students destroy the fingerprints after
they have created them.
Add-on Activities
■ Modern fingerprint identification techniques date from 1880, when the
British journal Nature published letters by Henry Faulds and William James
Herschel that described the uniqueness of fingerprints. Have students do
research to learn more about fingerprint classification as
a crime-solving technique. What other purposes can
fingerprinting serve (for example, identification of
missing children)?
■ Students might do some research to find out how hands
sweat and what triggers that response.
■ Ask if students have footprints from their birth in the
hospital. They could call the hospital to ask why
Arch
fingerprints aren’t taken instead; could a footprint really
identify a baby?
© 2001 DCI/BBC
On
the
Other Hand
Activity
9
Reproducible Master
Y
our hands are truly amazing things. They help you pick up a pen
and write. They help you throw a baseball, comb your hair and do
so much more. As you saw in The Human Body, they were formed when
cells died off from the original paddle-shaped structures you had as an
embryo. Imagine trying to pick up a pen with paddle-shaped hands!
Part A. Your sense of touch
originates in the dermis, or bottom
layer of your skin. Some areas of
your body—like your fingertips—
are more sensitive than others
because they have more of the
nerve endings that send signals to
the brain.
Have you ever
wondered why your
thumb is stuck down
there on the side, all
by itself? Try this
experiment to find
out. First write your
name on the first line below. Then have your
partner tape the thumb to the index finger
on the hand you write with. Write your name
on the second line. What does your signature
look like this time?
Signature #1
Surface of a fingertip
Place a penny on your desk. Close
your eyes and pick it up. Is the side on the top heads or tails? Now open
your eyes. Did you guess correctly?___________
Describe what you felt: ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Close your eyes again. Reach into the bag prepared by your teacher and try
to pick out a paper clip. Open your eyes. Were you successful? ____________
What did you feel? ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Now reach into each of the bags and try to identify what it contains.
How did you do?
Bag 1. I guessed: ____________________________________________________
It really was:____________________________________________________
Bag 2. I guessed: ____________________________________________________
It really was:____________________________________________________
Bag 3. I guessed: ____________________________________________________
It really was:____________________________________________________
Bag 4. I guessed: ____________________________________________________
It really was:____________________________________________________
____________________________________________
Signature #2
____________________________________________
While taped, try the following: Pick up a
penny, comb your hair and button a shirt.
After you are untaped, write a description on
the back of this paper of how you felt and
what happened.
Part B. Follow your teacher’s directions
as you take your fingerprints. Then,
answer the following questions:
What kinds of patterns do you see in your
index fingerprint?
______________________________________________
In your pinky fingerprint? ______________
How different are your prints from the
prints of your partner’s hand? __________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Add-on Create a display that shows how
our hands are different from the
Activity paws of
animals, and how those
differences reflect our
varied needs.
Loop
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Whorl
Arch
19
■ Activity 10
Living
System
The
Student Objective: To consider how the different body
systems work together.
Materials: Advertising brochures for new cars (optional)
Teaching Tips
Part A. In preparation for this activity you might want to
have students review ads and flyers for new cars, collected from
dealer showrooms, to see how ad agencies promote the features
of the various automobile systems in their sales brochures. For
example, if students were to visualize the human body as if it
were a new car with “loaded” features, they could use the
following as a sample:
Redesigned for 2001!
10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty!
Look What You Get!
Automatic
Power Windows
Power Locks
Air Conditioning
Power Steering
Power Disc Brakes
CD Player
Power Mirrors
Rear Defroster
Tinted Glass
Intermittent Wipers
Tilt Wheel
The various features can be equated to those of the human
body; for example, intermittent wipers function like eyelashes,
which keep our eyes clear of irritants. Our ears give us stereo
sound like the car’s sound system, and a V8 engine might
equate to a strong, healthy heart.
Encourage students to have fun and engage their imaginations
as they write their brochures, but remind them that their copy
must contain factual information. They might use the classroom
computer to create their brochure’s layout and design.
Part B. Have students write a plan for their Web site and
create drawings to show what it would look like. Alternatively,
each team might focus on one aspect as they work together to
develop an actual class Web site.
Systems of Imaging
The Human Body gives us a remarkable glimpse of the
amazing things that go on, hidden in our bodies. Today’s
medical technology can provide high-resolution pictures of any
organ or area of the body, avoiding exploratory surgery in
many cases.
