Learn & Play
·

Learning at Home | Week of 1/17 – 1/21

Take advantage of this week’s Learning at Home broadcast schedule – great for students engaged in hybrid or distance instruction, and families looking to spend some extra, quality time together!

After watching these fascinating programs, explore the PBS LearningMedia and web resources to learn more.

Highlight of the Week

American Experience: Surviving the Dust Bowl
Thursday, January 20, 2 PM

In 1931 the rains stopped and the “black blizzards” began. Powerful dust storms carrying millions of tons of stinging, blinding black dirt swept across the Southern Plains — the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, western Kansas, and the eastern portions of Colorado and New Mexico. Topsoil that had taken a thousand years per inch to build suddenly blew away in only minutes. One journalist traveling through the devastated region dubbed it the “Dust Bowl.” Surviving the Dust Bowl is the remarkable story of the determined people who clung to their homes and way of life, enduring drought, dust, disease — even death — for nearly a decade.

Learning at Home
Week of 1/17 – 1/21

Monday, January 17

1 PM: Opportunity and Promise: New York State Celebrates the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Few individuals have had such a profound impact on modern society as did Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This one-hour special is a tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. King by the citizens of New York State, showcasing people and organizations that embody the principles of one of America’s most significant leaders for social justice, freedom, and equality.

2 PM: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2-for-MLK-1024x576.png

The yearlyobservance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated in Plattsburgh, New York. Community leaders join together in song and words of inspiration to honor Dr. King’s life and legacy.

Tuesday, January 18

1 PM: NATURE: Octopus Making Contact

The octopus is the closest we may get to meeting an alien. They evolved from a common cousin more than 500 million years ago, but are also intelligent creatures with proven problem-solving abilities. So what happens when you invite an eight-legged alien into your living room? This documentary follows marine biologist David Scheel as he tracks his evolving relationship with his own octopus.

2 PM: NOVA: Butterfly Blueprints

The hidden scientific secrets of butterflies reveal them to be more inventive and resilient than we ever imagined. Follow their extraordinary life cycle and migrations to tropical rainforests, windswept prairies, and even inside a chrysalis as it’s being spun. Discover how butterfly science is inspiring groundbreaking technology, including more efficient solar power cells, and bulletproof vests stronger than Kevlar.

Wednesday, January 19

1 PM: Big Pacific | Violent

Violence is part of life in the Pacific and those that live here must choose whether to avoid conflict or rise to meet it. The Pacific Ocean is a hunter’s paradise. From the skies of Snake Island to the teeming tropics, animals are reinventing the delivery of death on a grand scale. Surrounded by the Ring of Fire, this ocean is the epicenter of natural mayhem.

2 PM: First Civilizations: Religion

Discover the secret to the stability and cohesion of Ancient Egypt — religion. When people share a core set of beliefs, they are more likely to identify as one. That was true for the first civilizations and it’s just as true today.

Thursday, January 20

1 PM: American Experience: The Big Burn

In the spring of 1905, the first group of fresh-faced graduates of Yale’s Forestry School began to arrive in the bawdy frontier towns of the West. These first employees of the Forest Service were given the monumental task of managing the newly created national forests in the Northern Rockies. Nothing could have prepared them for the severity of the drought there in 1910. Fires broke out continually and were fought by the rookie rangers as best they could. In mid-August, the particularly destructive fire season hit its peak: in just 36 hours, a firestorm burned more than three million acres and killed at least 78 firefighters, confronting the fledgling U.S. Forest Service with a catastrophe that would define the agency and the nation’s fire policy for much of the twentieth century.

2 PM: American Experience: Surviving the Dust Bowl

In 1931 the rains stopped and the “black blizzards” began. Powerful dust storms carrying millions of tons of stinging, blinding black dirt swept across the Southern Plains — the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, western Kansas, and the eastern portions of Colorado and New Mexico. Topsoil that had taken a thousand years per inch to build suddenly blew away in only minutes. One journalist traveling through the devastated region dubbed it the “Dust Bowl.” Surviving the Dust Bowl is the remarkable story of the determined people who clung to their homes and way of life, enduring drought, dust, disease — even death — for nearly a decade.

Friday, January 21

1 PM: Soundscapes: Giovanina Bucci

Local musicians and stunning scenics take centerstage on Soundscapes. Singer/songwriter Giovanina Bucci brings her distinct mix of blues, soul, and folk to the stage of the Strand Center Theatre in Plattsburgh, NY.

1:30 PM: Articulate | Resilience

Even after fifty years of accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize at 26 for his Doonesbury comic strip, Garry Trudeau reckons he may have gotten too much too young. And despite her mastery of the written word, Joyce Carol Oates is skeptical about how well conversation can express the complexities of thought and emotions.

2 PM: The Hudson River School: Cultivating a Tradition

In the 19th century, artist Thomas Cole and engraver Asher Durand established an artistic movement that became The Hudson River School. The next generation expanded their palette with a technique that was immersed in light. This artistic innovation was later hailed as, “The Luminist Movement.” This film tells the story of these artists who became the greatest landscape painters in the world.

Learning at Home on Mountain Lake PBS is supported by:
Adirondack Foundation