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Learning at Home | Week of 12/14 – 12/18

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

The Age of Nature | Awakening
Monday, December 14, 2 PM

Explore humanity’s relationship with nature and wildlife, as scientists and conservationists from all over the world examine ways we can restore our planet. In the first episode of the series, discover how a new awareness of nature is helping to restore ecosystems from Panama to China to Mozambique. See how innovative actions are being taken to repair manmade damage and restore reefs, rivers, animal populations and more.

Learning at Home
Week of 12/14 – 12/18

Monday, December 14

1 PM: Genius by Stephen Hawking | Can We Time Travel?

In this mind-bending episode: Can three volunteers work out if time travel is possible? World-famous scientist Stephen Hawking leads us on a fascinating journey of discovery, featuring DeLoreans, clocks, a giant black hole and a large swathe of New York City. It seems as if nothing is beyond his imagination. Without any mathematics or equations, he effortlessly manages to get three non-scientists to grasp 4 dimensional space and time travel.

2 PM: The Age of Nature | Awakening

Explore humanity’s relationship with nature and wildlife, as scientists and conservationists from all over the world examine ways we can restore our planet. In the first episode of the series, discover how a new awareness of nature is helping to restore ecosystems from Panama to China to Mozambique. See how innovative actions are being taken to repair manmade damage and restore reefs, rivers, animal populations and more.

Tuesday, December 15

1 PM: Genius by Stephen Hawking | Are We Alone?

Stephen Hawking sets three volunteers a series of fun challenges to show them how to think like a genius – and find out how likely it is that aliens exist. Cue an extraordinary journey of discovery, involving tons of sand, huge machinery, some straightforward thinking and several amazing, head-exploding reveals.

2 PM: The Age of Nature | Understanding

Explore how a new understanding of nature is helping us find surprising ways to fix it. From the Pacific Northwest to Yellowstone to Scotland, scientists, citizens and activists are restoring the environment, benefiting humans and animals alike.

Wednesday, December 16

1 PM: Genius by Stephen Hawking | Why Are We Here?

World-famous scientist Stephen Hawking sets three ordinary people a series of fun challenges to show them how to think like a genius. Can they work out why they exist at all? Is it destiny or pure chance? This episode features smashed glasses, spooky castles and a truly freaky flash-mob illustration of multiple universes. Why Are We Here? takes the subjects down a rabbit hole of deeply profound realizations.

2 PM: The Age of Nature | Changing

Discover why restoring nature might be our best tool to slow global warming. From Borneo to Antarctica, the resilience of the planet is helping us find solutions to cope and even mitigate climate change, providing hope for a more positive future.

Thursday, December 17

1 PM: Genius by Stephen Hawking | Where did the Universe Come From?

Join an extraordinary journey of discovery, featuring racing cars, ice-skaters, balloons and running tracks as Stephen Hawking leads his three intrepid souls to a deeper understanding of the evolution of the universe than the average physics major, all with any mathematics or equations.

2 PM: NOVA Wonders: What’s The Universe Made Of?

The universe is hiding something. In fact, it is hiding a lot. Everything we experience on Earth, the stars and galaxies we see in the cosmos — all the “normal” matter and energy that we understand — make up only 5% of the known universe. Find out how scientists are discovering new secrets about the history of the universe, and why they’re predicting a shocking future.

Friday, December 18

1 PM: Art in the 21st Century | Johannesburg

Learn about contemporary visual art and artists throughout the world. Since the dramatic fall of apartheid in 1994, Johannesburg has emerged as the artistic capital of sub-Saharan Africa. This episode tells the story of four artists from a diversity of South African ethnic backgrounds, identities and generations working across photography, painting, sculpture, and performance. Collectively, the artists in this hour use their work to empower marginalized communities, reexamine history, and pursue their visions for South Africa’s future.

2 PM: Art in the 21st Century | Berlin

A city still in the midst of a post-Cold War cultural and economic rebirth, since the 1990s Berlin has become a haven for artists from all over the world — a free zone where experimentation, individual expression, and international influences converge. From creating large-scale public projects to intimately personal ones, the artists in this episode demonstrate the diversity of practice and sensibilities in the German capital, expose its complicated history of war and migration, and convey hopes for finding systems that foster a better tomorrow.