20
You may choose to share the following with
students: X-rays, developed in 1895, use radiation
waves to form images of organs and other objects Post-viewing
Activity
inside the body that show bones as white and
softer tissues as different shades of gray. Ultrasound, developed in
1957, uses high-frequency sounds to create images of internal
tissues. CT (or CAT) scans (computerized axial tomography),
developed in 1967, use a highly sensitive X-ray beam that passes
through the body and feeds information into a computer, creating a
picture. MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), developed in 1974, use
computer-controlled radio waves and a magnetic field to create
three-dimensional pictures of the inside of the body.
Add-on Activities
■ Students might use dry pasta shapes, pipe cleaners, wire and
other small objects to construct small models of the human
skeleton—the backbone, for example.
■ Students might do online research and compile an annotated
directory of Web sites about the human body.
■ Students might research and report on an
athlete of their choice who has been
in the news because of an injury,
how the injury was diagnosed
(MRI, CT scan, etc.), and the
medical treatment he or she
received. How different do
they think the athlete’s
chances for recovery are
today compared to that of a
past era or decade?
■ Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a
German physicist who discovered
the X-ray, refused to patent his
Lung cells
discovery or realize any financial
gain from it, preferring instead that the world benefit from his
research. You might have students discuss the ethics involved in
profiting from medical research.
■ Medical science has made tremendous progress in the field of
organ transplants, but waiting lists for donors are long (as of
spring 2001, they number 75,000 in the U.S. alone). Not every
patient who needs a transplant will get one, and difficult choices
sometimes must be made. How would students feel if the choice
for a transplant were between a close relative they loved, a
celebrity they greatly admired, and a brilliant scientist whose
work could potentially change the world? They could form a
position panel to debate how transplant
recipients should be selected—the person
who needs it the most, the person who can
pay the most, or the person who has the
most to contribute to society. Or should
there be some other way to choose?
© 2001 DCI/BBC
The
Living System
A
n eyeball or a big toe by itself wouldn’t be worth very much. But,
when you put them together with other body parts in a complete
human body, you have one pretty incredible organism!
Part A. Imagine that you’ve just been named as a member
of the lead copywriting team at the Beautiful Bodyworks
Agency. Your job is to write the copy for a new brochure
that’s designed to sell the human body as a first-class
system. Work with your team to develop sales copy or a
slogan of 50 words or less to promote each of the following
body systems. Next to the system, write the name of an
object you think best represents it (see first example):
■ The Digestive System (wastebasket)
___________
Activity
10
our brand
new human
Reproducible Master
body will need the best body parts to
make it zoom along in top form. What
parts will you need to “hire” so that your
body can eat, play sports and so on? List
as many body parts below as you can and
name their functions (see first example):
Y
Heart—pumps blood throughout the
body; the engine that keeps me going
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________
■ The Skeletal System ( ________________________________________________________________________________)
___________
___________
___________
■ The Respiratory System (______________________________________________________ )
___________
___________
___________
■ The Circulatory System ( ________________________________________________________ )
___________
___________
___________
■ The Nervous System (
__________________________________________________________________)
___________
Part B. Now, use the information
you gathered in Part A of this
activity as the foundation for the
Beautiful Bodyworks Web site, to
promote the human body. There are
lots of other things you might
do, too.
■ Create a body-parts puzzle that
has an outlined body and major
parts that Web users must put in the
right places.
■ Develop an interactive display that
shows how the parts of a disposable
camera work like a human eye.
How will you tie all the body parts
and systems together? This is your
chance to show how creative you
can be. Get those neurons going!
___________
___________
■ The Endocrine System (________________________________________________________________ )
___________
___________
___________
Now, pull it all together in brochure copy that will make every reader want to
own a genuine human body.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Add-on Work in groups to develop
model mini-ecosystems that
Activity show
how humans and other
living things are linked in a web of life.
Show how the sun, water, oxygen and
other factors are
part of how we
function as people
in our environment.
21
■ Activity 11
My Personal
Body Inventory
and Health Profile
Student Objective: To create a personal health profile.
Materials: None
Teaching Tips
This is a personal profile. Your students should take this activity
master home along with the “Dear Parent” letter on page 24 of
this guide, and complete it with their parents. Suggest that, if
your students do not know some of the information (for
example, blood type, blood pressure, and so on), they can have
the tests done the next time they visit their doctor or at a free
community screening, etc.
Add-On Activity
■ Now that students have completed the unit
Post-viewing
Activity
activities and have seen the film of The Human
Body, you may wish to have fun with the quiz below. Photocopy
this page, clip the quiz along the dotted line, and distribute it to
students. After they have tested themselves, you may wish to
have them take copies home to family and friends, so everyone
can see who is the smartest “brain” of all!
Answers: The statements are all true with the exception of:
2. Over half the body’s bones are found in the hands and feet.
6. The brain weighs roughly three pounds.
7. Dolphins can hear 14 times better than humans.
8. Taste is the weakest of the senses.
11. The bone marrow manufactures red and white blood cells.
15. Your nose can tell the difference between 3,000 and
10,000 different odors.
Did You Know That?
Interesting Facts About the Human Body
The Human Body is full of amazing information about the human body! Test your knowledge by
answering true or false to each of these statements. After you’ve checked your answers,
take another copy of the quiz home and test your family and friends. Who is the smartest “brain” of all?
True
1. The average person has about 10,000
taste buds in his or her mouth.
■
2. One-fourth of your body’s bones are in
the hands and feet.
■
3. You’ll grow an average of 35 yards of hair today. ■
4. Your heart will pump about one million barrels
of blood during your lifetime—enough blood to
fill more than three supertankers.
■
5. You’ll make over 200 billion new red blood
cells today.
■
6. The brain of an average adult weighs 9 ounces. ■
7. Animals can hear better than humans, and
dolphins have the best hearing of all. They can
hear five times better than we can.
■
8. Taste is the strongest of the five senses.
■
9. In three months, the
average person grows over
five inches of fingernails.
■
22
False
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
True
10. The aorta is the largest artery in your body.
It’s almost as big as a garden hose.
■
■
11. Your pancreas manufactures red and
white blood cells.
■
■
12. If you laid all the DNA in your body end to
end, it would be more than 10 billion miles long. ■
■
13. Your brain uses up nearly a fifth of all the
calories you eat or drink each day.
■
■
14. When your ears “pop,” it’s actually the eustachian
tube opening to make sure the air pressure is
the same on both sides of your eardrum.
■
■
15. When your nose is at its best you can tell the
difference between 1,000 and 5,000
different odors.
■
■
■
■
■
■
18. You get dizzy after spinning around fast because
the liquid in the semi-circular canals in your
ears is still moving after you stop.
■
■
16. Your heart beats about 100,000 times |
in one day.
17. The longest bone in your body is the femur.
■
False
© 2001 DCI/BBC
My Personal Body
Inventory
and Health Profile
A
fter seeing The Human Body, you have a better
appreciation for the daily miracles that make you
who you are today and who you can be tomorrow, next year and
for the next eight or nine decades.
To help keep your future body in top physical and mental
form, fill in the chart below. You may want to ask family
members for help with some of this information. When you
complete it, put it in a safe place and add to it from time to
time to keep it current.
My name: ______________________________________________________________
My birth date:__________________________________________________________
Physical Characteristics
I am _____________ tall and I weigh _______________.
I am _____________ -handed.
My skin color is ______________________________.
My eye color is ______________________________.
My hair color is ______________________________.
Left thumb print
Right thumb print
Activity
11
Reproducible Master
Vaccination Record
I have been vaccinated against the following diseases:
Type of vaccination
Date of vaccination
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Injuries/Illnesses
I have had the following injuries or illnesses (other than
common colds):
Injury/Illness
Date
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Allergies
I am allergic to:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Physical Activities
I participate in the following sports or activities:
My blood type is ______. My blood pressure is ______.
My resting pulse is ______ and my active pulse is ______.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Check one of each choice:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
■ I think I am ___ left-brained ___ right-brained.
__________________________________________________________________________
■ I am a ___ visual ___ auditory ___ kinesthetic learner.
__________________________________________________________________________
■ I am ___ nearsighted ___ farsighted ___ neither.
__________________________________________________________________________
■ I still have my (check if yes) ___ tonsils ___ appendix.
__________________________________________________________________________
I have (number) ______ wisdom teeth.
© 2001 DCI/BBC
23
Dear Parent/Guardian:
A
s a special addition to this year’s
classroom curriculum, your child’s class
is planning a visit to the ___________________
Theater to view The Human Body.
The Human Body large-format film is co-produced
by Discovery Pictures and the BBC. Discovery
The trachea
Pictures is a unit of Discovery Communications,
Inc., which includes The Learning Channel (TLC), Discovery Channel,
Animal Planet, Travel Channel, and Discovery Health Channel. As coproducers of the film, Discovery Pictures and the BBC are extending
their commitment to providing the quality, educational entertainment
they are known for worldwide.
The film uses state-of-the-art photographic techniques and the largeformat landscape to present an incredible journey into the body.
Students will journey down the
ear canal and into the caverns of
the middle ear, where they will
learn how our brains make
sense of the sounds around us.
They will follow a pizza lunch on
its journey to the stomach and
beyond. They will travel
through the bloodstream and
into the most spectacular muscle
in our body—the heart. They
will learn how the body’s
systems and organs work
together.
X-ray image
Pre-viewing and follow-up activities reinforce the concepts
presented in the film. These activities are designed to help students
understand how the body works and—perhaps most important—how
essential a healthy diet and lifestyle are to creating and maintaining a
healthy body.
After viewing the film, your child will be encouraged to talk with you
about it and to share the activities and experiments he or she will have
conducted in class. Be sure to take this special opportunity to review
your child’s Personal Body Inventory and Health Profile, so he or she
begins now to track important medical records and information needed
in the years ahead.
Resources
Web Sites
■ The Human Body: www.thehumanbodyfilm.com
■ Cells Alive: www.cellsalive.com
■ Discovery Communications: www.discovery.com
■ Discovery School: www.school.discovery.com
■ Exploratorium: Brain Explorer:
www.exploratorium.edu/brain_explorer/index.html
■ Maryland Science Center: www.mdsci.org
■ Oregon Museum of Science and Technology: Life
Science Lab: www.omsi.edu/explore/life
■ Science Museum of London: www.nmsi.ac.uk
■ Science Museum of Minnesota: Science of Sound
and Sight: www.smm.org/sound/nocss/
activity/top.html
■ The Learning Channel (TLC): www.tlc.com
■ Yucky Gross & Cool Body: http://yucky.kids.
discovery.com
The Brain
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/split.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/what.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/lobe.html
Mouth, Taste Buds, Etc.
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tasty.html
Nerve Cells, Synapses, Etc.
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmodel.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/cells.html
Olfactory System
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nosek.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chems.html
Books
■ The Robot Zoo: A Mechanical Guide to the Way
Animals Work, by Philip Whitfield Obin. Turner
Publishing, 1994.
■ Human Body Explorations: Hands-On
Investigations of What Makes Us Tick, by Karen
Kalumuck and the Exploratorium Teacher Institute.
Kendall/Hunt, 2000.
Sincerely,
__________________________________________
24
© 2001 DCI/BBC
Credits
Teacher’s Resource Guide for The Human Body was created by
Youth Media International, Ltd., Easton, CT
Roberta Nusim, Publisher
Writer: Carol A. Bruce
Editor: Jane E. Fieberts
Production Manager: Beth E. McNeal
Art Director: Kathleen Giarrano
Cover Design: Aspect Ratio Design
Reviewers
C. Ralph Adler, RMC Research Corporation, Portsmouth, NH
Mary Rebecca Bures, Health Sciences Director, Discovery Place, Charlotte, NC
Dianne Koval Butler, Marketing Manager, Discovery Pictures, Bethesda, MD
Jim Heintzman, Educational Resources Manager, Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
Mark E. Katz, President, nWave Pictures Distribution, Greenwich, CT
Alex Patrick, Education Officer, BFI London IMAX Cinema and Science Museum, London
Pete Yancone, Director, Education, Maryland Science Center, Baltimore, MD
The Human Body is a presentation of The Learning Channel and BBC Worldwide
of a Discovery Pictures / BBC co-production in association with
the Maryland Science Center and the Science Museum, London with major funding
provided by the National Science Foundation and distributed by nWave Pictures Distribution.
Youth Media
International Ltd.
P.O. Box 305, Easton, CT 06612
(203) 459-1562
www.youthmedia.com